Neil Dawson and the Ornamental Fascination of Sculpture

One of the more prominent New Zealand sculptors is Neil Dawson; a metal-worker of natural geometries and ornamental modernity. Best known for many of his large-scaled monuments, Dawson first gained his artistic progress at the Canterbury University in 1970 where he received his Honorary Diploma of Fine Arts. His teachers; Tom Taylor and Eric Doudney were among some of the famous mentors that gave  Dawson his passion to succeed in the world of aesthetics. Despite a groundbreaking academic journey in Canterbury,  Dawson moved on to acquire a Graduate Diploma in Sculpture  from the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne during the latter 70's period.

Dawson is very fond of using techniques that imply some sort of illusion methodology. His wall-hanging and free standing sculptures are often observed to be done with optical patterns such as Moiré. He prefers gaining subject-inspiration from everyday patterned items such as a deck of playing cards and crockery work. Some of Dawson's best works include The Chalice, a huge inverted cone-shaped structure in Cathedral Square, Christchurch (his birthplace), and the Globe, a large scaled sculpture based in Pompidou Centre, Paris. He taught drawing and design classes at Christchurch Polytechnic and was also awarded with the Arts Laureate by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand in 2003.