Discovering John de Joux

- Blurb -

I met John de Joux when he first visited my gallery, Mazzola Jewellery & Gallery, at the north entrance to Featherston around 2012. John lived further west along Boundary Road, close to the foothills of the Remutaka range. By then John had retired from working in Martinborough's vineyards and would drop in most weekends. We would sit around and chat about whatever subject or issue was on his mind. This included art, the economy and very often the failure of people and society to live up to John's expectations of what made life worthwhile. The art of conversation was indeed dying in John's eyes. John had ceased doing any pottery by this stage and had no interest in pursuing it again. I did ask him one time to show me how to throw a pot on a manual potting wheel I had bought after he let me know someone else in Featherston had one or sale. Watching John throw a pot, it was obvious he had lost none of the skills of the craft. But John's interests had moved on by then to subjects as diverse as the tango, and architect Frank Gehry. John was a keen visitor to the South Wairarapa's local libraries as well as Upper Hutt Library, and he was a patron of local live music. Mostly John enjoyed meeting and talking to people. John was always very self-effacing about his pottery and never signed his works. But after he passed away in March 2020, I thought it would be good to hold an exhibition of the remaining work from his estate, followed by publishing this book. This would mean his work as a potter would not be forgotten and would hopefully encourage those who still have one or more of his pieces to recognise his work, re-appraise it and protect it. Hopefully this book, based on the exhibition 'Rediscovering John de Joux' which was held at Mazzola Jewellery & Gallery in February 2021, will acquaint the reader with both John and his pottery. David Famularo