Te Rongo Kirkwood was the first recipient of the NZG Glass Residency in June 2021. Kirkwood says “The residency provided an opportunity for me to draw on the traditional use of the hue as the foundation from which to create layers of meaning within the vessel form using the discipline of blown glass. It was such a pleasure to have the opportunity to begin to resolve these ideas & drawings I have had waiting for 10 years to be realised.”
Kirkwood is based in Auckland and has been working in glass for 15 years, regularly exhibiting within New Zealand and abroad. She is a three-time finalist in the prestigious Ranamok Glass Awards, and her work sits in the private collection of the Awards’ founder. Her work is held in public and private collections internationally.
New Zealand Glassworks would like to give special thanks to Creative New Zealand and GasNet for their support and to Michael Richardson for his patronage of the NZG Glass Residency.