An exhibition of 40 tondos from the ‘Muse’ series and four paintings from the ‘Girl with Prosthesis’ series. “They seem like nice enough people, these ladies. For the most part, warm maternal types of a certain age. Definitely, defiantly suburban – divorcees and widows. Perhaps they’re trying just a little too hard, in expression… View more
An exhibition of seven works on paper which describe and explore interior space. Artist statement: ‘What do you see? What you see in the drawings is what I looked at. However what I saw might not have been what you saw if you had been the one doing the looking. But what I looked… View more
‘Clap’ 2017 acrylic on canvas 300x 245mm SOLD ‘Skirt’ 2017 acrylic on canvas 300x 245mm SOLD ‘Clutch’ 2017 acrylic on canvas 300x 245mm SOLD ‘Sleep Shop’ 2017 acrylic on panel 800x 565mm $55,000 … View more
Sand: a fragment of rock ground to small size by earth’s processes. Sandstone: a type of sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand that has compressed and hardened. These new paintings by James Robinson are the result of process. And in James’s process he reflects the dynamic of the earth. Formation, erosion. Accumulation, dispersal. Coagulation, dissolution…. View more
Through human history art has had a closer relationship to the spoken word than the written one. In pre-literate times, stories were shared through their telling, with art often being used as a prompt. In earlier times, too, the light and warmth of the family hearth provided a focus for the remembering of histories and… View more
Painting as ‘visual pleasure’, is a concept lying at the heart of my work. The luscious, organic forms ooze and flow sensually around each other, like honey pouring out of a bottle. The forms are derived from a sense of bodily-ness that is abstract, yet suggestive of the interior and exterior body. Like pieces of… View more
My practice is a response to shunga, ‘Spring Pictures’, a form of pornography that flourished in Japan during the Edo period between the 17th and 19th centuries. Historical shunga reflects the acceptance or celebration of sex in Shinto culture, and values love, mutual pleasure and equality between sexual partners. It is also positively associated… View more
This year our Christmas show features: Joanna Braithwaite, Wendy Bornholdt, Nigel Buxton, Hamish Coleman, Darryn George W.D.Hammond, Samuel Harrison, Andy Leleisi’uao, Marian Maguire, Simon Ogden Chris Pole, James Robinson, Margaret Silverwood, Tim J.Veling Joanna Braithwaite Wendy Bornholdt Nigel Buxton Hamish Coleman Darryn George W.D.Hammond Samuel Harrison Andy Leleisi’uao Marian Maguire Simon Ogden (‘Touched by… View more
“I have always been that type of photographer who walks and collects images randomly, somewhat in the tradition of American photographers like Garry Winogrand and Lee Friedlander. Sometimes I have built individual series of work from these, but in general I have just observed and recorded whatever interested me. Those things not immediately photographed by… View more
The residency offered the artists a chance to explore the historical, commercial and natural locations that are so emblematic of the island’s isolation and rugged natural beauty. They were also able to experience its complex and dynamic environment, with excursions hosted by local guides, whose knowledge of and enthusiasm for the science and local mythologies… View more
“Just as the painter prods the visual field with brush or palette knife, the walking figure tests the ground; he shifts earth and snow; he moves water with hand or oar. A mark is left in the sand, a ripple, a gesture in mid-air.” Gregory O’Brien, 2014 The distinctive exploration of figure and landscape is continued in these recent… View more
A group show in which invited artists respond to an original engraving, by Giorgio Ghisi, of Michelangelo’s fresco in the Sistine Chapel. More about the Ghisi engraving Essay by John Finlay about Michelangelo’s fresco The Last Judgement EXHIBITION FEATURES: The Ghisi engraving, Josh Bashford, Philippa Blair, Roger Boyce, Darryn George, W.D.Hammond, Samuel Harrison, Marian Maguire, John Reynolds, Aiko… View more
THE UBIQUITOUS SIGN “I’m going down, to Alphabet Street” Prince Walk, bike or drive down seemingly any street in Christchurch, and you will eventually confront them – the inevitable cluster of brightly-coloured temporary traffic management signs. These banal yet insistent warning signs have become an almost permanent feature of the topology and streetscape of Christchurch’s… View more
Tim J. Veling – artist statement: At 4.35am on September 4th 2010, Christchurch, New Zealand was hit by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake. Miraculously, despite it and thousands of aftershocks causing widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure across the city, there was no loss of life. Avonside – a patch of land measuring 1.3 square kilometres and… View more
ARTIST STATEMENT May 2016 ‘Originating from questions I was asking myself around the status of the art object in the world, and of structures of archive and presentation and the transactions inherent in making and showing art, Tissue Solo and the Artefacts forms part of a significant body of work that began in 2014 and… View more
At first glance the six paintings in this exhibition seem simply to be geometric abstractions but Darryn George drew on his Maori background, his philosophy and personal experience in the development of this work. Earlier this year he was interviewed by Amanda Greenfield. An edited transcript appears below. INTERVIEW – Darryn George speaks with Amanda Greenfield… View more
“Drawing and painting are separate processes, yet linked together in a morphology of random moves.” (Philippa Blair, 2016) The sense of structure in Philippa Blair’s drawing and painting often starts with a geometric or gestural diagram. This diagram sets down an embryonic rhythm. A rhythm that is physical but also emotional. Blair then reveals and… View more
