Great South Professional Artists Group, or Something More Sexy!

I'm baaack! I've just returned from a fantastic voyage to the USA and Canada, where I had the great privilege of exploring The Chicago Art Institute, the 2nd largest collection of art in the USA. We had an interesting tour around the Great Lakes investigating the movement of ships through the Great Lakes locks and shipping systems.

And, now I'm full steam ahead into two projects near and dear to my heart. I'm in studio finishing "Ephemeral Perception" my solo exhibition in 2010 at ArtSouth in Gore. The other is an initiative I've begun with other professional artists in the Great South of New Zealand which aims to raise the profile of our professional artists and the awareness of contemporary arts practices here. I've named us Great South Professional Artists Group (GSPAG, until someone comes up with something sexier). You are invited to read the Southland Times Article published Friday 6th November about our efforts in this initiative by clicking here.

I'm looking to recruit from that group some artists that will help me post reviews of shows in the Great South either on this blog or one to be created. So, stay tuned for greater developments.

Kia Ora!

With Honour

Surely, Jim Geddes was speaking in a bit of enthusiastic hyperbole when he proclaimed in the local newspaper that Edward Bullmore was perhaps one of New Zealand's most important artists and an overlooked one at that. Impossible! How is it that most Southlanders and even those in the arts community are perhaps at best vaguely aware of this tremendously talented native son of whom great accolades world wide were and still are proclaimed?

Hailed as the star of the 1965 Second Commonwealth Biennale of Abstract Art, Bullmore had work hanging along side Dali and other luminaries in the Surrealist movement in London. Filmmaker, Stanley Kubrick so admired his work that it featured in "A Clockwork Orange". Yet, in spite of such accolades and success, Bullmore longed to come home to a New Zealand that was not ready for his surrealism. It's not difficult to fathom the disappointment he must have felt when his first exhibition at the Barry Lett Galleries was panned by the New Zealand Herald art critic. It would have been particularly perplexing after having won acclaim outside the borders of his homeland. Bullmore then sank into relative obscurity while teaching in Rotorua. He died at the relatively young age of 45 from Paget's Disease.

In A Surrealist Oddyssey, the exhibition at the Eastern Southland Museum in Gore, I am struck immediately by the tension present in his earlier works. In The Temple Rebuilt, for example, the assumed serenity of a New Zealand style church is stretched with ethereal finger like tree branches straining into the sky and down towards the church yard. Three works that use his wife, Jackie, as model are likewise stunning, but unsettling. In one, her nudity is almost in your face as she demurely stares into a fantastical surrealist world created by Bullmore. The other works in that room proclaim a tension of which Bullmore was masterful, including works that illustrated his growing angst about the threat of nuclear holocaust and about death itself.

The tension of the earlier works continue with the visionary brilliance of his latter body of works in the next gallery. Here, as part of the Hikurangi and series, we witnessed shaped paintings from canvas expertly stretched over unusual found items including chair frames; others display stuffed, ripped, and stitched canvas; and ultimately bold, yet delicate works in the Astroform and Icon series emerge, some of them out of a then fairly new medium of fibre glass. We witness work resembling jewels, and gladly view a more light-hearted side of Bullmore in sculpture crafted out of cross-sectioned arms and legs of chairs and bits of taut painted canvas.

I vow to return to Gore to revisit Bullmore's exhibition. The second visit is worthwhile, almost incumbent. This time I treat myself to the Bullmore TVNZ documentary available for viewing in the first gallery. I am immediately struck by the great pride displayed by Jackie Bullmore and their adult children over his artistic brilliance,. I also sense the sadness over his descent into obscurity upon return to New Zealand. A prophet not honoured in his own country?

