16 Feb to 22 March – A [Lesbian] Body of Work – a show of works by Jo Mears
23 March to 12 April – The Eternity of Mortality – paintings by Aurora Matteson
13 April to 3 May – Confluentia – Rama Aycrigg, Lynnemaree Patterson, Angela Carter
4 May to 17 May – RELEVANT – Multi-media event and exhibition
18 May to 7 June - Sad Beauty – Photography by Louise Williams
8 June to 14 June - To Dance – Photographs by Ruth Ames
15 June to 12 July – Hung out to Dry – Works by Jenny Draper
13 July to 9 August – Naughty Chocolate – Paintings by Philippa McDermott
10 August to 3 September – Wonderwaterworld – Cast Glass by Fiona Rennie Schwieters
7 September to 11 October – Monkey Food – Sculpture and Jewellery by Clair Stringer-Boubli
26 October to 22 November – Meet me on the corner of flower and steel – works by Nick Klarwill, Chris Moore and Alan Smith
23 November to 29 November – Discoveries – Works by Christine Gregory's art class
14 December to 1 February – RIGHT ON!3 – grafitti show by Dan Tippett, RFS1 and Ouch!
A [Lesbian] Body of Work – a show of works by Jo Mears
“A [Lesbian] Body of Work” is an exciting and innovative show of painted classic mannequins that explores the diversity of Lesbian culture in New Zealand and worldwide. It examines the way in which Lesbians label themselves and also the way they are stereotyped by mainstream society. The work explores historical aspects such as ‘Butch and Femme’ and 1970s feminist activism as well as the diversity of today’s Lesbian community. Many create humorous plays on contemporary branding.
The show features a wide array of identities from “Bull Dyke” to “Lesbian Ski Team girl”, from Superman inspired “Super Dyke” to queer icon “Xena Warrior Princess”.
The mannequins used are all torso-only 1960s style fibre glass and wood. Although they have no head, arms or legs, Jo Mears, through her clever representation of iconic clothing and accessories, has imbued a personality into each and every one of them. She has even put the mannequins on plinths of differing heights so that, en mass, they suggest a realistic mix of women.
Reminiscent of the art of body painting, each of the pieces is intricately painted and finished with Damar resin varnish.
The Eternity of Mortality – paintings by Aurora Matteson
23 March to 11 April
“The Eternity of Mortality” is a exhibition of a series of paintings by local Auckland artist Aurora Matteson. It explores the theme of the cycle of life and death and regeneration. The artist’s view is that every living molecule is eternally present whether as a human or a leaf, whether forming, living or decomposing. She believes that while a human life-time is limited, the decisions we make and the way we conduct our lives impact on those around us and on future generations. She says, “Just as a tree produces leaves, in autumn they fall to the ground and eventually be absorbed into the earth to provide nutrients for future generations, the fact that we have existed makes us part of eternity and part of the cycle of life.”
Aurora Matteson’s work also has a strong spiritual element to them. She believes that “we are not human beings having spiritual experiences, we are spiritual beings having a human experience”. She looks at “pagan” notions of spirituality through this notion of natural regeneration. She does this through the depiction of the koru and other natural forms. She also explores the more conventional spiritual traditions of Christianity through the representation of Christ’s face from the shroud of Turin.
Aurora Matteson uses leaves and light in her work to represent this journey between life and its source. Her use of textures and glazes imbues a sense of depth and time. Her use of radiant light often from the centre of the work portrays a sense of life force and energy and yet the works engender a sense of calm and peacefulness.
Confluentia – Rama Aycrigg, Lynnemaree Patterson, Angela Carter
Celebrating the inherent genius of nature through line, paint and crochet
13 April to 3 May
Three friends have come together to create works that celebrate the inherent genius of nature. Together, these artists weave qualities of playfulness, sensitivity and sheer abundance to create a show that has genuine vitality. Their approaches are very different but the threads that bind them are a fascination and a reverence for life on Earth.
