Richard Penn is a South African artist living and working in Auckland, Aotearoa.
He works across various media, including painting, drawing, sculpture and animation, exploring the relationship between visual and conceptual abstraction. His work examines the intersection of scientific and artistic vision, using scale and detail as metaphoric devices to reflect on the invested positions of the viewer.
More recently Richard has worked exclusively with clay and ceramics and in 2022 he was the recipient of The Premier NZ Portage Ceramic Award
In this episode we discuss his upcoming exhibition in May at Public Record and a fascinating collaborative exhibition he is curating at Depot Artspace in October, his journey from SA to NZ and how he has found his community here, what he gained from various residencies around the world and how he pivoted to clay when he came to Aotearoa.
And we meet the glorious Artu Peatoo, a collaborative persona between Richard and his wife Robyn Penn, who is also an artist.
Premier Portage Award - Artefacts
Image credit: Haru Sameshima
Derelict Series
Image credit: Marco Hidalgo
Noise 6
Noise 23
Ones and Zeroes 18
Life
Mahoe Series
Foam1 Detail
Foam3
Microcosm 2 detail
ARTU PEATOO
Butch
1.The Legend of the Dancing Bear
2.While Waiting for her to heat, I should also try to Wiggle
The Voyeur Email
Fish and Bird
That Waffle is Hot!
Auckland Studio Potters