So what is my response? I want to learn more about Bullmore. I've purchased the book Edward Bullmore: A Surrealist Oddyssey by Penelope Jackson which accompanies the national tour. A worthy read. I also want to deeply consider how his work may now influence my own creative philosophy in my own arts practice. How can I likewise cultivate clarity in my own artistic vision. I also hope that, somehow, his story will compel me to stop to mindfully consider other artists' labours. I want to be careful to not dismiss other's works manifesting a direction or vision that may not be comfortable for me. Is that what happened to Bullmore? I wish to avoid having an impenetrable attachment to artistic safety in my works and in other's as well. Edward Bullmore, a remarkable son, indeed. I think I'll go back and see Edward again. He's worth it.

Getting to Know

I'm off to Christchurch for about two weeks tomorrow to help with Escalade, a fundraising and awareness exhibition by Artists Against Slavery to help fight the tragedy of modern day slavery. Please read more about this extremely worthy cause by following the link to Beverly Claridge, Fine Artist.

I wanted to use this post to not only thank those that follow this blog, but to reassure you that I have not abandoned ship!! I've simply been in the studio painting like a mad woman in order to get several paintings completed, not only for the 2010 Ephemeral Perception solo exhibition at ArtSouth in Gore, but also to participate in some national and international contests as well. As much as I love looking at and reviewing other's exhibitions, my calling is to create art.

And I've been networking as well. I've been talking to and meeting with lots of different Southland and artists throughout New Zealand. All this networking has helped me realise that I love meeting and getting to know other artists. That is why I've decided that this blog will take a slightly different direction.

Rather than do a simple review of exhibitions in Southland and the Great South, I've decided that I'd much rather interview and post the result of those interview on this blog. This change will take place sometime in August and because of my heavy painting schedule my goal is to post twice a month. So stay tuned. I'm really looking forward to meeting Great South visual artists. If you know one I should be getting to know, please contact me.

Blessings.

Water and Light

A day at the beach never looked as intriguing as it does at Ocean View: Water and Light, an exhibition at the City Gallery on 8 Don Street, through to 27 May.

Kees Taal's intricate and colourful metal ocean creatures in Deep Sea Fish amaze as you enter the show. Taal is slated to have his own solo exhibition at City Gallery later on in the year. Stay tuned for that. Nearby are the expertly crafted watercolours of award winning Maurice Middleditch of Central Otago.

Anne Grindell's soft, swirling, precise, graphic and beautiful acrylics are very calming and meditative especially in contrast to Cantabrian Ed Labadie's splendid and vibrant Regatta, an oil set amidst his beautiful watercolours. Labadie has a sold out June workshop in conjunction with the Southland Art Society. Tony Allain, a Channell Islander now living in Nelson, also offers an explosion of sumptuous light and colour, merely suggesting his subjects with pastels in Setting Out Creation, Regatta, and Flights of Fancy.

The meticulous watercolours of Marilyn Palmer-Story displays expert contrast particularly in Evening Stroll. Quiet. Beautiful. Around the corner is John Wishart's strong, bold, and stony Otago Peninsula. Continuing in this traditional style of work are Oreti Beach by Cromwell's Patrick G. Hall's , Brian Millard's dynamic Curio Bay, and Pat Murdoch's atmospheric On Holiday. Dawn Berry shows her love of Riverton in her acrylic Taramea to Rakiura and Moira Short presents her watercolours, Long Beach and The Wave, Catlins.

The back gallery with it's fluorescent lighting always presents a challenge for paintings (An intermix of warm and cold fluorescent could help overcome this problem). However Susie Ruddenklau of Wanaka surpasses this challenge with her Curio Bay, Catlins I, and Curio Bay, Catlins II. It's good to see her dynamic landscapes...a departure from her popular "Doris" series. Simon Decker's Fish n Chip Island grows on me, after initially considering it dark and brooding. I then realise it is a commentary on Cook's arrival to Aotearoa, resembling a series of film stills. I think I fancy this one, actually.

Followers of this blog already are aware how much I like the works of Danny Owen. His four works in this display are even better than his brooding piece over on show at The Bank Gallery. Danny continues to go from strength to strength with his art and I enjoy discovering the less angst-ridden side of Deow. These pieces are lush and gorgeous.