Come be intrigued, be puzzled and be entranced by the simplicity, complexity and diversity these artists offer.
RAMA AYCRIGG
The motifs explored in Rama Aycrigg’s paintings are informed by the repetitive aspect of the language of decoration, a language which celebrates the natural world by mimicking the symmetry and patterns found there. She draws inspiration primarily from the decorative traditions of the vibrant culture of India, an influence that began for her as a child in the Hare Krishna community, referencing a medley of sources including architecture, fabric and traditional arts performed by women such as Rangoli (decoration of the entrance to the home) and Mehandi (decoration of the hands and feet).
The labour intensive process involved in creating these decorative forms is very important to her practice. She always works free-hand and the constant repetition unavoidably reveals all the imperfections of the human hand which are cherished as evidence of the creation process. The inherent nature of these decorative forms also provides her art practice with a strong connection to her spiritual practice; the ritual of repetition becomes a meditation, a mantra. The decorative forms in Rama’s work offer a reminder of the harmony found in nature and perhaps a sense of the meditative peacefulness that exists in their creation.
ANGELA CARTER
Angela Carter is an Auckland based object artist who works primarily with textile and fibre mediums. Playfulness, humour and nonsense are key aspects of her practice. Inspired by illustrations of Dr Seuss and varied forms of life that exist in marine environments, at first her objects may seem absurd and dysfunctional, however, they are intended to create a sense of wonder for the viewer, that they may experience the fun and playfulness involved in making them.
As a process of iteration and repetition, crochet begins with a slip knot and involves creating a series of loops using a hooked needle, altering the topology of the original material from a simple length into a complex three dimensional form. Fascination with the ability to control and manipulate these materials has driven Angela’s practice, resulting in ‘mutations’ of traditional crochet stitches.
LYNNEMAREE PATTERSON
Lynnemaree Patterson’s work explores themes such as the relationship between order and chaos, the great web of life, and the nature of connections. She is concerned about the precarious state of the earth and her works celebrate the extraordinary diversity and complexity of life while drawing attention to the delicate balance we are facing.
For Lynnemaree “painting is like taking my hands off the steering wheel… what appears chaotic and fragmented, I believe, is intricately connected should we allow our imaginations to weave a tale and discover the mysteries.” The colours and sensuality of Cambodia, India and Papua New Guinea as well as those of the wilds of nature of Aotearoa permeate this artist’s painting.
RELEVANT
4 May to 17 May
RELEVANT is a community project first conceived with the idea of bringing together multi media artists from the local community to put on a night of entertainment for the public. The show is a chance for emerging artists to work in collaboration with other artists in a variety of disciplines for a one night extravaganza followed by a two week exhibition.
The theme of the exhibition is the concept of ‘neighbourhood’. Participating artists have been asked to think of this theme to draw the show together; so in considering perspective and medium the theme becomes relatively open, relevant to whom we are, the city we live in, the present moment.
Artists who are practicing but may not have necessarily exhibited in a public space before have been invited specifically with the idea of providing a network where there is the support and also the opportunity for future performances and shows to be realized. Thanks to the MARCO gallery | project space and a grant from Creative Communities the perfect venue and funding to facilitate such an event has been secured.
The months leading up to the show have in themselves been a fascinating creative process involving a group of around thirty performers; photographers, painters, jewellers, sculptors, dancers, musicians, film makers and more. Musicians have merged with documentary makers, dancers with visual artists; multi disciplines have been brought together to illustrate that each and every medium is in itself an art. Whereas in the past painting has been considered high art whereas perhaps dance has not, this show attempts to bridge the gap between art and entertainment. It is also felt that certain sectors of the public appreciate only particular art forms. Here an environment is created where the wider public can experience the vast dynamics of a broader creative spectrum.
