Once a month we send out an e-newsletter, giving behind the scenes insight into the production of the magazine, sneak previews of upcoming issues as well as interactive features.Life as Art
Hawke’s Bay is more than wine country. Follow the art trail to discover some well-known names who find inspiration in the region’s sense of space, its big skies and sculpted hills.
Words: Polly Greeks Photographs: Tessa Chrisp
AT FIRST GLANCE the only thing standing between the land, sea and sky in Hawke’s Bay is a sense of space. It rises from the ankle-high villages that smatter the plains and stretches for miles in every direction, out across distant hills draped in threadbare brown velvet and far beyond the curling hook of coastline to where the ocean and sky press together in a long, flat seam. This is, of course, wine country and in early June the vineyards are flame-licked as autumn leaves blaze along the vines.
But the landscapes, the big skies and the climate are just as conducive to producing art as they are to growing grapes and the region is home to dozens of artists including Dick Frizzell, Para Matchett, David Trubridge and Martin Poppelwell. The Art Guide Hawke’s Bay lists more than 50 studios and galleries where theirs, and other locally produced art, can be viewed.
The region’s sense of space is a huge drawcard for internationally renowned furniture designer David Trubridge (below), who says it gives him freedom in which to explore his ideas and themes. “I love the lifestyle of Hawke’s Bay. One of the things I realized during my first time in Milan is it doesn’t matter where you are if you’ve got the ideas.”
Proof that his ideas have a place on the global scene can be found in the container-loads of furniture and light shades he ships off to various international destinations. He’s represented by Essenze in its Manhattan store, he’s just had a successful exhibition in Milan and he employs up to 15 staff to produce his exquisite plywood pieces.
David came to his quiet corner of Havelock North with his artist wife Linda and their sons in 1991, when he was made artist-in-residence at Hawke’s Bay Polytech (now EIT). Born in England, he trained as a naval architect but turned to furniture making upon graduation. He spent five years sailing the world with his family, making furniture in various ports, before coming ashore in the Bay of Islands in 1985. The fruits of David’s creative journey are scattered throughout his self-designed house and studio where interesting-looking chairs ask to be sat on, coloured shapes form a wavering frieze around the walls, models of installations and furniture line a shelf, jigsaw-like pieces of plywood wait to be assembled into a light shade and a half-finished coffin lies on the floor. “I’ve been commissioned to design an eco-coffin,” he explains.
Sustainability is a major focus of Trubridge’s designs, especially since 2004/2005 when he went to Antarctica under New Zealand’s Artists to Antarctica Programme. Since then he has travelled the world, lecturing on sustainable design. “We have to reassess the role of designers – it’s not about new products, it’s about redesigning for survival.” Drawing on the natural environment for his inspiration, David creates pieces that reflect both the intricate fragility and the strong, simple lines he sees around him.
Hawke’s Bay’s peace and quiet are major attractions for Napier-based Martin Poppelwell, whose outdoor potter’s wheel overlooks a leafy valley. In his basement, an assortment of pottery plates and jugs fills a table – part of his current project to make dinner sets, one of which will be exhibited at Nelson’s Suter Gallery later this year. “I’m making everything – plates, bowls, napkins, the whole kit and caboodle. I want to create a piece of domestic architecture.” Martin’s art is cheeky at times – a raised finger to conventions and boundaries with its sprawling, witty words, rough-style sketches and prints. Describing his work as “walking dialogue”, he shrugs off attempts to categorize his style. “I’m an artist. I just work on stuff.”