ARTIST STATEMENT: Some time ago I heard the comment, “It’s easy to be a photographic artist, you only have to take one great image but a cinematographer has to take 24 great images every second.” This led me to take a different view of the individual frames that make up a moving image, each one… View more
Brutalised walls of cast concrete are essential features of any modern city. Skylines around the world are defined by concrete’s upward reach. A staggering 330,000 cubic metres was used in just one building – the Burj Khalifa tower built in Dubai in 2009. Modern engineering developments have seen concrete evolve ambitiously into dams, canals and… View more
Rivers, bones, flax, insects, leaves, traces. Light, shadow, cut metal, silhouette, pattern, history. The focus of Nic Moon‘s work is human ecology and the ways that people interact with the environments in which they live. Tributary includes sculpture and painting in an elegant installation that explores the theme of traces – in the natural world and in… View more
Josh Bashford presents seven pieces in this exhibition of new woodcuts. Several are large scale works printed on canvas. With an individual carving style Josh chisels through darkness with flowing marks. At first glance the images appear complex abstract patterns, but as one looks longer, one sees the images teem with life and symbology. ‘My work explores mark making and its ability to portray themes… View more
Three of the artists in this show – Chris Pole, Hamish Coleman and Gareth Brighton – use the photographic image or film stills as the basis for their work. The fourth – Andrew Ross – is a photographer who uses the traditional method: hand-printing from the photographic negative. CHRIS POLE HAMISH COLEMAN ANDREW ROSS… View more
A GROUP SHOW FEATURING: Gretchen Albrecht, Liam Barr, Philippa Blair, Wendy Bornholdt, Joanna Braithwaite, Nigel Buxton, Sam Harrison, Tony de Lautour, Euan Macleod, Simon Ogden, Aiko Robinson, James Robinson, Margaret Silverwood, Llew Summers, Grant Takle. CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW FOR DETAILS ABOUT INDIVIDUAL WORKS I’m perhaps writing this a few weeks early but having just… View more
“This is an agnostic snapshot where past, present and future collide in trying to make sense of the next life.” – Andy Leleisi’uao Quaint: attractively strange or old-fashioned. Synonyms: picturesque, charming, sweet, attractive. Quaint is exactly how the latest suite of paintings from Andy Leleisi’uao appear. Leleisi’uao transports the viewer to a world of vibrant… View more
Marian Maguire has created a new series of large paintings around the theme of struggle. The characters are from Greek mythology but the subject was inspired by life in Christchurch post-quake. Alongside the paintings are a group of etchings in which Herakles or Maui wrestle the Lion or the Taniwha.
A ceramic installation presented in three parts: PULSE, Resonance 1, Resonance 2 Measuring 1.36 x 4.4 metres PULSE is comprised of 154 individually constructed ceramics, each one about 17cm in diameter. The pieces resonate visually and Fran Maguire has made a soundscape to go with this work which amplifies the experience of PULSE within the… View more
ANTHROPOCENE AND ASYLUM comprises of two parts. The first is a grouping of works that could be loosely termed paintings but are more aptly described as assemblages on canvas. These were made by James Robinson while he was guest artist in a residency programme, hosted by the Dunmoochin Foundation near Melbourne, during 2014. Having made the paintings James invited… View more
LURK consists of 22 individual sculptures that Nicole Bourke has installed within the hallway area of the gallery. They are of a domestic scale, looking spectacular en masse, but also revealing intricate detailing on closer inspection. Some pieces seem to be growing out of nooks, as life-like textures and surfaces have been created with the broad array of… View more
Earlier this year Bill Hammond broke the little finger on his right hand and at hospital they strapped the broken finger to the one next to it. That finger, the companion, they called the ‘strap buddy’ and ‘bone shop’ is a colloquial term for the orthopaedic department at the hospital.
An exhibition of woodcuts, wooden screens and watercolours inspired by traditional Japanese ‘shunga’. Christchurch based, of Japanese / New Zealand heritage, Aiko Robinson is a recent graduate of Elam School of Fine Art, Auckland. This is her first one-person exhibition. WARNING: this exhibition contains sexually explicit imagery AIKO ROBINSON – HEAD OVER HEELS by Jane Bowman The basic… View more
‘Craig’s Place, Otaki’ and ‘Three Views from Mataura’ These six photographs come from two series, one interior, one exterior. Both exhibit a fine sense of detail and luxurious tonal range. Aside from the intriguing subject matter there is a compositional tightness to Andrew Ross’s photographs which makes satisfying viewing especially on the book-plate scale he has… View more
I first drew willows 30 years ago. Planted as shade trees by the early settler farmers in an otherwise treeless and harsh environment they developed and grew into gnarled monsters, breaking themselves under the strain of their own weight and fierce storms. They were close to the cottage and a quick walk away. Armed with easel,… View more
CROSSINGS recent paintings Philippa Blair This exhibition has accompanying text by Marian Maguire – images and text. 14 April – 9 May, 2015 MORE
We are delighted to present this strong, poetic, playful, gutsy and humane exhibition as we re-launch the gallery, post earthquake repairs/renovations, and wish to thank the artists for their involvement and stellar contributions. more about LAUNCH Exhibition dates: 10 March – 11 April PG gallery192 hours: Tues-Friday 10.30-5pm… View more
