Marita Hewitt

Marita Hewitt's practice is driven by the idea of a circular ideology, where personal, autobiographical content is utilised both physically and philosophically as a way to explore matters of human existence. 

After studying Visual Arts at the Auckland University of Technology, (majoring in printmaking) and attending international residencies at the Vermont Studio Centre, USA, and Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China, Marita now has her studio in the Bay of Islands. She has an inclination towards regular change in studio which has led her to experiment with a range of materials; sculptural ceramics, handmade papers, watercolour, textiles, collage and, most recently, oil paint. Hewitt reinvents commonly found materials, honouring their history / whakapapa by upholding them as treasured objects, with important stories to tell. Marita's work reminds us that  there is beauty in the everyday, and that the simple objects closest to us are often rich with meaning and sentimentality. 

Clothing fragments, tea towels, old sheets, torn envelopes, packaging, curtains, receipts; have all featured as subjects in Hewitt's work. She has been described as having a lyrical awareness of temporality, producing and exhibiting as a means to capture daily life disappearing and reappearing. Bearing notions of time, sustainability, motherhood and craft, Hewitt's approach to making creates work of a richly observant, unique quality.

Hewitt has received major awards including 1st runner up in the Wallace Awards, 2013, and the People's Choice Award in the National Contemporary Art Awards in 2018. Her work is included in private and public collections throughout Aotearoa and abroad.