About us
Frost and Fire Gallery is the home and workspace of Nelson potter and sculptor, Darryl Frost.
Darryl’s work is a tactile and intuitive response to his surroundings — a homage to the interplay of the elements.
When his pieces are unveiled from the wood kiln, the true beauty of his mahi is revealed: altered and distorted,
the raw materials shaped by man and fire.
The Gallery & KILNS
Frost and Fire Gallery is set within Darryl Frost’s working studio in Tasman. The space includes both exhibition areas and an active workshop,
where new work is constantly being crafted and fired.
Darryl works with his two wood-fired kilns, a small Anagama and a fast-fire wood kiln, both central to his practice and the distinctive surfaces seen
in his ceramics. The firing process is a major part of the work itself, shaping each piece through ash and flame.
Alongside his own practice, Darryl is passionate about sharing his knowledge of wood firing with the next generation of artists. He regularly teaches and mentors students, passing on the skills, patience and understanding required to work with these demanding but rewarding processes.
Darryl Frost’s story
Darryl has been a full-time potter and sculptor since the late 1980s. He grew up in Leigh and travelled to Nelson to study at NMIT in 1989, majoring in ceramics. Since then, he has worked continuously as a sculptor and potter.
His distinctive Anagama wood-firing style has earned both national and international recognition, along with several awards, including a Diploma of Honour from Korea. Alongside his ceramic practice, he has pursued a passion for large-scale multimedia sculpture, with works held in public and private collections throughout New Zealand, including the Wallace Arts Trust.
“For over three decades the process of wood firing ceramics has been the creative touchstone that changed the course of my life. This blending of both historical references and contemporary intellectual values has galvanised the work and my aesthetic vision.
It is an arcane process; a collaborative vision that stirs up elusive and poetic forms through tactile, intuitive inflections and the kilns subtle, broad colour palette.
Artistically, I focus on framing the unpredictable intent on capturing gesture in form; melding abstract expressionist values with Ashen Glazed surfaces to communicate the mysterious sensibilities of nature on fire.”
Nicholas Duval-smith’s story - Resident Artist
Nicholas was once a Dunedin artist now based in Motueka. He works at Frost and Fire sculpting beautiful Oamaru stone for his amazing bronze castings which can be found throughout New Zealand.
“Born in Dunedin in 1969, I was taught to see and enjoy beauty by my parents. They encouraged me by providing me with paints, and I was also shown how to draw and paint by my grandmother, Ruth Duval-Smith. She was an accomplished watercolour painter (the Hocken Library in Dunedin, New Zealand has a work of hers in the archive).
The theme I have constantly returned to is my relationships with the people I love, my relationship with my physical world, and with my internal world; with my memories, my thoughts, my feelings and my dreams. My aim is self exploration and realisation; the opening and blossoming and fulfilling of my fundamental self.”
Check out Nicholas’ current work here.
