Hawke's Bay artist Glen Colechin opens his first Hastings exhibition

Hawke's Bay artist Glen Colechin opens his first Hasting exhibition, All Creatures Great and Small, this week at the Hastings Community Arts Centre. Photo / Supplied

Hawke's Bay artist Glen Colechin opens his first Hasting exhibition, All Creatures Great and Small, this week at the Hastings Community Arts Centre.

All Creatures Great and Small reflects three years of Colechin's work since being made redundant during the first Covid lockdown, which pushed him to commit to pursuing a career in art full time.

The exhibition pieces inspire joy and delight in adults and children alike as they reflect nature itself as a spectacle of design.

Colechin's contemporary sculptures are made from recycled materials, offcuts from native timbers, recycled copper, and natural elements like stone and wood found on hikes along the coast in Hawke's Bay.

He says his inspiration for being connected to the natural world came from a move to Scotland as a child.

His dad is a painter and loves the outdoors. His childhood memories of hunting trips and bartering with the fisherman at the local dock, have given him much inspiration for his work.

As an adult he returned to his native Yorkshire and the golden triangle of West Yorkshire. Here he was further inspired by some of the sculpture greats who learned their craft in and around the area, including Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore.

"I want my sculptures to be a part of both the natural landscape and also bring a part of the people's lives or the landscape that I am working with, this could be a colour exploration or patterning in the work or even the shape of the work itself," Colechin said.

"My conversations with clients and observing the landscape gives me so much scope to work with ."

An interesting part of his background and journey towards working as an artist was spent as a refrigeration engineer doing 3D solid works design.

In that role he designed cabinetry units and the insides of these using copper and aluminium. He would take a design brief from a company and see the full manufacturing process through to finished product. This design and manufacturing process gave him a great overall understanding of working with materials and the process of design.

"I see shapes in materials and think how it will form part of a subject I want to create. Some things can take a year to manifest, but they all slot into place eventually. My studio is set up with my tools and materials, which function like instruments in an orchestra, and I'm the composer. The finished artwork is the musical symphony," he said.

Colechin describes himself as someone who is always learning and experimenting, particularly with colour and texture. He has used copper as his base and natural acids such as vinegar to produce a process called verdigris.

There will be a Floor Talks with Colechin on Friday at 1pm - a children-friendly discussion about the sculptures; and at 6pm - more suitable for adults with drinks and nibbles

All Creatures Great and Small runs from July 11-23 at the Hastings Community Arts Centre. Opening hours are Monday-Friday 9.30am–4pm, and Saturday 10-2pm.