Andrea du Chatenier

Scholars' Rocks
2018

Scholars' Rocks (Psycho Black and White) 2018 Stoneware, porcelain, lava glaze and feldspar

Scholars' Rocks with Glass
2017 - 2018

Red Terrace 2018 Ceramic and glass 250x200mm

Black Gale 2018 Ceramic and glass 250x200mm

Blue Pools 2018 Ceramic and glass 250x200mm

Widow 2018 Ceramic and glass 330x140x140mm

Sulphur melt 2018 Ceramic and glass 130x280x130mm

Chalice Stone 2018 Ceramic and glass 330x140x140mm

Uranium Cavern 2017 Ceramic and glass 210x210x100mm

Stacks
2017

Untitled (Blue stack) 2017 Porcelain 350x370x380mm

Untitled (yellow stack) 2017 Porcelain 350x350x380mm

Yellow Melt 2017 Porcelain 340x340x370mm

Terraced Stones
2017

Black Flake 2017 Feldspar and metalic glaze

Snow in China 2017 Clay and Feldspar

White Island
2017

Whakaari, White Island 2017 Clay, feldspar, glaze and steel stand 1800x570x570mm

Blue Ombré
2017

Blue Ombré 2017 Porcelain and feldspar 280x140mm

Earth to Earth
2017

Earth to Earth 1 2017 Martin Clay, Glaze 450x400x400mm

Earth to Earth 2 2017 Martin Clay, Glaze 210x180x180mm

Earth to Earth 3 2017 Martin Clay, Glaze 400x350x190mm

Earth to Earth 4 2017 Martin Clay, Glaze 380x210x120mm

Earth to Earth 5 2017 Martin Clay, Glaze 250x380x200mm

Epibiont<2016>

Epibiont 2016 Stoneware, Porcelain(feldspar and lava glazes)

Ooze
2016

Coral and Black Melt 2016 Ceramic and glaze 510x150mm

Green Ooze 2016 Ceramic and glaze 410x130x130mm

Green Bean Towers 2016 Ceramic and glaze 890x240mm

Black Jet on Lime 2016 Ceramic and glaze 410x150mm

Green Spill 2016 Ceramic and glaze 410x150x250mm

Pink Baroque Melt 2016 Ceramic and glaze 440x200mm

Pink Crawl 2016 Ceramic and glaze 410x150mm

Big Head Ooze 2016 Ceramic and glaze

Big Head Ooze (detail) 2016 Ceramic and glaze

City of Soot
2013 - 2016

City of Soot 2014 - 2016 Ceramic. mirror, glass

Cell te Uru
2014

The drapes of du Chatenier’s world are lifted and the scene displayed in the gallery window is an artist’s cell. As a self-contained world of creative endeavor the window may either be likened to a hermit’s cave or a prison. There are only the bare necessities: a toilet, hand basin and a few sticks of furniture. In the most spartan of environments the artist enacts some form of creativity. Perhaps this installation provides the preverbal hut the reviewer was yearning for. Housed in a stripped-down temporary art gallery setting, living in this ascetic existence, the protagonist sits and constructs a garment for his beloved, a dress for the pretty little rat with whom he co-habitats.

Kenny Willis

Cell, Te Uru 2014

Creatures of Future Past
2014 - 2015

Creatures of the Future Past is a series of mask-like ceramic heads built in porcelain and earthenware. The works are influenced by a history of mythic creatures and a comic-book future of biological mutants. Focusing on haptic qualities, the works explore tactile surfaces through texture and glazing, and the physical qualities of lightness and heaviness.

Creatures of the Future Past 2014 - 2015

Skinbloom 2015 Porcelain

Bearded Prophet (hands up) 2014 Earthen ware, steel stand, fake fur

Bearded Prophet 2 2014 Earthen ware, steel stand, fake fur

Willamena (Bill) 2014 Porcelain, feathers

Armless Prophet 2015 Porcelain

Rhinoman 2014 Earthen ware and porcelain

Tusk 2014 Earthen ware and porcelain

Thorna 2014 Earthen ware and porcelain

Flutterer 2015 Porcelain, gold chain

Hollow Man
2013 - 2014

The Hollow Men, by T. S. Eliot

Mistah Kurtz-he dead.

