Avarion Delights by Bill Hayes

Avarion Delights

Avarion Delights is a remarkable selection of Bill Hayes’ hand-built ceramic works — each one a unique expression of imagination and form.

Though well known for his large-scale bronze commissions across New Zealand, Bill Hayes has long been captivated by clay. “I’ve been creating with clay since the late 1970s and still it captures my imagination. My first piece was a bird cup — and birds have infiltrated my imagination ever since.”

Bill’s ceramic pieces are playful and poetic, often featuring imagined bird forms and natural motifs inspired by Aotearoa’s landscapes and wildlife. All works are hand-built and fired to cone six (1120°C), using a mix of homemade and commercial glazes. These glazes make the ceramics suitable for display both indoors and outdoors. “They won’t fade or shed for thousands of years,” says Bill. “That’s why so much human history is based on ceramic remnants — they survive.”

And so does Bill’s creative energy. Originally from New York, where he trained at Alfred University and worked at the famed Tallix Foundry alongside artists like Roy Lichtenstein and Frank Stella, Bill moved to New Zealand in 1997. His bronze works — including Auckland’s public Pelagic Chevron and a sculptural sextant in Hahei — have earned him a lasting reputation. Yet it is ceramics that remain closest to his heart.

“I only make one-of-a-kind pieces … Even in a series, each one has its own character.” That character, shaped by fire, form and an artist’s lifelong curiosity, shines in Avarion Delights.