I am glad to revisit Maree Beker's Fortrose Macrocarpas, a dynamic depiction of the effects of our Sou'weters on flora. Nearby are the ever popular landscapes of Karen Pringle alongside two lively works by Janet deWagt whose studio is in Central Otago. I especially enjoy Captain Pugwash, an exotic stonefire clay work by Jude Winchester, and it's always good seeing works carved of stone by Stuart King.

City Gallery Manager Gabrielle Thomas states this show was created as platform on which to attract national artists to show in Southland along side southern artists. The resulting show is stunningly beautiful.

The Southland May Arts Festival line up of visual arts is splendid. Be sure to visit Rural Relics by Roddy McMillan over at Southland Museum and Art Gallery on until 7 June, and People, Places & Things by John Husband and Paul Lindsey till the 31^st May over at Anderson Park. Also, there is Melvin Day's Stabat Mater and White Silence: Grahame Sydney in Antarctica. However these exhibitions go on until 2 August over at Eastern Southland Gallery in Gore. I've been in studio painting madly for various contests and causes, so I may not get to all of these worthy exhibitions this month, but it is very important to support our visual artists. I urge you to encourage your local artist. Visit an exhibition and buy a painting!!!

Top Photo: Anne Grindell works on display

Middle Photo: A selection of works in Ocean View: Water and Light

Bottom Photo: City Gallery Manager Gabrielle Thomas next to Pat Murdoch's On Holiday

Southern Urbane

Southern Selection, a collection of artworks by artists living in, from, or who have an association with Southland, is an elegant , urbane show on now at The Bank Art Gallery. Curator Gwen Chaloner created the exhibition in conjunction with Venture Southland as part of the Southland May Arts Festival.

Belle Lumen a sumptuous oil by Gregori Chiaroni, next to Hilary Manson's Dress Rehearsal command attention upon entry into the upstairs gallery. Nearby is Contemplation #3 by Lisa Grace, one of her cheeky, self-assured mixed media works. Mags Meechang's Southern Season is a lush, bold interpretation of the Southland clime, while Danny Owen, aka Deow, contributes with his brooding piece, Through the rain she turns her back to better days.

Margaret Fairhall's Fantails beautifully demonstrates the energy and flittering of birds using her signature impasto technique. I always enjoy seeing Maree Beker's paintings. She is not afraid to try new approaches to creating, as is evidenced in her Southern Whitebaiters, where she has taken a subject that can be hackneyed and has given it a fresh, vibrant face. It is good to see Russell Everett presenting charcoal on paper in Evening Shadows, Patterson Inlet, lending to a sense of mystery. Robert Smith exhibits his mastery of metalworking in the multiple colours and shapes coerced from copper and stainless steel in Gore.

In the kiosk hangs WF Moore's Papatowai Beach Catlins, a masterful oil in the traditional school, alongside S is for Southland by Brydie Baxter, brilliantly maintaining the sense of vastness and awe in the view from the top of Bluff Hill. Also, there is Gwen Chaloner's Vintage Machinery, a friendly monoprint done in a challenging and interesting manner. Bridget Sangster's A handle and 2 tongs, showcases everyday, often ignored implements in a quiet, lovingly crafted ink on paper.

The "McGilvray Sisters", two popular Southland artists have, a whimsical Goldminers Breakfast, by Nicola McGilvray and the humourous Little Fish, an oil by Angela Railton. Christine O'Connor's use of texture, colour, and figurative drawing lends well to the title in Pensive, while Rebecca Whyte has on view her trio, Three Ladies, a sassy acrylic set. I am pleased, as well, to have my mixed media Dim Reflection included in this show. There are even more works for you to discover on your own.

While there is a variety of work on display to please different tastes, the entire collection fits together well and has a sophisticated flow. Southern Selection is on display every weekday till 5 till 29 May at The Bank Art Gallery in Invercargill.

Top Photo: Gwen Chaloner with Vintage Machinery
Bottom Photo: Beverly Claridge with "Dim Reflection"

Conceal Reveal (Squared)

The only regret I have about Conceal Reveal, an exhibition by sisters Mags Meechang and Angela Meecham, is my delay in experiencing this riot of colour and texture on now through the weekend at Southland Museum and Art Gallery in Invercargill.

