Richard Naylor

Yorkshire-born potter Richard Naylor spent a large part of his life living and working in Asia before settling in New Zealand. He now works from his home studio in the Waitakere Forest, just outside Auckland. Naylor produces much of his work on the wheel, though for larger pieces he also uses coiling as a way to build form.

Naylor draws inspiration from his travels, the forest and beaches that now form a backdrop to his life, along with the harsh Pennine landscapes of his childhood. He exhibits a fascination with pure forms derived from an interest in modernism, but also likes to introduce a notion of handmade rustic surface treatments through texture, alteration, slips or through naked clay. Repeated patterns are often used to create texture over a surface that is often extremely tactile, and forms vary from the clean lines of modernism to weather-beaten, fully-bodied grittiness. This reflects his interest in the landscapes that surround us, the regularity and patterns in nature and the chaotic, haphazard forces that break down that purity, distress it and create new landscapes.

Naylor's training in pottery began in Japan. These early Japanese pottery teachers were highly influential, it was here that he developed an interest in simple and pure shapes with a somewhat 'sparse' feeling. He came to sign his work in Japanese as a nod to this period of training and continues to do so today. Naylor continued his education at Auckland Studio Potters under the guidance of Peter Lange and Renton Murray before becoming a member of Titirangi Potters. He also furthered his experience through a residency in a pottery village in the Himalayas.

Naylor exhibits his work in galleries throughout New Zealand and his works can be found in public and private collections predominately in New Zealand. Naylor has also completed a number of ongoing private commissions to create fine art serveware for restaurants, including Auckland's Sidart, Gerome, Cassia and Welcome Eatery, and La Condesa in Paris.