Frank Carpay at Crown Lynn and beyond

Frank Carpay at Crown Lynn and beyond, curated by design historian Douglas Lloyd Jenkins, explores the history and emergence of modernism in New Zealand through an expose of Carpay's design career.

Carpay immigrated to New Zealand from Holland in 1953, bringing with him the radical ideas of European Modernism – formed during his time as head designer for Het Edele Ambacht in Holland and from a brief association with Picasso in Spain.

His arrival in New Zealand coincided with Crown Lynn Potteries' shift away from ‘imported china' to establish a contemporary design series within its domestic ceramic ware. Carpay was approached by Tom Clark, director of the firm. Clark's plan was to develop a body of innovative work for exhibition around the country at art societies and prestigious department stores. In 1953, Carpay began decorating blanks from the company's existing stockpile in a strong linear style, taking part in the travelling Roadshow promoting the new Crown Lynn Handwerk series. Sadly, while greeted with critical acclaim by critics and art aficionados, the Handwerk series did not find favour with the public. In 1956, Crown Lynn closed the department and let Carpay go.

Carpay went on to redefine his design career, developing a screenprinting business and designing fabrics for his Beachwear Design brand, turning to the post-war baby boom market. Keen to establish a sense of style, young New Zealand consumers embraced his designer range and fuelled Carpay's successful textile design venture.

The exhibition focuses on Carpay's work as a designer of ceramics at Crown Lynn and his later work as a textile designer through the 1960s and 1970s, and draws on the extensive collection of ceramics, textiles and drawings and prints gifted to the Hawke's Bay Museum by the artist's wife in 2000.

Exhibition number 729