KATIE THOMAS – Quiet Life – 19 Oct-11 Nov 2021
‘Given the chaos of the last 18 months, I’m increasingly appreciative of being able to work outside in some very beautiful gardens. The peace afforded by working in silence and watching the undaunted life-cycle of nature through the seasons, leaves an indelible mark on my work in the studio. Much of this body of work is influenced by the season in which I have more available studio time – namely Winter: frosty and foggy, clear and clouded. Bare branches against pale skies, and the certain stillness which promises new life.’
‘…make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, and attend to your own business, and work with your hands…‘
1 Thessalonians 4:11
Seven large paintings on canvas plus works on paper comprise this exhibition. The scale of the paintings, two of which are more than 2m wide, offers a viewing experience that cannot be replicated online as the gestures and rhythms are activated as the eye wanders over them and light plays on the surface.
It is worth visiting the gallery to see this exhibition first hand. If you are unable to attend but would like a fuller sense of Katie Thomas’s work please request larger jpegs.



Katie Thomas graduated with a Masters in painting from the University of Canterbury in 2010. Over the past decade she has developed a body of work that shares much of the territory of European Modernism and Abstraction. Yet, her painting also takes its cue from her studio garden in Christchurch. Its changing light, colour, atmosphere and space are a direct influence on her painting. Thomas has exhibited throughout New Zealand and has work in private collections locally and internationally, and in the collections of the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetu and James Wallace Arts Trust.