Paul Maseyk (b.1974) lives and works in New Plymouth, New Zealand. Working full-time as an artist since 1998, he makes highly decorated, complex ceramic work and paintings that are held in many public art galleries around New Zealand and internationally.
Maseyk is a distinct voice in contemporary ceramics in Aotearoa. While on the one hand his work speaks to the history of ceramics and ceramic techniques; the other hand determinedly raises a sly middle finger to conventionality as he navigates between ceramics, painting, and sculpture. Some works appear more as totems than vessels, their sheer size dwarfing and demanding attention. Others are like small obscure creatures, their gaping orifices punctuated with sharp teeth resembling the hopeful mouths of some tropical carnivorous plants. Even a classic Greek vase is transformed into something otherworldly with its odd proportions and appendages, and minutely detailed illustrations of animals, architecture, and anatomies.