SAD BEAUTY – Photography by Louise Williams
18 May to 7 June
There is nowhere to run from death
So be with your bones
The smell of dog
The fur that covers
The heart that is staked
Cannot breathe
Stuck in its constant reaching
I am like the dust
The decay from a falling building
The rubble
Something soft and warm to rest on
One long breathing until death
The sadness and the beauty of this
Repeating…
Louise Williams
TO DANCE – Photos by Ruth Ames
8 June to 14 June
To Dance a moment capture, To Photograph capture a moment
A journey through the world of dance as interpreted by Ruth Ames for the Auckland Festival of Photography June 2007. Dance expresses life as it is felt and understood. It is influenced by many dynamics which include culture, race, religion, era, as well as ideas generated by choreographers and other artists.
Ruth Ames has photographed dance in Auckland extensively over the past seven years, particularly during dance works, performing arts and cultural festivals. Her work reveals a wide range of dance and expresses its rich texture – capturing the dancer's interpretation of these dynamics in photographs that live beyond that elusive moment.
Hung out to Dry – Works by Jenny Draper
15 June to 12 July
“Art”, says Auckland artist Jenny Draper “should open us up to emotion and pain”. To her, a reaction of ‘lovely’ or ‘pretty’ means artistic failure. She believes that real art symbolizes and expresses life experiences that relate to the larger canvas of human suffering. Jenny has been exploring art as a way of portraying otherwise inexpressible trauma. Her life and work is always interrupted by constant physical pain, and many years of struggling with emotional extremes. Her relation to her own art has often been almost fearful as she confronts the dark side of human experience including mental and physical illness. Art expresses a kind of human courage in facing the unspeakable, and leavening it with wit.
According to Jenny, this show is about: excuses, lies, random thoughts anger, relationships, friendships, cheating, deceiving, arguing, gossip, funny stories, sad stories, things that may make you angry. Jenny says “…that having had the constant feeling of a grievously broken heart since birth, this year I decided to house my heart.” The show contains themes of “the demanding task of trusting humanity”, authenticity, learning to love, and emotional extremes. The objects in the show reflect these extremes, walking through and touching the washing represents freedom and chaos, while the extreme control of mathematical precision of the decoupage table represents the other end of the spectrum.
Draper’s perspective transforms ordinary objects into the extraordinary, looking beyond the familiar into the strange. This transformed vision of life is accentuated by the powerful twisted humour, the seasoning that makes the unbearable bearable.
Naughty Chocolate – Paintings by Philippa McDermott
13 July to 9 August
Philippa McDermott was born in Wellington New Zealand and has been painting for over 15 years. She has travelled and worked extensively throughout Europe, working in theatre as a costume designer, prop maker later working in Austria as a graphic designer and illustrator. Philippa has a degree in Animation and Interactive Multimedia from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and is currently in the final stages of completing her second degree in Media Arts.
Since returning to New Zealand, Philippa has taught art at Pablos Art Studios in Wellington as well as exhibiting her own work throughout New Zealand. Philippa’s work is heavily influenced by her graphic design and illustration background. Her travelling experiences both abroad and in New Zealand are also contributing factors to the subject matter of her work. Her current body of work is very much influenced by the film noir genre both compositionally and thematically. There is a uneasy juxtaposition between the inanimate and the living set in poorly lit urban environments which calls to mind the eerie urban scenes of Italian surrealist Giorgio De Chirico. In this sense, Philippa’s works create a sense of the familiar grown strange.
Philippa uses a mixture of media including acrylic paint, polyurethane and printers ink. She has been experimenting with various methods of combining these mediums for several years and these latest works are the product of this experimentation.
Philippa has exhibited throughout New Zealand as well as internationally in Austria and Australia in the past 15 years.
Wonderwaterworld – Cast glass by Fiona Rennie Schwieters
Auckland artist Fiona Rennie Schwieters has been working in glass since being inspired by the medium in Italy in 2000 while working with marble in carving and casting mecca Pietra Santa. After working in Sam Irelands’ Kingsland studio and exhibiting in the Studio Gallery for three years, she set up her home studio in Grey Lynn in 2005. Her lifetime interests and working history in carving, casting, prop design and construction and permaculture has all contributed to her distinctive style and flair when working with glass.