A penny for the Old Guy

We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats’ feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar

Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;

Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to deaths’ other Kingdom
Remember us-if at all-not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.

Earless 2013 Ceramic

Faith 2014 Ceramic and steel stand

The Authoritarian 2013 Ceramic

Headpeace 2014 Ceramic and steel stand

Hollow Man 2013 Ceramic

Armless 2014 Ceramic

Man from Mururoa 2014 Ceramic

Mistah Kurtz 2014 Ceramic

Mother 2014 Ceramic and steel stand

Mutant Radicle 2014 Ceramic

Rebel 2014 Ceramic and steel stand

Father 2014 Ceramic

The Weight 2014 Ceramic

Lucky Man with Rolex
2015

I like the idea of a portrait as something built; a construction built outside the body, which works to construct an image of an interior.

I wanted to add some big men to the mix, portraits of men with all the vanity the tradition of portraiture can lend them. I gave them big beards, testament to manliness and gravitas, and I gave this one a Rolex to make him feel lucky. In spite of his vanity, I’d like him to be liked.

Lucky Man (with Rolex) 2015 Ceramic, steel frame, suiting cloth

Portraits
2012 - 2014

At the heart of my practice is the exploration of materials, the way in which meaning is held within the properties of a material. Coming from a background in sculpture I have found clay a profound paradox, it is both sculptural and painterly, it is pliable but full of resistance, it slumps and collapses but is hard and resilient. These properties elucidate the human condition making clay the ideal material for portraits. This current series of portraits imagines a world where the skin is a leaky, permeable membrane, capable of undermining composure by writing our vulnerabilities on the flesh.

Green Man with Snake 2014 Ceramic

Smoking Shell 2012 Ceramic

Primrose 2013 Ceramic

Thorna 2014 Porcelain

Thornboy 2013 Porcelain

Self Portrait as a Partially Occupied Apartment Block
2014

What am I if not a series of open and closed doors, lounge rooms and sleep areas, drains and corridors? I unfold into the spaces of others, and they unfold into mine, some I know, and some I never want to know and yet refuse to be evicted. We are a compound but live in division.

There is always room for further occupants although they must be aware the rooms are pre-furnished in my own taste. I prefer a history of the future style; modules borrowed from Habitat 67, volcanic glazes from German ceramics.

Self portrait as a partially occupied apartment block 2014 Ceramic and steel stand

Vases2015

Earthenware 2014

Earthenware 2015

Earthenware and porcelain 2014

Porcelain 2012

Earthenware 2015

Porcelain 2015

Earthenware 2015

Porcelain 2015

Earthenware and porcelain 2015

Porcelain 2015

Weepers Wounded and Wonderers
2014

The works explore the tradition of Baroque figurative ceramics such as those produced by Meissen in Germany in the 18th and 19th century, a period which saw the emergence of figurative ceramics as a genre in its own right. The works attempt to be both of this time and another, pointing to the tension between symbols which endure over time and those specifically of our time. For example, “suffering saints” have continued to move us even in a climate of non-belief, while iconic images of people such as Martha Graham also endure.

Heads and Tales, Sarjeant Gallery 2015

Celeste (Tears of Blood) 2014 Ceramic

Bunny 2014 Ceramic, rabbit fur coat and blonde wig

Martha 2014 Ceramic

Bird Watcher 2014 Ceramic and glass eyes

Pink haired boy 2014 Ceramic

The Man who Smelt the Flowers 2014 Ceramic and glass eyes

Sebastian 2014 Ceramic

Girl with Golden Tears 2014 Ceramic

Snake Charmer 2014 Ceramic and glass eyes

Wilderton
2014

In the gallery space next to the window, du Chatenier shows a new body of work. Once again she uses the format of the narrative but rather than the filmic still of the window display, it is a world reduced to the scale of a table top diorama. Wilderton, is a populated landscape constructed of clay figurines of humans and animals, observation towers, tree stumps and automatic weapons. The surreal shifts in scale within the diorama suggest the story maps a psychological landscape. Wilderton is a place drawn from both our historical human anxieties, the bleak and terrifying expulsion from Eden perhaps comparable to the redundancies in our local economy, and the contemporary fantasies of empowerment we are fed through popular culture - a gun will avenge the injustices laid upon you. Glazed in various shades and textures of black many of the glazes have had an additive of silicon carbide which causes the glaze to bubble and crack disguising the form beneath and creating a scarred and melted effect.

