Clay + Ash

Wood fired ceramic art – methods, kilns, practitioners

The exhibition will be held in the Chartwell Gallery at ArtsPost, Hamilton, opening at 5.30 pm on 22 January and running until 18 February 2026.

This will be the second curated exhibition in New Zealand that focuses on the process and work from potters who use wood kilns as both the means of expression and a functional tool to fire their work.
The exhibition will show the diversity of work produced and also the variety of designs of wood fired kilns that potters throughout New Zealand have created. 
This resourcefulness of potters has forged a distinct culture in the ceramic community that relishes the dance with fire and the unpredictable nature of this elemental practice.

We last organised this exhibition in January and February 2023

We want to tell a new story with Clay + Ash this time, expanding the survey from just kiln owners taking part, to include potters who regularly fire in wood kilns as a main means of production, but don’t own the kiln. We feel this more accurately reflects the range of wood fired work being produced in Aotearoa

Artists taking part