The inspiration for Fiona’s work comes from her love and respect of the natural world. She takes casts from fruits, seedpods, and other aspects of nature that interest her. She then “plays creator” by reforming them: attaching a banana stem to a hibiscus flower, a dragonsclaw to a banksia – making a reversible tree, joining a group of karella gourds to make a form that evokes tropical starfish. In this way for Fiona, subconscious worlds are revealed.
The technique of casting glass fascinates Fiona. She says, “I am in love with the alchemy of glass. Glass – a slow moving liquid. I am caught in the process and techniques of sculpting with gaffer glass, billets, frit and rods. Working with warm wax. Boiling, pouring, fetling, sprueing, mouldmaking, steaming, filling, baking, cooling, chipping plaster from glass, sandblasting, grinding, polishing (or not). Each piece of castglass has at least seven processes in its creation and there is risk at every stage. Where there’s risk there’s excitement!”
In Wonderwaterworld Fiona explores the almost supernatural nature of the underwater world. Living in Auckland and spending a lot of time in Fiji, Fiona has drawn her inspiration from the ocean, from rockpools and snorkelling in tropical reefs: “breathing underwater, gliding over coral, eyes open to luminous colours, senses suspended in a vivid new world.” She has cast the lost wax, capturing in glass the liquid nature of the material. With this as a base she has added all sorts of multicoloured additions recalling coral and other colourful inhabitants of the underwater world. These “wonder-full” creations are then submerged in goldfish bowls to give the spectator a further feel of the world under water.
Fiona has exhibited extensively throughout New Zealand, as well as in Fiji, in the past 20 years.
Jungle Jewellery and Sculpture celebrating Brazil Day. MARCO gallery | project space is excited to host a show with a difference inspired by the flora and fauna of Brazil. Clair Stringer-Boubli has been making jewellery and sculptures from leaves, seeds and nuts found on the forest floor in the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil for four years after living in the state of Minas Gerais, 9 hours from Rio de Janeiro, where her husband, Jean Philippe Boubli, worked as a primotologist tracking a rare species of monkey. Clair was awed by the great variety of form and colour in the Brazilian flora. She wanted to preserve the delicate and fragile forms and make them into something more permanent and decorative. To form her scultures she first dries the elements, and sculpts an attachment from epoxy putty and wire to allow the piece to become mounted in whatever form. The now complete element is dipped in resin (polyester or epoxy). In most cases the element is then dipped in enamel paint but is sometimes left natural. The elements are then mounted on an acrylic painted MDF board and framed with aluminum. The only exception to this construction format is the kinetic mobile. Here the elements are suspended below a solid wood ring attached to the ceiling and turned by a motor. The natural elements of Clair’s jewellery are made in much the same way as the sculpture elements. Again she uses leaves, seeds and pods. The seeds used, are in some cases left natural (some exhibiting bright colours and high luster) or polished and dyed or carved. She is now also including natural elements found in the forest and on the beaches of New Zealand, for example, the internal shell spiral of Squid and Neptune’s Necklace seaweed. These resined elements are then combined with a myriad of other materials such as - fresh water pearls, mother of pearl, Paua shell, semi precious brazillian stones, glass beads from Tibet, Indonesia, China, and Brazil and Austrian Swarovski crystals. They are then strung on a variety of materials such as leather, suede, cotton twine and sterling silver. Clair’s background is in set design and construction, including designing for shows on New York’s Broadway. He specialty is in three-dimensional design, in particular making theatrical wings. Currently she is working on the wings for the film adaptation of the New Zealand novel “The Vintner’s Luck” by Elizabeth Knox. Looking at her sculptures and jewellery the relationship between her design work and her artistry can be readily seen. The opening night is on Brazil day, and we will celebrate by featuring exciting Brazilian DJ Bobby Brazuka and projecting images of the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil. A percentage of all sales will be donated to the Muriqui Conservação Project – a conservation fund spearheading the restoration of the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil – the habitat of the critically endangered Muriqui monkey. Restoration works towards preventing climate change.
