Alan Chris Preston (born 1941) is a New Zealand jeweller. His work has been exhibited widely in New Zealand and internationally, and is held in major public collections in New Zealand.

Early life

Born in

Te Awamutu Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato, Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipā District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it. Te Awamutu is located some south ...

in 1941, Preston completed a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in psychology at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

in 1967, and took jewellery classes at the Camden Institute, London, in 1973.

Fingers gallery

In 1974, after a stint as a guest artist at Brown's Mill Market, New Zealand's first craft co-operative, in Auckland, Preston approached jewellers Ruth Baird, Roy Mason, Margaret Philips and Michael Ayling to open a jewellery shop called

Fingers A finger is a prominent digit on the forelimbs of most tetrapod vertebrate animals, especially those with prehensile extremities (i.e. hands) such as humans and other primates. Most tetrapods have five digits (pentadactyly), Chambers 1998 p. 60 ...

on Auckland's Lorne Street. Fingers, which moved to Kitchener Street, its current location, in 1987, is now New Zealand's longest-running contemporary jewellery gallery.

Career and style

After a 1979 trip to

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

, Preston began to incorporate forms and materials from Pacific adornment, including the use of shell, coconut shell and fibre, into his work. In 1983, Preston and fellow jeweller Warwick Freeman were asked by James Mack, then director of The Dowse Art Museum, to select items from Auckland Museum's collection for a 1984 exhibition at The Dowse titled ''Pacific Adornment''. Preston was one of twelve jewellers selected for the landmark 1988 Bone Stone Shell exhibition, developed by the Craft Council of New Zealand for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

, that was shown in Asia, Australia and New Zealand. The exhibition was restaged at the

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa ( Māori for ' the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand ...

in 2013. Preston's work has been shown widely in New Zealand and internationally, including solo exhibitions at the Dowse Art Museum in 2007, the

Auckland War Memorial Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum (), also known as Auckland Museum, is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory ...

in 2009, and inclusion in the touring exhibition ''Wunderrūma: New Zealand Jewellery'' in 2014.

Recognition

Preston's work is held in many public collections including The Dowse Art Museum, the

and

References

External links

Interview with Jeweller Alan Preston
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa * Damian Skinner,
Between Tides: jewellery by Alan Preston
'' Auckland: Godwit, 2008. . * Damian Skinner ''Pocket Guide to New Zealand Jewelry'', San Francisco: Velvet Da Vinci Gallery, and The Society of Arts and Craft, Boston, MA, 2010. * The Dowse Art Museum; Eléna Gee
'Open Heart: Contemporary New Zealand Jewellery'
November 1993. * The Dowse Art Museum; Kobi Bosshard
The Second New Zealand Jewellery Biennial: Same But Different
1996. * The Dowse Art Museum
Richard Bell, The Third New Zealand Jewellery Biennial: Turangawaewae: A Public Outing
1998. * New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Bone Stone Shell: New Jewellery New Zealand
Wellington, 1988. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, Alan 1941 births New Zealand jewellers Living people People from Te Awamutu University of Canterbury alumni