Brent Hesselyn

Brent Hesselyn (5 December 1950 – 1 September 2002) was a New Zealand potter and sculptor who lived and worked in Indonesia.

Education

Brent Hesselyn was born at St George's Hospital in Christchurch, New Zealand to Esme and George (Bill) Hesselyn.[1] Hesselyn attended Greymouth High School in the late 1960s.[2] Yvonne Rust was the art teacher at the school and with the help of Barry Brickell, she established a pottery workshop in an old brewery near Greymouth.[3] Hesselyn, along with others, built a coal-fired kiln there.[4] He was accepted into Ilam School of Fine Arts in Christchurch in 1969 where he studied sculpture.[5]

Establishment of potteries in Indonesia

Hesselyn left Ilam and New Zealand in 1973 and went to Sydney where he lived with Theo Schoon in Coogee.[6] Schoon inspired Hesselyn to emigrate to Bali and establish a pottery workshop there.[7] He would go first to Darwin, then to Timor, and on to Bali.[8]

Arriving in Bali, Hesselyn pursued his interest in photography.[9] He met Kay It, a Balinese painter of Chinese descent, who was making decorative terracotta tiles and clay figures.[10] Hesselyn worked in the Tabanan Regency and visited Java to source equipment and materials so he could construct an oil-fired down-draft kiln in It's back yard.[11]

In 1975, Hesselyn assisted Anak Agung Nagurah Oka to establish the Jati Agung Pottery in Kapal.[12]

A wealthy hotel owner, Wija Waworuntu, who was interested in ceramic art and an art collector, became Hesselyn's patron.[13] Together, in 1976, they established Jenggala Keramik, which is a pottery studio producing home décor items, tableware and unique art pieces and is a leading manufacturer of ceramic ware in Indonesia.[14]

Schoon's return to Bali in 1977 further encouraged Hesselyn's interest in traditional Balinese design.[15]

Death and legacy

On 1 September 2002, Hesselyn went missing while diving off Nusa Lembongan.[16]

The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington in New Zealand holds a series of lecture notes and notebooks created by Hesselyn between November 1972 and April 1973 relating to Indonesian subject matter.[17] They also provide an insight into what Schoon was trying to achieve in his works in the 1970s.[17]

References

Bibliography

  • "An Exercise in Structural Composition.", The Press, vol. CX, no. 32441, p. 1, 30 October 1970, archived from the original on 3 February 2026, retrieved 3 February 2026 – via PapersPast
  • Evans, Vic (1994), "A Potter in Bali" (PDF), New Zealand Potter, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 6–7
  • Schoon, Theo (Autumn 1983), "The art of Njoman Suara" (PDF), New Zealand Potter, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 21–23, archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2026, retrieved 4 February 2026
  • Wood, Andrew Paul (2003). "Double vision : redressing Theo Schoon's absence from New Zealand art history". University of Canterbury. Art History. Archived from the original on 17 March 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2026.

Citations

  1. ^ "Births". The Press. Vol. LXXXVI, no. 26289. 7 December 1950. p. 1.
  2. ^ Evans 1994, p. 6.
  3. ^ Evans 1994, p. 6.
  4. ^ Evans 1994, p. 6.
  5. ^ Press 1970, p. 1.
  6. ^ Wood 2003, p. 146.
  7. ^ Wood 2003, p. 3.
  8. ^ Evans 1994, p. 6.
  9. ^ Evans 1994, p. 6.
  10. ^ Evans 1994, p. 6.
  11. ^ Evans 1994, p. 7.
  12. ^ Evans 1994, p. 7.
  13. ^ Schoon 1983, p. 23.
  14. ^ "Jenggala". Best of Indonesia. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  15. ^ Evans 1994, p. 6.
  16. ^ "Gentle Giant of the Art World Presumed Lost at Sea", Hello Bali Magazine, October 2002, archived from the original on 3 February 2026, retrieved 3 February 2026 – via Stranger in Paradise Blog
  17. ^ a b "Brent Hesselyn". Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
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