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Karl Amundsen | Frances Atkins | Ande Barrett Heganm| Freda Brierley | Matthew Carter | Garry Currin | Jo Dalgety | Fiona Lee Graham | Heather Grouden | Campbell Hegan | Craig Humberstone | Lindsey Kirk | James Lawrence | John Lyall | Malcolm McAllister | Drew McRae | Ross Ritchie | Frances Rood | Merthyr Ruxton | Barry Ross Smith | Stuart Spackman | Margaret Sumich | Katie Theunissen | Rosemary Theunissen | Frank van Schaik | Sharon Vickers | Martin Ward
• 27 artists • ten sheets (A6, 105 x 148mm) of watercolour paper each • complete freedom to create whatever inspires them •
An eclectic group of up to 270 artworks from artists practicing in diverse disciplines and having fun with a small substrate. My 10 works for this exhibition are based upon 'found photos'.. That is, photographs that have at some point been discarded, were found (in garage sales or house lots) then uploaded onto the internet for a new life. The subjects are unknown and yet I find myself identifying with their slice of life portraits, posing for a future, set in the past. All works are 148 x 105mm and are mixed media on prepared watercolour paper.
Barry’s work explores the tension between humans’ exploitation and conservation of the environment. He used the new Galaxy S23 Ultra’s ground-breaking 200MP camera to capture unparalleled close-ups of his work, even capturing detail such as intricate brushwork, broken brush bristles, and surface texture. He then combined these images into the composite artworks which were used to create a series of unique artworks for each Samsung Studio around New Zealand.
For more information about this collaboration, see Projects | Samsung Studio Takeover: here
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Pretty Invaders
There is a quiet struggle going on in the creeks behind the factories, in the long grass of new suburbs, within the dissection of land for commercial and residential use, it is a battle for survival over increasingly limited resources. A displacement of our native wildlife for agriculture and suburban sprawl and as the world becomes smaller, the need for a home for each of us (animal as well as human) is becoming more intensified. Left unchecked and with enough resources, populations grow to fill a space and if they continue to expand, those resources become depleted, scarce and the lives of the inhabitants come under threat.
For more information about some of these works see Works in a Series | The Arrival: here
T.E.N.T
The inaugural edition of TENT featured live exhibitions across the country and also online, and took place from Thursday 4 – Sunday 7 November across New Zealand.
25+ galleries will present an off-site / pop-up exhibition, anywhere in Aotearoa New Zealand (but NOT in their own gallery space) – and at the same time, show the art online in specially created online viewing rooms.
The live exhibitions opened in the different locations across the country, from Friday 5 – Sunday 7 November, with an accompanying programme of special events, curated walks, chances to meet artists and more, which took place over the three days, where Alert Levels allowed.
Island Nation
Island Nation recalls the themes of western symbolist painting, alongside the techniques and drama of the 18C Romantic painters. This new series of paintings presents a variety of isolated islands with a range of familiar local habitations. In each painting the oceans, structures, mood and time of day all vary, they are a string of atomised islands in flux, connected by the oceans which encompass them and the relentless course of history.
These quiet islands evoke mystery with their ambiguous narrative content, allowing the mood and atmosphere – along with the objects and structures within them – to speak directly to the viewer. This effect is nostalgic and deeply familiar, while retaining a sense of enigma and other-worldliness. Each painting leaves evidence of human occupation without any sign of the individuals who might inhabit these spaces which is where the intrigue and mystery lies; allowing these works to be seen as metaphor for personal journey – creating a window-like view to an inner world – a place for self-reflection.
It is notable in some of these new works, large pendant like objects are being suspended into the paintings from beyond the frame. These flat and sometimes graphic objects, on one hand seem at odds with the scale and sensual painterly handling of oil in the scenes below – yet they also function symbiotically, as if to suggest these isolated group of islands are part of a much larger story.
James Brown
Foenander Gallery
Semi-colon
Following Mental Health Awareness Week – Föenander Galleries, with Unlimited Potential Real Estate hosted an offsite exhibition to raise funds for Lifeline Aotearoa. The exhibition talks to Mental Health and was centred on the brief: ‘Semicolon’. The semicolon is an opportunity for a story to continue rather than end.
It was inspired by Project Semicolon, this message has been transposed as a symbol in the mental health world defining itself as “dedicated to presenting hope and love for those who are struggling with mental illness, suicide, addiction and self-injury”, and “exists to encourage, love and inspire”
Over 40 artworks were exhibited from gallery artists and further afield. All gallery profit was donated to Lifeline Aotearoa’s mission to change and save lives.
My painting looks at an island as a metaphor for the individual - we may dream to own our own island; to be king of our own domain, but to be stranded in solitude upon a deserted isle is also an cliched tragedy, I enjoy this dichotomy as an internal duality of mind. We are free but bound by our own constraints of mind.
The letterbox signifies that the island is 'possessed' by someone and the pencil drawing of a house is what could be, a cottage with a view, a santuary and piece of mind. Achievable if you fully realise your potential.... your dreams and ambitions are a building that you yourself must construct.
Pocket Edition
One of the most anticipated shows on Northart’s busy annual calendar is the affordable small works exhibition, ‘Pocket Edition. Small Works for Large Walls’. This year 32 artists have been invited to variously paint or draw up to 10 pieces each in oil, acrylic, pastel, pencil, gouache, watercolour or ink, all on the same postcard-sized Hahnemühle paper. The format of the cash and carry show – covering a wide variety of styles and subjects – remains intact throughout, with sold pieces replaced with stencilled photocopies.
Participating artists are: Karl Amundsen, Michael Anderson, Frances Atkins, Martin Ball, Margaret Benn, Matthew Carter, Garry Currin, Sonja Drake, Shane Foley, Richard Higham, Craig Humberstone, Karen Jarvis, Lindsey Kirk, James Lawrence, Fiona Lee Graham, Malcolm McAllister, Salama McNamara, John Nicol, Jonathan Organ, Joon Hee Park, Jessica Pearless, Carole Prentice, Jeantine Pulsford, Ross Ritchie, Barry Ross Smith, Merthyr Ruxton, Frank van Schaik, Rosemary Theunissen, Sharon Vickers, Mark Whippy, Janelle Wills, Clare Young.
For the Birds
When I was a young boy I had an ordinary experience which profoundly influenced me. I participated in a father and son possum bust; a nighttime culling on a local farm to curb the invasive possum population. Each boy, with his father beside him and spotlighted by over a dozen torches and onlookers, had the opportunity of shooting a possum out of a tree. When my turn came, I raised the gun so that the possum was within my sights... I realised that I couldn’t pull the trigger, I instinctively knew that I’d gain no pleasure from killing this small furry creature, an act that seemed by the shining faces of those around me, was for fun. My long walk back to the car, with bonded families surrounding me, was full of shame (and also with some gratitude that my father didn’t comment upon my perceived shortcoming).
Since that early experience I have learnt and understood more of the issue of invasive introduced species decimating the indigenous native flora and fauna. The damage they inflict upon native leaves, flowers, leaf buds, fruit, eggs, birds, insects and snails. I learnt also of the quiet struggle for resources and the displacement of our native wildlife for agriculture and suburban sprawl. As the world becomes smaller, the need for a home for each one of us (animal as well as man) becomes intensified.
It is an uneven battle for survival for the native population and I have chosen a side.
The early experience and empathy felt for that lone possum illuminated far up in the branches of that tree, means that although I have taken sides against them, I take no pleasure in my service. The introduced animals which have been deemed ‘pest’ were brought here by your forefathers and mine. I joined a local community of dedicated people trying to even the battle, every few weeks I go out, check my traps and rebait the stations. It is a grim task but necessary one.
These paintings are about value and nurture, they are portraits of ambition, failure and ultimately hopefulness. Although the characters are mostly the endangered native birds of New Zealand, the scenarios aren't didactic, but rather are representations of a cast of characters striving to do better, to be better, to have more and to be more. Within the works are biblical struggles of balance and fragility, ideas of dislocation and migration - the balance between our need for development and growth and the birds same needs.
In some of the works, the depicted birds are literally migrating across the painted panel. They are depicted as moving away from the aesthetic of traditional oil painting and into the flat artificial plane of an acrylic painted blend. This mixture of media (Oil on flat plains of Acrylic) is a technique I implemented to signify the discord between the old to the new; the threat of loss from the real and organic into a dream state, a whimsy but also an aspiration for a better life.
Works on Paper
Northart’s highly anticipated annual Drawing and Works on Paper show brings together pieces by some of the gallery's most accomplished and senior artists, including Robert Ellis, Garry Currin, Ross Ritchie, Alistair Nisbet-Smith and John Nicol.
For more information about these works see Works in a Series | Landfall: here
Land's End
This latest series was born out of the artist’s visit to TiriTiri Matangi, a small island off of Auckland’s coast, the home of a wildlife sanctuary and a restoration project to save our native fauna. In the last 30 years, 100s of thousands of trees have been planted by volunteers and all predators have been removed. There have been 12 bird and reptile species translocated onto the island as well as the many different varieties that have made their own way there.
The trip inspired Smith to join the Pestfree 2050 project, a hands on project which involves walking through he bush laying traps — to eradicate all animals deemed pests.
Despite the artist’s commitment to protect these defenceless native species, Smith is torn in his undertaking saying “Possums and rabbits are simply struggling for their own existence and hold no responsibility for being relocated. All of these ‘pest’ animals were introduced by our ancestors, and they adapted quickly — to the detriment of the native birds, insects and fauna. Trying to balance the scales and put right the mistakes of descendants has lead me to create these images as ethical sounding boards. My attempt to convince myself that the killing of one species is validated, for the betterment of another species”These new paintings are described by the artist “as nostalgic visions of an imagined future, where we live in tranquility with our environment and the life surrounding us; yet the tide still rises. They are unashamedly of the Romantic movement, but in this instance I am employing romanticism as a weapon for environmentalism”. One painting in particular refers to time, (with a quirky nod to the 1960s classic movie Time Machine), it can be seen as a relentless forward motion, as today, in this time, we have a very real possibility of losing some species forever, but also of returning extinct native wildlife back to the land of the living.
Lands Edge portrays beautifully, the ideal of a precipice where we all perch, between the impenetrable forests and the endless ocean. There is wildlife here, birds and insects and marine-life, made strange by their size. But few birds have taken to the air, for there isn’t anywhere left to go. Most, like the solitary villas, are silent watchers — waiting for their restoration.
Pocket Edition
My Battlelines series began with a concern for the fate of our native species - that they are being decimated by predators introduced by our forefathers; the rabbit, possum, hedgehog and the rat.
By the year 2050 New Zealand has pledged to completely eradicate these animals that have been deemed ‘pest’.
This body of mostly small paintings (A6 postcard sized) represent individual, intimate portraits of single soldiers in a war far greater than themselves. I have attempted to remain impartial, but the titles of some of the small works (Radical Rat, Hoodlum Hedgehog, Hero Huia) reveal my loyalties.
The black and white images are of the fallen. Each an individual portrait making eye contact with the viewer, forever locked within the attributes of an old photograph. They have become mementos of a growing collection; extinct New Zealand native birds - there are, as yet, no extinct predators.
The technicolor paintings depict a landing party typically portrayed each week on the television show Star Trek. They all wear the red uniform of a security detail but have the heads of critically endangered native birds. Their fate is uncertain and their costume holds little hope for their survival without some form of intervention.
“The invasion of predators has reached a tipping point and most of our native birds are at risk, most tragically, the kiwi. If we can lift the scale of predator control to regional landscapes, including communities where people live, which has not been done before, we can win the war.”
Sir Rob Fenwick 2016
For more information about these works see: Works in a Series | The Battlelines Series here
Works on Paper
Northart’s highly anticipated annual Drawing and Works on Paper show brings together pieces by some of the gallery's most accomplished and senior artists, including Robert Ellis, Garry Currin, Ross Ritchie, Alistair Nisbet-Smith and John Nicol.
Archipelago
we are islands in a sea There is a saying; you can’t enter the same river twice because new water is always flowing. You could also ask, what makes an island, an island? Is it the vast expanse of ocean that surrounds it, its location next to a larger continent or the land itself protruding above the tide-line? The ocean that surrounds us has currents that emcompase the entire globe, and all of the land and islands that we can see and inhabit, are connected by the earth itself, the earth beneath our feet.
This series presents a variety of isolated islands, surveying a range of wild and domestic habitations. In each painting the oceans differ - the sky, the environment, the inhabitants, the time of day - all vary. They are a string of islands in flux; connected by change, demand and the relentless course of history and culture. The paintings can be viewed as theatrical tableau, reflective spaces, which high- light mankind’s communion with land, beast and the encompassing ocean.
Estranged
An exhibition at Depot Artspace with a group of recent MFA graduates with each bringing their own interpretation to the word "Estranged"
My meditation on the show title was to consider how removed we are from anything not immediately within our consciousness. Once I throw something away, discarded into the trash, it makes its way to a landfill or the ocean and becomes invisible to me. I sometimes seem to be living as if unaware, separate and above other life forms - unthinking of the impact my privileged life is having upon my surroundings and the wildlife that shares this planet with me. The ocean, once considered vast and unending is becoming choked with human rubbish. I decided to fabricate an oversized Orange Roughy fish from Auckland Council plastic rubbish bags (60 litre orange bags). And to bring this sculpture to life by incorporating movement with a fan inside it as a bellows to inflate it and create the effect of breathing (please excuse the Tui song in the background of the video)
For more information about this project see Projects | Estranged: here
Some of the other works from the exhibition
Pocket Edition
My Battlelines series began with a concern for the fate of our native species - that they are being decimated by predators introduced by our forefathers; the rabbit, possum, hedgehog and the rat.
By the year 2050 New Zealand has pledged to completely eradicate these animals that have been deemed ‘pest’.
This body of small paintings (A6 postcard sized) represent two sides, predator and prey, as anthropomorphic soldiers in the battle for survival on New Zealand's shores, forests and undulating lands
Artist's Self Portraits - Northart
A select exhibition of artists with their self portraits. Artists included were: Jerome Rodil, Margaret Benn, Ross Ritchie, Fiona Lee Graham, Helen Pollock, Ian Moore, Matthew Carter and Sián Davis.
My two works are 100 pieces of Me, where I cut a photograph into 100 sections and they reproduced each section as a small abstract each day, for 100 days consecutively. You can view the process as well as use a scroll button to compile the images as there were fabricated at Projects | 100 Days Project: here
The other is a paint by numbers with the numbers replaced by artist's that have inspired me. It is titled: The Master's Apprentice
Images supplied by Artsdiary, for more information see here
Listed here are selected exhibitions with the artworks associated with that show. Select the title to see more information and images for each exhibition, there are also links for further reading.
