Octavia Cook is a dedicated mid-career maker who’s been a self-employed jeweller since 1999. Admired as a consummate maker who has developed a very distinctive practice which has explored jewellery’s own history and capacity to express notions of value. Cook is represented in leading national and international public collections including those of Te Papa, Auckland Museum, National Gallery of Victoria and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts.

Korean-born Steven Junil Park operates under the label 6 x 4 and makes clothing as well as shoes, jewellery and objects, all of which are made from second hand materials. He says “I think of making as a conversation between maker and material. I am drawn to making functional objects as they seem to hold secrets as to what it means to be human.” Trustees were impressed by “his relentless commitment to demonstrating the contemporary relevance of the handmade.“

Annually, Blumhardt Foundation trustees present Gifts to encourage an establishing artist and a mid-career artist whose craft/object practices are outstanding and have garnered the admiration and respect of peers, sector leaders and institutions.

The announcement was made by Foundation Chair Philip Clarke at Objectspace, Auckland where the major survey exhibition Cook & Company: Octavia Cook is currently on display. Serendipitously Steven Park is a contributor. Clarke said “Octavia and Steven have very different practices, but trustees discerned in both a fastidious commitment to exploring materiality that address relationships and wider cultural conversations. It is the combination of these attributes that rendered their work outstanding.”

Octavia Cook says “the support of the Blumhardt Foundation is a beacon of positivity for Aotearoa New Zealand craft/object makers. Dame Doreen's Gift comes as I conclude work on a survey show that was 18 months in the making. This acknowledgement gives me renewed purpose to take into the workshop and the means to pursue fresh ideas and materials for my next body of work.” For Steven Park “It’s very heart-warming to have this recognition of my work as I've often felt outside of many fields. Having this support will allow me to focus solely on the shows I have coming up this year. I want to be ambitious and expansive with and this gift will allow me to do so.”

The Blumhardt Foundation was established by notable potter and arts advocate the late Dame Doreen Blumhardt to advance the craft/object sector.

Learn more about the Blumhardt Foundation and Dame Doreen's Gift here.

IMAGES:

Octavia Cook: Image by Phoebe McKenzie.
Steven Junil Park, photo courtesy of the artist.
Steven Junil Park, Patchworked durumagi coat with hand sewn quilting made from scraps of repurposed wool. Fully lined with repurposed cotton.
Octavia Cook, R, Rock brooch, 2022. Photo: Sam Hartnett.