Relaxing on the cushioned seating in the middle of The Community Gallery, I allow my brain to soak up the deliciousness of Meechang's and Meecham's works. Wow, where do I start.

Angela Meecham considers her works almost geological, with layers built up and concealed over time, waiting to be revealed. She loves texture, lots of crunchy, bubbly, stringy, gorgeous texture. I mostly associate such surfaces with darker brooding works or earth-toned paintings. Meecham, however, loves colour. Her combination of rich 3-D surfaces and colour is stunning ---a word overused, but so applicable here. It is nearly impossible to choose my favourite of her 15 piece display.

I'm especially attracted to her Transition series, which is reminiscent of strata of earth and rock seen roadside when a hillside has been dug into for a highway. Meecham incorporates beautiful, vibrant colour yet retains an earthiness to her compositions. Transition Red really suits me, only because red is my favourite colour. However, Transition Blue and Transition Gold are equally mysterious and elegant.

As a figurative artist, I'm also enchanted by Angela's sets of three series, especially Threads, Attire, Turnout. Great imagination, skill and forethought are evident in the use of sparkling fibre to "draw" exquisite profiles of women presumably arranging their hair, clothing and makeup.

The colours in Mags Meechangs offerings are in your face...but in a most wonderful way!!

The thick layers and dribble of paint in Generations Investigated-Facts Revealed is reminiscent of Pollock, while the explorative nature of Synthesis and Fragmentation, one of Meechangs more subdued works, is equally rewarding.

Few Have The Complete Freedom To Choose and It's In There Somewhere, bright and bold works with thick acrylic, corrugations, and fabric are compelling viewing. They may be my favourites, but then I also admire her "Generations" and "Synthesis" pieces as well.

Canvas mounted dyed silks Boys Day Out and Girls Night Out accentuate Mags many artistic abilities, and are examples of a great sense of humour found in several works.

I've said enough and don't want to delay getting this posted. I strongly urge you!!! Please make the time to see Conceal Reveal before it's closing on Sunday 29 March. But stay tuned. This upcoming week I'm privileged to have Mags and Angela visit my studio. I hope to post more about these talented sisters soon.

On Faith and Of Men

Entering City Gallery on Don Street to see Glory, Visions of Faith, I look forward to viewing works by Gabrielle Thomas and Michelle Dawson. To my surprise, I am treated to a considerable collection from artists of faith with varied approaches to and interpretation of the exhibition scripture, Psalm 34:3 "Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together."

Proudly, as if a standard-bearer for the exposition, stands Stuart King's steel crucifix sculpture Stauros in the middle of Gallery I.

Clearly, Michelle Dawson enjoys experimenting with diverse surfaces and varied approaches in her medley of textured contemporary acrylics. The grittiness of Torn, with rust, blacks, and blues on a rough concrete-like support is beautifully formed.

The Way, an acrylic on paper effectively demonstrates Shannon Thomson's graphic abilities, including stencil-like effects in this chic composition. Thomson seems to be equally adept with her camera and has several photographic offerings on view.

Nearby are the carefully textured, meticulously crafted Winds of Change, an acrylic by Anne Grindell. Her precise yet gentle style is evident in her lovely acrylic on paper landscapes as well.

Steeped in Samoan-Pacifica influenced culture, Lyle Penisula presents his energetic vision of the invisible spirit world in The Unseen Realm. The viewer witnesses the earthly battle between heavenly angels and hellish demons in this bold painting of reds, black, white and tan. The work is real treat to behold.

Surrounding this drama on one side is Cross, an adventuresome canvas by Ian Wright, who has taken to painting only a few years ago, and on the other, Gina Van Wichen's Emerging Night. This abstract is fascinating because of the use of pure, saturated colours, with a sense of mystery masterfully maintained. Van Wichen, a tutor at Southern Institute of Technology, and a well-respected juror to Southland art contests, is my favourite discovery of this exhibition. IAM, a small, but potent acrylic on canvas, Jesus Iconography, a gouache in the Eastern orthodox tradition, and The Last Supper, a pastel on paper, also confirms Van Wichen's many abilities. I truly hope to see her exhibit her talent more often.