Wilderton - City of Oil 2013 - 2014 Ceramic, old engine oil

Dog Attack on Unicorn 2013 - 2014 Ceramic

Lena 2013 - 2014 Ceramic

Life Raft 2013 - 2014 Ceramic

Pregnant Girl on Twin Headed Horse 2013 - 2014 Ceramic

Recreationalist 2013 - 2014 Ceramic

The Campaign 2013 - 2014 Ceramic

The Baby Tree 2013 - 2014 Ceramic

Wilderton on White 2013 - 2014 Ceramic

Momentos
2013 - 2015

After Pierre Cardin (1960s) 2013 Ceramic

Audrey-Moon Girl series 2016 Porcelain

Galaxy Girls 2015

Marianne-Moon Girl series 2016 Porcelain

Moon Girl series 2016 Porcelain

The Players 2014 Ceramic

Chain of Being
2011

Chain of Being, Hastings City Gallery 2011

Kirks Girls 2000, Chain of Being, Hastings City Gallery 2011

Denizens of the Deep
2010 - 2012

The figures in Denizens are post-industrial hybrids of flotsam and jetsam; barnacles and polystyrene. Influenced by the Baroque works of Arcimboldo it is unclear whether they are creatures from the evolutionary swamp or science-fiction mutants. The work borrows from the sculptural tradition of the portrait-bust to animate materials and suggest an internalized psychological space behind a crusty exterior. While the works are theatrical, and take pleasure in surface ornamentation, they are also emotionally charged with watery associations of sinking, floating and emerging from our evolutionary swamp.

Dark haired youth with snail lips 2012 Shell, polystyrene, glass eyes, wig, steel stand

Balding Barnicle Man 2011 Shell, polystyrene, glass eyes, wig, steel stand

Snail girl with human-hair 2011 Shell, polystyrene, glass eyes, wig, steel stand

Deep-Sea Punk 2011 Shell, polystyrene, glass eyes, wig, steel stand

Little Sea-egg and Cockle Girl 2011 Shell, polystyrene, glass eyes, wig, steel stand

Fang 2010 Shell, polystyrene, glass eyes, wig, steel stand

Horatio 2011 Shell, polystyrene, glass eyes, wig, steel stand

Shell Boy with Violet Eyes 2011 Shell, polystyrene, glass eyes, wig, steel stand

Sad-eyed Oyster Man 2010 Shell, polystyrene, glass eyes, wig, steel stand

Miss Cockle 2010 Shell, polystyrene, glass eyes, wig, steel stand

Lady from Atlantis (with deep tan) 2011 Shell, polystyrene, glass eyes, wig, steel stand

Denizens of the Deep - Photos
2010 - 2012

The figures in Denizens are post-industrial hybrids of flotsam and jetsam; barnacles and polystyrene. Influenced by the Baroque works of Arcimboldo it is unclear whether they are creatures from the evolutionary swamp or science-fiction mutants. The work borrows from the sculptural tradition of the portrait-bust to animate materials and suggest an internalized psychological space behind a crusty exterior. While the works are theatrical, and take pleasure in surface ornamentation, they are also emotionally charged with watery associations of sinking, floating and emerging from our evolutionary swamp.

