Sculpture by Nick Duval-Smith
“...it is the vast spaces of nature that perhaps provide us with the finest, the most respectful reminder of all that exceeds us. If we spend time in them, they may help us to accept more graciously the great unfathomable events that molest our lives and will inevitably return us to dust.” -Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel
About Nick
Nicholas Duval-Smith was born and educated in Ōtepoti (Dunedin). He studied at the Otago Polytechnic School of Fine Arts from 1988 to 1990, and again in 2007 and 2008, majoring in sculpture and jewellery. He now lives in Motueka, and his studio is at Frost and Fire, the Tasman gallery and workspace started by Darryl Frost.
Duval-Smith’s creative practice offers opportunities to relax and play with sculpture that moves and lasts. In terms of shapes, he searches for a meeting point between his love for natural form and for simplicity. He makes art that you can attach meaning to, and make your own stories with.
"As a young boy, one of my favourite places at home was in our dining room. It had a large window that gave an excellent view across Dunedin’s harbour to the hills on the North side, including Mt Cargill. My favourite viewing time was at dusk, when the hills would form this great dark mass as all the details faded and the horizon above them became sharper. I found this both beautiful and calming. Another thing I loved to do was explore the stream that ran through a gully not far from home, and look at old stones forested with lichens and moss, imagining them huge, with houses and people living there. Natural beauty and playing with scale: these are some of the things I want to invoke with my work."
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Education:
2008: Otago Polytechnic School of Fine Arts – Bachelor of Fine Arts (jewellery)
2007: Otago Polytechnic School of Fine Arts – Graduate Diploma of Fine Arts (jewellery)
1990: Otago Polytechnic School of Fine Arts – Diploma of Fine Arts (sculpture)
Duo Exhibition:
October 2021: Construct (Parker Gallery, Nelson)
Group Exhibitions:
2021: Mountains Red Gallery, Nelson
2016: Shapeshifter, Lower Hutt
2016: NZ Sculpture OnShore, Auckland
2006: ShapeShifter Frederic Wallis House, Lower Hutt
2005: 21 Peninsula Artists Community Gallery, Dunedin
2004: Garden Art Cleveland Living Arts Centre, Dunedin
2002: Gaudi in Barcelona at Grupo Batik, Spain
2002: Almost an Island, Broad Bay, Dunedin
2002: Festival of the Arts guest artist, Roxburgh
2002: Becroft Garden Women’s Refuge fundraising exhibition, Auckland
2002: Friends of Tibet Community Gallery, Dunedin
2000: Cleveland Art Awards, Cleveland Living Arts Centre, Dunedin
November 1999: Christmas Show, Renaissance Gallery, Dunedin
1998: Group exhibition, Everything Inc. Gallery, Dunedin
1997: Friends of Tibet, Community Gallery, Dunedin
1997: Graft, Botanical Gardens, Dunedin
1997: A Prospect of Flowers, Bond Street Galleries, Dunedin
December Watercolour, Arc Cafe, Dunedin
Solo Exhibitions:
2004: Now and Then, Artigiano, Auckland
2000: Inaugural, Sculpture Gallery, Moray Place, Dunedin
2000: The Picnic, Fringe Festival, Dunedin
1992: Wedding, No. 5 Gallery, Dunedin
1990: No. 5 Gallery, Dunedin
Commercial Commissions:
2004: Carved chocolate sculpture for Cadburys Midwinter Festival
2002: Made reproductions of Aztec sculptures for Cadbury World, Dunedin
2002: Made Community Award for TrustPower NZ
2001: large wall mounted relief and three freestanding pieces for Hope and Sons, funeral parlour, Dunedin
1997: Completed 2.5 tonne Oamaru Stone sculpture (Meeting Point) commissioned by the Dunedin City Council and sponsored by Ansett New Zealand for the 1997 Dunedin Festival
The studio
Nick is a resident artist at Frost and Fire Gallery in the Tasman region of the South Island.
If you’re ever in Motueka or Nelson, New Zealand, you are welcome to stop by the studio at 107 Harley Road, Tasman.
Give me a call first 021 0333574