City Gallery Manager Gabrielle Thomas showcases her faith and ability in Doors of the Heart, This is Jesus, a figurative work, and Freedom, which is an imposing diptyche of stylised wings on panels of dark turning into light.

Caren Ward rewards the observer with her straightforward, beautifully subtle works, Hope, Trust, and Prodigal. Brydie Baxter's mixed media Joy and acrylic Precious to God are also displayed; as are Chris Love Thomson's distinctive acrylic, For God So Loved the World, and Barb Ellison's, What's on Your Heart, Lord.

I like the display of Youth and Student Art. Dominque Maheno's red-toned paper mache, declares his faith in Believe. Brent Jamieson proclaims the enormity of divine power in Uncontainable, a mixed media 3-d on canvas. The Tapanui Youth Group collaborates in their colourful and vibrant acrylics My God is So Big and Eternal. Jane Stuart's I Am along with Lindsey Wilding's confident, bold screenprint, Life round out the youthful contributions.

Standing at the youth display area, I spy the Blokes Art exhibition in Gallery 2. Oh, boy. I can't wait!!

Gender-specific, Blokes Art, is chocked full of works by incredibly talented Southland men.

I'm first drawn to John Cutt's pastel, Light as a Feather. Subtly hued, the feather seems almost real, touchable. Providing refreshing emerald contrast is Tony Green's Summers Eve, Thompson Bush, a deftly composed acrylic. It offers areas of precision, but is not overworked. It's good to see Tony's graphite on paper, Old Puerua Church. Russel Everett's neighbouring charcoal sketches are a welcome change of pace, especially his Study of Liquid.

Dave Dustin, justifiably proud of his stunning prints, offers the visitor a chance to handle and study a print plate for his etching Glenorchy Wharf. Cabbage Tree, a lino print, features vibrant blue lines representing Southland wind blowing the fronds Impressive mastery of several media is shown in Wakatipu Skies, created using water colour, etching print and lino print. Stream, a woodblock print, won the 2008 Most Interesting Use of a Medium at Southland Art Society's Provincial Pride in 2008.

Stuart King, who also contributes to the show in Gallery I, has three stone carvings in the men's exhibition. I love the spare, blockish shapes carved out of the green coloured stone in Turtle Released, and Two Modes. My favourite of his would have to be Wisdom Tree. It is roughly pyramidal with interesting manipulation of wood and Oamaru stone.

Central Southland College Student Allan Mollison shows off his remarkable creative aptitude including his amazingly mature oils of Robyn Broughton and Sir Edmund Hillary. And I'm especially impressed with his graphite on paper, Memories-after CF Goldie. The literature on Mollison suggests he paints his images from photographs. I look forward to seeing his live model works in the future. The only way for this talent is up!

The softer application style of Brian Rumage works really well in Cavalcade Rider. Close by are Colin Gray's acrylic landscapes. My pick is McKinnon Pass on Milford Track. Around the corner is Gordon Duston's grand watercolour Finding the Outlet, Lake Ruatapu, Westland.

I really like Rob Smith's metal craft and sculpture works of copper, stainless steel, iron, and stone. His unique presentation of a well known landmark in Mitre Peak is beautiful with varying treatments of copper.

Coming back to Southland after tertiary studies, Daniel Monteath's regard for rococo styled art is expertly realised in his acrylics Woman Study #14, and Woman Study #16. And then there is Ray Kennedy's, colourful and lively acrylics. I like the gentleness of Granddaughter at Colac Bay.

When you come to City Gallery to see these shows, be sure to allow considerable time for browsing. With all the wonderful variety of artists and works, it would be a real shame to rush. But you'd better not wait!! Both exhibitions end April 1. No fooling. Sorry. Couldn't resist.