Denizens of the Deep -Whanganui River, 2012 2012 Digital Print

Denizens of the Deep -Lake WiritoaLake Wiritoa 2011 Digital Print

Denizens of the Deep -Bason Botanic Gardens 2012 Digital Print

Denizens of the Deep -Anthenree, Waihi Beach 2010 Digital Print

Denizens of the Deep -Whanganui River 2012 Digital Print

Denizens of the Deep -Bason Botanic Gardens 2012 Digital Print

Denizens of the Deep -Anthenree, Waihi Beach 2010 Digital Print

Denizens of the Deep -Whanganui River 2012 Digital Print

Shell Figures
2011 - 2012

Savage Habour 2011 Fibreglass, polystyrene, model ship, mirror

Waterspeaker 2011 Steel stand, mirror, taxidermied penguin, glass eyes, rock

Rock Star 2012 Nylon Wig, artificial fish eyes, mirror

Trauma
2013

The work responds to the growth of a lump on my forehead. I am both attracted to and repulsed by this growth. The lump has given me the opportunity to reflect on the surface skin creates- a clear boundary between the interior and exterior self. The rupture this lump created reveals the expectation of the body as a smooth and regular container reflecting smooth and regular thoughts and emotions within.

Slash 2013 Ceramic

Lump Trauma 2013 Ceramic

Lumpen 2013 Ceramic

Bulging Lump 2013 Ceramic

Tree Boy
2014

Tree Boy 2014 Ceramic and porcelain

Weeping Men
2013

My first series of portraits in clay attempted to express the easiest of emotions; sorrow. Given the tears of woman have been well documented by male artists, I gave weeping men a go. And why should men weep? When sea-birds lie dying on the beaches covered in crude oil from deep sea drilling and container spillages, men should weep.

Weeping Man (Blue) 2013

Weeping Man (Green and Pink) 2013

Weeping Man (Pink and Blue) 2013

Blue Mother Green Mother
2008

Green Mother 2008 Polystyrene, clay, velvet, globe

Blue Mother 2008 Polystyrene, clay, velvet, globe

Boneheads
2011

Man of Bone 2011 Sheep, goat

Man of Bone 2011 Sheep, pig, goat

Man of Blood and Bone 2011 Animal bone, epoxy resin, steel stand

Woman of Bone with Black Wig 2011 Animal bone, nylon wig

Woman of Bone with Hair Collar 2011 Animal bone, nylon wig

Woman of Bone of Gold and Bone 2012 Animal bone, gold(from wedding ring purchased on TradeMe)

detail of Woman of Bone of Gold and Bone 2012 Animal bone, gold(from wedding ring purchased on TradeMe)

Earth Seed
2009

Brown Bird 2009 Polystyrene, wood, paint, wax, taxidermied birds

Daffnie 2009 Polystyrene, chiffon, wood, steel, paint, wax, taxidermied birds, plastic

European Primitive with Jimmy Choo 2009 Flocked polystyrene, shoes, mirror

Pearl 2009 Polystyrene, glass eyes, cigarette, paint, wax, mirror, glass,synthetic hair

Crushed Petals series - SAL 2009 Polystyrene, glass eyes, steel

Crushed Petals series - Andre 2009 Polystyrene, glass eyes, steel

Crushed Petals series - MAX 2009 Polystyrene, glass eyes, steel

Trickster 2009 Polystyrene, paint, wax, satin, resin, wool, human hair

Goldenage
2010

detail J'adore (with Snakeskin Heels) 2010

Golden Primitive in Louboutin 2010 Christian Louboutin Petal shoes , Polystyrene, glitter, acrylic hair, flocking and butterfly

Golden Rooster in Cavalli Knock-offs 2010 Roberto Cavalli Serpent knock-offs, polystyrene, wax, flocking, acrylic hair, sequined top, rooster costume

detail Golden Rooster in Cavalli Knock-offs 2010 Roberto Cavalli Serpent knock-offs, polystyrene, wax, flocking, acrylic hair, sequined top, rooster costume

J'adore (with Snakeskin Heels) 2010 Armani snake-skin, high-heels, J'Adore perfume, polystyrene, wax, flocking, acrylic hair, pigeons, mirror, butterflies

detail J'adore (with Snakeskin Heels) 2010 Armani snake-skin, high-heels, J'Adore perfume, polystyrene, wax, flocking, acrylic hair, pigeons, mirror, butterflies

Venus in Choo 2010 Jimmy Choo Gold chain sandals, polystyrene, wax, mirror, butterflies, acrylic hair, watch, fake fingernails

J'adore (with Snakeskin Heels) 2010 Armani snake-skin, high-heels, J'Adore perfume, polystyrene, wax, flocking, acrylic hair, pigeons, mirror, butterflies