~ Anthony Morris
New Zealand, (b. 1939)
This journey began with a 50-year survey exhibition ~ held at Morris & James last year ~ we felt it was of such significance to the history of New Zealand arts and crafts ~ that it deserved a place in The Vivian
Ant is what is referred to in education as “a haptic learner”. While a powerful amount of reading gets done, when it comes to producing things, it is trial and error that wins out. His is a hands-on approach. Back in England in 1968, when he centred his first mound on the wheel, opened it up, and felt the gritty scouring of wet clay as it slid through his palms, he got hooked. Not just seduced by the sensation of mastering material and machine with mind, hand and eye, but also captured by the magic of transforming dirt into gold; the alchemy of making.
Anthony Morris
