Kerikeri artist Sue Hawker has won the prestigious Ranamok Glass Prize 2010, Australasia's biggest glass art prize.
Hawker's vibrant pate de verre piece called Too Much Is Never Enough was described by judge and international glass art expert Tina Oldknow as "a truly magnificent work" and "very Andy Warhol".
Ms Oldknow said the artist had used pate de verre in a way that had never been done before.
The artist said she created the piece as a recession blues-busting work. "There is too much doom and gloom. It's important to keep positive and the piece is deliberately bold, large and colourful," Hawker said.
Pate de verre is an exacting technique requiring meticulous work and often used to create fragile pieces. Hawker's piece, however, represents a departure from the usual style. "It's solid and substantial and pushes the boundaries of the technique - but this is exactly what our tutor challenged us to do when I was a student."
Winning the prestigious prize, valued at A$15,000, has led to a flurry of offers for the former NorthTec applied arts student. She has been offered two exhibitions in Sydney including a joint exhibition to coincide with the 2011 Ausglass Conference.
"The owner of the Glass Artists Gallery in Glebe, Sydney, and co-founder of the Ranamok Glass Prize, Maureen Cahill, has said that she would like to take my work to the Connect exhibition in London next year," Hawker said.
She is a visiting artist and mentor at NorthTec's Kerikeri campus.
"Winning the Ranamok Glass Prize is a huge boost, especially given the judges' comment that the piece would stand up anywhere in the world. It shows that we can foot it with anyone. For me personally, it allows me to continue with the work I love."
Hawker is the third New Zealand winner of the prize in the last four years.
A ceramic installation of hers and a pate de verre piece by Kerikeri artist Lee Brogan have made the finals for the annual Wallace Art Awards.
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