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Forms of Perception – 27 Mar-20 April, 2018

A group exhibition featuring the work of Viv Kepes, Motoko Kikkawa, Donna-Marie Patterson & Arabella Spoors
curated by Jane Bowman

Installation of 'Liquid Gold' by Donna-Marie Patterson, 'Leptos' & 'Sanguin Light' by Viv Kepes      Installation of 'Bloodlines' by Arabella Spoors, 'Untitled #1 & #2' by Motoko Kikkawa, & 'Leptos' by Viv Kepes     Installation of 'Glitches in Progress II' & 'Pivotal Moments #1-#12' by Donna-Marie Patterson   

Viv Kepes

Viv Kepes is a North Canterbury based artist. Born in 1973, she grew up in Belmont, Lower Hutt. Spending her formative years exploring local native bush reserves, streams and beaches contributed to her early love of science and the natural world, a connection reflected in her painted work. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Victoria University in Wellington in 1996, a Diploma of Teaching (Primary) from the Christchurch College of Education in 1997, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts with First Class Honours in Painting, from the University of Canterbury in 2017. She is a current Masters candidate at the University of Canterbury and her work has been exhibited in various local group exhibitions, including Perspective Perceptive at NEXT Galleries in 2018, and Select’17, School of Fine Art Gallery, Christchurch in 2017.

My painting practice considers the elemental themes of light, vision and perception. I employ still life subjects from the natural world as means to investigate these visual phenomena. My current work is derived from native flora or fauna samples which I depict in oil paint in a way that shuttles between realism and abstraction. The paintings develop from multi-layered freehand drawings and paintings to privilege and elevate aspects of the natural world.”

 'Leptos', Viv Kepes, 2017, 1100mm x 1100mm, oil on linen      'Dini', Viv Kepes, 2017, 1100mm x 1100mm, oil on linen     'Mikros', Viv Kepes, 2017, 1100mm x 1100mm, oil on linen

 'Sanguinlight', Viv Kepes, (SOLD) 2017, 350mm x 350mm, oil on linen   'Creepy Annie' (SOLD), Viv Kepes, 2017, 350mm x 350mm, oil on linen   'Wither Hair', Viv Kepes, 2017, 350mm x 350mm, oil on linen   'Skeletal Jack', Viv Kepes, 2017, 350mm x 350mm, oil on linen   'Slickweed' (SOLD), Viv Kepes, 2017, 350mm x 350mm, oil on linen

 

Motoko Kikkawa

Originally from Tokyo, Motoko Kikkawa was born in 1968. She has lived in Dunedin since 2004 where she spends her days working in a studio in Allbell Chambers. From 2005 – 2008 she studied towards a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Otago Polytechnic, and completed a Bachelor of Philosophy in 1990 at Nihon University, Japan. Kikkawa works across multiple mediums, employing; sound, performance, improvisation, drawing, ceramics, textiles, paper, sculpture and photography.

Kikkawa’s recent solo exhibitions include; Shortsighted Girl’s Very Thick Wall, Blue Oyster, Dunedin, 2017, Money We Cant Use Here, Rice and Beans, Dunedin, 2011 and Always There Is Something Behind, Inge Doesburg, Dunedin, 2010. Group shows include Your Luxury Gift, Rockies, Auckland, 2016, New Perspectives, Art Space, Auckland, 2016 and (dis)placement, Fresh and Fruity Gallery, Dunedin, 2015.

'Untitled #1', Motoko Kikkawa, 2017, 420mm x 297mm, mixed media   'Untitled #2', Motoko Kikkawa, 2017, 420mm x 297mm, mixed media   'Untitled #3', Motoko Kikkawa, 2017, 420mm x 297mm, mixed media  'Untitled #4', Motoko Kikkawa, 2017, 420mm x 297mm, mixed media   'Untitled #5', Motoko Kikkawa, 2017, 420mm x 297mm, mixed media   'Untitled #6', Motoko Kikkawa, 2017, 420mm x 297mm, mixed media  'Untitled #7', Motoko Kikkawa, 2017, 420mm x 297mm, mixed media

'Untitled #8', Motoko Kikkawa, 2017, 760 x 560mm, ink & watercolour on paper   'Untitled #9', Motoko Kikkawa, 2017, 760 x 560mm, ink & watercolour on paper

 

Donna-Marie Patterson

Donna-Marie Patterson is currently studying towards a Masters of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury. Her work primarily takes the form of sculpture, both site responsive and installation, and drawings on paper. Patterson is not limited to size, material or space as she explores the concept of an ‘expanded field of drawing’.
A re-occuring theme within her practice is the fragility of the West Coast and Canterbury environments (with specific focus on the rivers and forests), and the unease regarding man’s impact upon these environments.

Patterson’s solo exhibitions in 2017 include; Inner Reflections, Refinery Art Space, Nelson and CORNER project space, Auckland. Recent group shows range from Tai Tapu Sculpture Garden, 2018 & 2016 and Select’17, School of Fine Arts Gallery, Christchurch. She has been a finalist in numerous awards such as The Wallace Art Award in 2016 & 2017, as well as being a recipient of Creative New Zealand funding in 2016.

'Liquid Gold', Donna-Marie Patterson, 2017, 1260 x 720 x 420 mm, resin and mirror acrylic   'Pivotal Movements', Donna-Marie Patterson, 2017, 1200 - 3200 mm, resin   'Botanical Blues', Donna-Marie Patterson, 2017, approx 1400 x 1000 mm, resin & stainless steel

 

Arabella Spoors

Arabella Spoors is a Christchurch based photographer who has recently completed her Honors in Photography at the School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury. Her photographs have featured in NZ Musician Magazine, 2015, and she was part of the Select’17 exhibition at the School of Fine Arts Gallery, Christchurch in 2017. Spoors also recently exhibtied her work at the Rangiora Chamber Gallery in 2018.

Growing up in Christchurch and spending much of her childhood in Banks Peninsula, Arabella’s work is predominantly documentary based and touches on themes such as genealogy and cultural identity.
Her ongoing project, Bloodlines, documents places of cultural and historical significance associated with Ngāi Tahu Māori and uses photography as a means of retracing the footsteps of her ancestors. This work to date is an accumulation of photographic prints and concentrated research that are a record of uncovering missing links from her whakapapa and unknown stories associated with the people, and the land.

 'Port Levy Koukourarata', Arabella Spoors, 2017  'Lake Forsyth, Wairewa', Arabella Spoors, 2017,   'Mt Herbert Ta Ahu Patiki' (SOLD), Arabella Spoors, 2017,

I am the break in the chain. My mother and her mother were both adopted. Neither of them know who their fathers were, so I count myself lucky I have a solid sense of belonging. Despite this, my identity feels incomplete, the weight of unknown histories rest heavily upon me. I have found many missing pieces of the intricate puzzle, but how do they fit together?

My Māori heritage.
Chief Taiaroa. Respected leader of Ngāi Tahu.
Te Rauparaha. Feared warrior of Ngāti Toa.

My European heritage.
An estranged father, my grandfather. Foreigner.
Czechoslavakian. A name on a piece of paper.

Finding a people to belong to and a place to stand.