Mirek Smisek's two beehive kilns have been moved and reconstructed. Photo / Rosalie Willis
Mirek Smisek's two beehive kilns have been moved and reconstructed. Photo / Rosalie Willis
Mixed media artist Adrienne Riseley will be the first resident potter at The Kilns at Te Horo.
The Kilns at Te Horo, on the Kāpiti Coast, is about celebrating the legacy of the late Mirek Smisek and creating future inspiration.
The unique visitor attraction project centres around internationally recognised ceramic artist Smisek’s handbuilt brick beehive kilns where he created a hub for ceramic art for more than 40 years.
The kilns were carefully dismantled, relocated a short distance away to make way for the Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway, and rebuilt as part of the wider kilns project.
Riseley, who originates from Lower Hutt, has lived in Sweden for the last 30 years.
A blurb about Smisek, on The Kilns at Te Horo website, said he began working with clay in Australia in 1948, after having left his devastated homeland, Czechoslovakia, at the end of World War II.
“Moving to New Zealand in 1951 Mirek joined Crown Lynn Pottery in Auckland where he experimented with free-flowing Bohemian decorative vases.
“Leaving behind factory production he moved to Nelson where by 1956 he became New Zealand’s first full-time independent studio potter.
“In the 1960s he worked a year at the Leach Pottery in England and studied in Japan.
Mirek Smisek.
“Smisek was influenced by the Leach Ango-Japanese ascetic then proceeded to develop his own distinctive forms.
“Smisek was awarded an OBE in recognition of his work in 1990 and in 2008 the Czech Government presented him with the Medal of the Senate for his contributions to Czech culture.”
Riseley was a finalist for the Portage Ceramic Awards in 2005 and 2006 and has had solo exhibitions and work included in exhibitions in Wellington, The Dowse Gallery in Lower Hutt, Auckland, and at leading galleries in Sweden, Finland and Baltimore in the United States.
For the last 15 years, Riseley has been teaching at Kulturskola Arts School and has been creating art with a range of materials.
She has recently returned to working with clay.
Auckland-based ceramicist Peter Lange, who was one of the assessors of applicants for the residency, was impressed by Riseley’s enquiring approach to clay which embraces a huge range of techniques and processes.
“Adrienne is clearly not afraid to use original ideas and technical ‘inventions’.
“Her sculptural works are convincing and accomplished and her teaching skills and ability to encourage community involvement are ideal for this position.”
Riseley will be moving into the renovated Te Horo Railway Station with husband Fredrik Randers.
