The art of animals

This clay sculpture by Dunedin artist Kylie Matheson is on display at Gallery De Novo as part of her exhibition, which opens tomorrow. Matheson has been an animal lover for as long as she can remember. But it was not until she discovered clay in 2011 that her twin passions of art and animals crossed paths, Matheson said in a statement. At that time, she found clay could be used to show texture and depth like that of animal fur and feathers. Having completed a diploma in ceramics at the Dunedin School of Art, Otago Polytechnic, Matheson now works as a fulltime artist in her Dunedin home studio.

Matheson is celebrating 20 years as an artist/ceramicist with an exhibition, titled "Almost Home", running from August 22-September 4 at Gallery De Novo, 101 Lower Stuart St.