Bronwynne Cornish

Cornucopia

Bronwynne Cornish

I’ve known Bronwynne since the late 1970s.  In 1978 we were included in Four Approaches to Ceramics with Rosemarie Brittain (now McClay) and John Parker at Peter Webb Galleries in Auckland.

In 1981 I bought Corona Corona, the typewriter she made as part of an exhibition at Albany Village Pottery, where everything was displayed in aquaria, complete with fish.  It’s now part of my New Zealand historical collection and one of my earliest major ceramic purchases.

In 1988 we were 2 of 13 participants in the first (and only) New Zealand Ceramics Symposium in Dunedin.  The participants spent three weeks together working intensively, getting to know each other and discussing ceramics, the meaning of life and everything in between.  That time together created a group of potters with long lasting friendships.

For many years Bronwynne has been, and continues to be, a very individual personality on the studio ceramics scene.  She has worked on sculptures and installations incorporating anything from frogs to household objects, temples and figures, many referencing historical imagery and ancient cultures, but all expressed in her highly personal way.

Now it’s my pleasure to present an exhibition of Bronwynne’s work, which she has curated for Quartz.  Her work has been iconic from the 1970s through to today and I’m grateful to her for assembling such a wonderful collection.

Rick Rudd
2017