The Innocent Glaze is the result of a year long experimental project by Tasman-based ceramicist, Darryl Frost.

In 2009, Darryl was invited to develop a solo exhibition at The Suter Art Gallery.  He proposed to fire his anagama kiln four times in the period before the show.  Each firing would contain large scale sculptural ceramics along with smaller works in thematic series.  The prizes from these firings would collectively form the basis of an installation-style exhibition.

Due to the unpredictable nature of the wood fired anagama kiln technique, this was a risky exhibition proposition.  Anagama is an ancient Japanese kiln design with a single firing chamber set on an incline.  It is fired with wood and stoked for a period of days.  Wood ash and salt byproducts react with the clay at terrific heat to produce a distinctive ash glaze.  The position of the ceramic forms in the kiln is critical; not only for successful firing but also because of the way that the heat and ash fall affects the quality of the glaze.   While Darryl is a master of this technique, he has learned to expect a 40% failure rate as a result of the firing process.

The title of this exhibition, The Innocent Glaze, reflects the chance factors of this creative process; the sketchy journey that the glaze undertakes in its molten state, around the form of the vessel and guided by a ferocious flame.   As a significant body of work, this exhibition establishes themes and motifs that are characteristic of Frost’s practice – the gnarly and elemental quality of his forms, his incorporation of organic materials such as scallop shells imprinted and embedded into the ceramic surfaces and the influence of landscape, especially the estuary adjacent to Frost’s studio.  

This exhibition is complemented by a film by Nelson-based photographer, Daniel Allen.  Allen camped out at the Tasman studio to document a firing in late January and was captivated by the extraordinary visual phenomena provided by the anagama kiln.   Allen also recorded the social process of this undertaking; the regular crew of: Garn Wall, Graham and Heather Baskiville-Robinson, John Black and Steve Robinson, along with veteran potters: Steve Fullmer, Lindsay Smith, Ross Richards and Darryl Robertson, and glass blowers, Antony Genet and Berinthia Binnie-Genet, who assisted a badly injured Frost to pack the kiln, stoke the fire and ‘chew the fat’ over successive days and nights.  It was, as Steve Fullmer described: “proper potting”.  Interestingly however, the resulting film is largely free of dialogue and focuses on conveying the extreme processes of Darryl Frost’s ceramic practice.

Darryl would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge every single person who has stoked wood during one of his firings in the last twenty years and supported him during the highs and lows of anagama kiln firing.

 

Anna-Marie White

Curator