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Mirek Smíšek

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Miroslav Smíšek
OBE
Smíšek examining a pot, January 1973
Smíšek examining a pot, January 1973
Born(1925-02-02)February 2, 1925
Bohemia, Czechoslovakia
Died19 May 2013(2013-05-19) (aged 88)
Wellington, New Zealand
Known forPottery
PartnerPamella Annsouth
AwardsGratis Agit Award (2011)

Miroslav Smíšek OBE (2 February 1925 – 19 May 2013) was a Czechoslovakian-born New Zealand potter. After fleeing the Czech coup and eventually arriving in New Zealand he started work for Crown Lynn and later established his own pottery. His two pottery kilns in Te Horo are scheduled as a category 2 historic place by Heritage New Zealand

Biography

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Smíšek was born in the Bohemia region of Czechoslovakia in 1925.[1] After spending most of World War II in labour camps due to his efforts in the anti-Nazi resistance movement, he fled Europe in 1948 after the Czech coup.[2] He emigrated first to Australia, and then to New Zealand in 1951,[1] and became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in 1955.[3]

He worked for the Crown Lynn pottery in Auckland where he created the "Bohemia Ware" line in manganese slip glaze, before moving to Nelson in 1952.[1] There he worked at the Nelson Brick and Pipe Company, where he learned the technique of salt glazing. He left in 1957 and became New Zealand's first full-time studio potter. He also taught pottery at the Nelson Technical School (at the time part of Nelson College) and night classes at Waimea College.[4] In 1962 he went to Japan and studied at Kyoto University.[5] In 1963 he went to St Ives in England and studied under Bernard Leach.[5] In 1968 he moved to the Kāpiti Coast, where he established three potteries.[6] He purchased a property in Te Horo to establish a pottery work.[7][8] Potter Pamella Annsouth became his partner in 1979 and remained with him until his death.[9]

He worked extensively for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, making about 700 earthenware items for the three films.[2] Frequently he had to make two or three of each piece in different sizes to allow them to be used by the hobbits, humans and giants.[10]

In the 1990 Queen's Birthday Honours, Smíšek was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to pottery.[11] He received the Gratis Agit award from the Czech government in 2011 for promoting the Czech Republic overseas.[2]

Smíšek died in Wellington in 2013.[6][2]

At the time of his death, a retrospective exhibition "60 Years 60 Pots" was touring New Zealand.[12][13][14][15] A number of his pieces are held in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.[16]

In 2020–2021, the two beehive kilns that Smíšek had built and used for some 40 years were directly in the path of the new Peka Peka to Otaki (PP2Ō) Expressway. The New Zealand Transport Agency agreed to preserve the kilns and carefully moved them to a nearby location. The kilns were dismantled and reassembled brick by brick 20 metres east of where they originally lay.[17][7] This dismantling resulted in the kilns no longer being functional.[8] The move and refurbishment has been documented by local artist Elisabeth Vullings.[18] The Mirek Smisek Arts Trust is now developing plans to build an arts centre centred on the relocated kilns.[19]

Beehive Kilns

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One of the kilns in 1973

Smíšek's two beehive kilns in Te Horo are registered as a category 2 historic place by Heritage New Zealand. Also included is an 1880s shed and part of the Te Horo railway station that served as part of the pottery works.[7]

The kilns were built by Smíšek in 1970 and 1971.[8] The kilns are 2.25 m (7 ft 5 in) high internally, are located on a circular concrete base, have an opening with a voussoir. A brick flue connected the two at one point.[7] Their capacity is c. 4.2 m3 (150 cu ft). The kilns are made out of approximately 4,000 bricks and had to be individually altered to form the kiln.[8]

The shed is painted red and was relocated by Smíšek.[7]

Further sources

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Mirek Smisek 1925 -2013". Ceramic Arts Association of Western Australia Inc. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d "Czech-born New Zealand artist Mirek Smíšek dies at 88". Prague Monitor. 22 May 2013. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  3. ^ "New Zealand, naturalisations, 1843–1968". Ancestry.com Operations. 2010. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  4. ^ Howells, Pip (22 October 2014). "Regional cultural life - Flourishing regional cultures, 1945 to 2000". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  5. ^ a b Cape, Peter (1969). Artists and craftsmen in New Zealand. Text and monochrome photographs. Steve Rumsey. Auckland [N.Z.]: Collins. ISBN 0-00-211039-3. OCLC 72026.
  6. ^ a b Ritchie, Judith (22 May 2013). "Pioneer's creative drive". Nelson Mail. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d e Watt, David (February 2024). Adrienne, Hannan (ed.). "A special legacy left on the Kapiti Coast". Heritage Quarterly. No. Summer 2023/2024. Heritage New Zealand. pp. 6–7. ISSN 2324-4267.
  8. ^ a b c d Williamson, Miranda. "Mirek Smíšek Beehive Kilns". Heritage New Zealand. Ministry for Culture & Heritage.
  9. ^ "Pioneer of NZ studio pottery inspired many". The Press. 1 June 2013. p. C16.
  10. ^ Love, Lee (23 February 2004). "Mashiko Pottery: Lord Of the Rings Pottery, by Mirek Smisek". Potters.blogspot.co.nz. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  11. ^ "No. 52174". The London Gazette. 16 June 1990. p. 30.
  12. ^ "Mirek Smíšek: 60 Years 60 Pots | New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts". Nzafa.com. 16 May 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  13. ^ "Mirek Smíšek: 60 Years 60 Pots | GEO::gallery education online". Sarjeant.org.nz. 23 February 2012. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  14. ^ "Mirek Smìšek: 60 Years 60 Pots - Puke Ariki Museum Libraries Tourist Information Taranaki New Zealand". Pukeariki.com. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  15. ^ "60 years / 60 pots". Marlboroughart.org.nz. Archived from the original on 6 February 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  16. ^ Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. "Smisek, Mirek - Collections Online - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa". Collections.tepapa.govt.nz. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  17. ^ "Historic kilns on the move as part of PP2Ō Expressway | Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency". www.nzta.govt.nz. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  18. ^ "The Kilns Project". Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  19. ^ Ewing, Lawrence (20 May 2021). "The Kilns at Te Horo : an update from The Mirek Smisek Arts Trust". Ceramics New Zealand. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
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