Anna Korver: Hard Feminine Stone

I first saw Anna at the 2012 Strand Sculpture symposium in Tauranga where she could be seen, muscles taut, surrounded by dust and noise shaping her latest work with a powerful electrical hand tool.

Anna, resolute,  totally immersed in her work and incognito behind protective googles and dust mask,  is very different in appearance to the sunny, relaxed person who answered my questions while relaxing after the symposium auction.

The symposium sculptors were having a well earned rest after six days of creative endeavour and reflecting on the marvellous waterfront venue and success of the Tauranga symposium. 

Sculptor Anna Korver begins shaping hard Maratoto stone into a work of art.

Originally from Nelson, Anna was taught to carve by her father from the age of four. From this early introduction and what continued to be a consuming artistic interest she went to the University of Canterbury to complete her BFA in sculpture.

She lived in Auckland for 7 years before relocating to Taranaki with her fiance and fellow artist Steve where they set up Korver Molloy Ltd.

In an exciting development the Korver Molloy gallery and studio will be opening in January 2013 at the old Ōkato cheese factory in Taranaki.

Anna now tutors for national and international students as well as at Te Kupenga Stone Sculpture Society in New Plymouth. In addition to many symposiums around New Zealand she has also sculpted at symposiums overseas . She exhibits widely and works on private and commercial commissions..

Anna's works are feminine in their identity and perspective. The creative ideas and feeling of her works invite intimacy and personal connection.

Sculpture by Anna Korver titled 'Form No.3.'  Photo by Ken Wright.

Anna describes her work as, "Forms that conceal complex concepts about feminine roles and the projection of the inner self through the outer form".

"They are often abstracted and minimalist, they challenge what is traditionally female and deconstruct the social power relationships within these roles.

"My current works are more tightly tied to the construction of industry and technology which is seen as a male domain compared to the traditionally feminine practice of hand crafts".

Anna is also a trustee on the board of Eco Artists New Zealand, a charitable trust that uses funds from the sales of art to help environmental projects, specifically focusing on native New Zealand species and their ecosystems.

You can see Anna Korver works on show at the newly opened Lightwave Gallery, 31 Tōtara Street, Mount Maunganui.

For more information visit  www.annakorver.co.nz / www.korvermolloy.com and contact Anna at anna@korvermolloy.com

by Pete Morris (January, 2013).

Pete Morris is an occasional painter and an art lover. He is a freelance writer who has a particular interest in promoting the visual arts in Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty.