Still life: “It has been said that a truly engaged painting practice is one that is involved in the attempt to describe the world as one finds it.
During the isolation and contemplation of lockdown I found myself drawn to the genre of Still life, with the pull and push of gesture and freedom just out of reach.
Still life is a centuries old tradition and as I make my pictures, I am aware that I see through prisms of pre-existing images. Close observation and solidarity of the objects co-exist with loose abstraction of swirls of paint living alongside.
Possibly there is something within me that is resisting the slow evocation of domestic detail and is yearning for a more expansive flourish of uninhibited creation. That containment with a hint of drama is what interests me.”
Landscape: Using vivid colours and gestural techniques influenced by post-impressionists such as Bonnard and Matisse, as well as strong abstract elements from artists like Rauschenberg and Diebenkorn. She is inspired by the local scenery and stories, artists and memories from the past and future. Sally works almost exclusively in oils, with key themes exploring our relationship with memory and the environment, balancing figuration with the abstract.
Artists have always contributed to social commentary, holding up mirrors, reminding of things often overlooked or ignored. In viewing this work, my extended-hand is for you to remember your connection to the land.
We are in an unprecedented time. Whether you believe in climate change or not, we are violating our relationship to the ecosystems that sustain and nourish us. Some on our planet are already experiencing massive disruption. This body of work aspires to remind us all of our origins, our intrinsic residence in this natural world. We all come from the earth, and we will return to the earth. May we deeply know that we all came from the same molecules that make up the soil, our food, and that one day we will return those molecules to the earth. To begin again.
My quiet hope is, in that understanding a reverence may be born that will mean we can no longer treat our home, land, and sea any different than our own bodies or each other. All life may thrive, the air may heal, our ecology may rejuvenate. It is that fundamental. Urgent. Today and now. What you do matters. How you see your place in the world, matters.
“I am a ‘70’s’ baby, born and raised in Wellington, with a Greek Cypriot/Lebanese background, and like many New Zealanders’, have travelled extensively.
As soon as I was able to hold a pencil, I would draw, and at the age of four, I was drawing cars in 3D. Since completing a Graphic Design course at Wellington Polytechnic/Victoria University, I have spent numerous years in the design industry but have recently come to a stage where I would prefer to create for myself.
Although all of my individual works share common aspects, I strive for each piece to express different feelings and often employ different techniques. Through the process of building up layers and decisions around composition, the creative force stays within themes grounded in ideas of mortality and isolation. Primarily ‘moody’, each creation is dark, but also, in some way, optimistic!
Produced on specially imported polyester canvas material with a solvent-based ink, each piece takes two weeks to dry, due to the richness of the blacks”.
When the Covid-19 crisis became real for the world in March 2020, a close friend of mine shared her wisdom with me. She said while we might be devastated by the crisis, she likened the catastrophe to that of a volcanic eruption. She said, ‘volcanoes wreak havoc with their spectacular eruptions, but from the same fiery source come rich and incredibly fertile soils that set the world for rejuvenation and growth’. Her words were a great comfort.
Over the coming weeks, the crisis generated many thoughts and emotions that became the rich ‘soil’ for the spectrum of paintings I created in this book, often with my beloved dog, Bali in the studio with me.
Source: Forward to Mervin’s book ‘my covid-19 bubble’
My recycled beehive work is a reference to our NZ landscape.
The beehives have been in a specific NZ locality and climate and this has altered the painted surface. I quite often see this weathered surface in an abstract, poetical, musical way. The wooden hives, to me, are not simply a home of the bees but evoke various memories. These memories are triggered by the wonderful honey smell, arrangement of the wooden pieces and of course the textures of the weathered painted surfaces.
The woods include macrocarpa, the traditional shelter tree with its strong smell; the historic native wetland tree the kahikatia and the ubiquitous pine. All these types of woods add a cultural layer to my art work. The industry of beekeeping and the vital lives of our bees, also add another significant layer.
What really floats my waka is the wonderful textures of the painted, weathered, and repainted surfaces that challenge our idea of what painting is. How is it that such random painting carried out by apiary workers produce such unexpected beauty? – Ron Hall
At the intersection of music and visual art, an alchemy takes place between the two practices. Both inspiring and influencing each other’s forms, shapes, with colours, textures and notes resonating in contrast and harmony. It is impossible to believe that the two, either consciously or unconsciously do not form a symbiotic relationship.
Patterson reduces figures and musicality into arithmetical diagrams, breaking up and re-assembling them into abstracted and unexpected formations. At the same time, he maintains a figure recognisable amongst the new order, although viewed from a new aesthetic. All the while miraculously combines balance and movement with a glorious range of colour.
Kevin’s retro subconscious trips back to his childhood, via his landscape paintings have taken on a fluency that reflects the accumulative years of dedication to paint.
Despite sell out exhibitions, Kevin remains grounded “I started out not having a clue what to do or how to do it, but by experimenting I have found a style I enjoy and I have become part of my paintings.”
Still non-specific; they are evocations of a mood rather than true recordings. Reminded of a place (or time) viewers often feel a very strong and personal connection to specific paintings.
Mrkusich is considered a pioneer of abstract painting in New Zealand and one of New Zealand’s most important artists.
These paintings demonstrate a dynamic asymmetry while presenting a solar colour sequence: Yellow, Orange, Red, Violet, Blue and Green.
There are six works in the Chromatic Series one for each of the colours in the sequence. All are 30 inches by 24 inches (762 x 610mm).
The larger Paintings (44” x 36”) consist of a series of four, being Orange, Violet, Blue and Green. Yellow and Red were omitted.
Milan Mrkusich Biography
1925 – 2018
Born: Dargaville
Apprenticed in Commercial Art.
Designer for Brenner Associates, 1949-58.
Full time artist since 1958.
Gained wide recognition in the 1960s.
First retrospective show ACAG 1972.
Second retrospective ACAG 1985.
“Six Journeys” show ACAG 1996.
Awarded ONZM 1997.
Arts Foundation of New Zealand: “inaugural icon” 2003.
Major monograph published 2009.
Has exhibited in over 100 shows throughout the world culminating in the “Chromatic Investigations” at Aratoi, Wairarapa Museum of Art and History 2014- 15.
Has had two exhibitions previously at Exhibitions gallery of Fine Art in Auckland 2014 and 2015
Niels Meyer-Westfeld is one of our most successful artists, he flings the word nature around a lot. But that’s as it should be for a man obsessed with the natural world around him…natures designs offer an endless stream of inspiration and for that reason I will never get tired observing our beautiful birds of New Zealand.
All original artwork is available as a limited edition fine art archival giclee print.
Mixed-Media Pigment Print on Archival Canvas, Authorized Estate Edition
Image Size: 24” x 30.5” with additional canvas border
Limited Edition of 850 Arabic Numbers
99 Patrons’ Collection, 155 Collaborators’ Proofs, 5 Hors d’Commerce, 2 Printer’s Proofs
Just one word was needed to define his thoughts. The painting speaks the remaining volumes.
“In the quiet of the night, delving deep into his personal reflections, Dr. Seuss captured the essence of solitude.
“Dr. Seuss seemed to understand that a change in perspective can dramatically influence our behavior and create endless opportunities for growth.
How we view an object, concept, or situation shapes our personality and our world view.
Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) seemed to understand this and changed the world through his writings and illustrations by showing us how “perspective” can dramatically influence our behavior.
We saw this in Green Eggs and Ham when Sam’s friend finally tried the dish he thought he would not like.
We saw this in The Grinch when the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes upon finally “seeing” the true spirit of the holidays.
And now, as new works are released from Ted Geisel’s private collection, we see his perspective evermore clearly across the range of his Secret Art.
THE MIDNIGHT PAINTINGS
Dr. Seuss’s private artworks have been called his “Midnight Paintings” for good reason. They were mostly done in the loneliest hours of the night when the pressures of his day had subsided. In that quiet darkness, he would retire to his easel to see what inspiration might unfold. Those moments were not about being lonely, but rather about great artistic freedom flourishing in the stillness of the night.
Perspective is everything, and he seemed to harness that idea to create one of the 20th century’s most important and timeless bodies of work.
“Dr. Seuss’s late night painting sessions, alone in his studio,
were not about being lonely, but instead were about
great artistic freedom flourishing in the stillness of the night.
‘Vagrant Mind’ captures moments of contemplation – sometimes conscious, sometimes dormant. Not unlike fish in a bowl, thoughts and feelings drift idly from place to place in our psyche bringing with them at times the unexpected. Some of these unexpected notions we grapple with, while others we are more accepting of.
SACHA LEES is one of New Zealand’s leading Fine Artists working within the ‘Fantastical art’ genre.
Sacha’s painting skillfully conveys a parallel world of metaphysical beauty and portraiture. Her fine paint work and imaginative compositions transport the viewer to another world, a better world.
Richard Taylor of Weta Workshop saw her talent early on and nabbed her to be part of the small team of concept artists at a fledgling Weta. Sacha stood out in her field, having trained in an Italian atelier and has gone on to hone her skills for over a decade.
Sacha’s paintings have been chosen on multiple occasions to feature in the periodical Spectrum among the world’s best contemporary fantastic artists. Her work has also been selected for many other publications including ‘Women of Wonder’, showcasing accomplished past and present international female Fantastic Artists.
Sacha has achieved recognition for her unique and beautiful work in NZ and overseas and is in high demand with art collectors
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