Nick Klarwill, Chris Moore and Alan Smith
26 October to 22 November
Works by three artists creating a steel jungle with bursts of photographic colour.
From the edge of the cliff, imagine a bridge…
…or a ladder
It’s like a forest where everything has been stretched upwards. Where magical creatures exist and trees can talk. Some spaces are occupied and some are left vacant. And giants will go where men fear to tread.
There is hope in the blossoming, and caution too.
For where do we go next, what shall we do?
We have a choice, and choice is power
And the path will open like a flower.
Nick Klarwill
MARCO gallery | project space is excited to host a show of works by three Auckland artists. Chris Moore bends steel into flowing natural forms while Nick Klarwill extends the jungle into an enchanting organic realm, and Alan Smith shows us vivid flower interiors to be miniature universes. The space created is tactile, imaginative and luscious; a magical courtyard in a secret garden.
Chris Moore has been blacksmithing for 11 years including training in England with some of England’s most respected ironworkers and his work gracing buildings and parks throughout the UK, including St Paul’s Cathedral and Buckingham Palace. He runs a small forge in Waitakere. Nick Klarwill is a jeweller by trade and has recently come to the medium of steel, working out of Chris Moore’s forge. Alan Smith works as a landscape gardener and thus has a keen interest in the flora he works with. Armed with a macro lens he produces startling images of flowers that reveal the unexpected in the natural world.
Christine Gregory (tutor), Deirdre Anselmi, Ingrid Delamore, Pat Kentell, Susan Liddell, Jean MacQueen, Wendy Nobbs, Faye Sibbing, Lynley Stewart, Aneke VanRijn, Jo West
23 to 29 November
A show of a privately run art group meeting Tuesdays during term-time at the Platina Street Scout Hall in Remuera. Participants receive tuition in basic design and painting techniques and are encouraged to explore and build confidence towards finding their own direction and expression. The classes include visits to galleries and artists' studios.
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14 December to 1 February
Featured graffiti artists Dan Tippett, RFS1 and Ouch! The artwork was auctioned off in sections and
all money raised went towards the MARCO Trust Youth Arts Programme, which began in January 2008.
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Aerosol artist, illustrator, mural artist, designer, oil painter. I grew up between Grey Lynn and Coromandel, travelling between the two all my life. I have been painting since I left school in 1990 beginning as a traditional oil painter. But I love Hip Hop and began creating with aerosol about a year later. Aerosol art is a part of local environments and is influenced by Hip Hop culture. I think art is valid in all forms whether legal, illegal, commercial or spiritual. There are no rules, only the conditions you put on yourself. Currently I am creating murals on campervans for Escape Campervan Rentals, work as a DJ for BaseFM as well as many other creative projects. Dan Tippett |
Born in Auckland’s Springbok Tour riots, RFS1 (SILENCE) has challenged society’s priorities and values. “Kids leave school knowing how to count, but not knowing what counts.” Having his mouth washed out with soap at school didn’t silence him. Nor did the cane, wooden spoon or vacuum cleaner tube beat it out of him. The modern world’s ethicless consumer culture of negligence, double standards and self-righteousness drove him to dodge the spoonfeeding and to dig deep, researching for more depth and meaning of life as a soulrebel voicing the voiceless... supporting the unsupported... |
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I am a custom tattooist and have been tattooing for two and a half years. I started painting graffiti in 2004 and enjoy painting pictures as opposed to written/graphic text as I find people can relate to it more easily. My art style is Pop Art as it is on the level and is more accessible to a broader audience than traditional art styles. I enjoy creating images of animals as they do not have any political attachments. “The only difference between graffiti and philosophy is the word fuck” Ouch! |
Opening night auction featured DJs Stormin Norman and Dan Tippett
Thanks to our kind sponsors...
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