RAY HAYDON
Ray Haydon Born: 1950, Auckland Lives: Auckland
He says “I have spent my whole life making things. I never tire of the challenge of developing tools, techniques and knowledge of materials. Experimenting is both fun and frustrating at times; I’m pushing the boundaries of what I currently know to be possible to create beautiful things. The transformation of raw material to fluid form demands complete absorption int the journey.”
His sculptures are a celebration of the medium, and the limits to which it can be extended or
pushed in a new interpretation of the serpentine line. Ray is constantly considering the unending
physical propositions that lay in wait within the materials. With the most unforgiving and difficult
media to work with, he bends, twists and forms works that show a fluidity of movement from the
most rigid beginnings.
Ray Haydon’s sculptures are a lifetime summation of his skills: literally, his accumulated material
knowledge and how differently such disparate materials behave, across a career history in boat building, jewellery, silverware, design and furniture construction. He works with Corten steel, stainless steel, bronze, carbon fibre, wood, timber veneer and pleather.
His depth of understanding of such a range of materials allows the ability to push these into new directions or circle back to a medium in new ways. Ray rarely uses sketches, working instead directly with his chosen medium, sometimes making maquettes for larger scale works.