Five Katikati artists are getting together to have an exhibition as part of the NZ Mural Contest and Arts Festival. An exhibition called ‘Friends’ because that is what they are.
The five talented ladies are Val Tubman, Leigh Basinger, Lorraine Browne, Anne Bowling and me, your Katikati correspondent Birgitt Shannon.
A bit about the artists:
Between them they have decades of experience, have won awards, had numerous solo and group exhibitions and sold paintings that now hang in private homes and public places all over New Zealand and the world.
Anne Bowling
When asked about folk-art Anne said, “folk artists traditionally are storytellers, depicting images and icons that create a narrative related to their own environment, sometimes political, sometimes playful, always topical.”
After a long career as an Occupational Therapist, encouraging the creative side in others, retirement gave Anne the opportunity to explore and develop her own ‘artistic’ side.
“I am a ‘work in progress’ – each piece being a revelation of what I can achieve and how much more there is to learn through experiential trial and error, but it’s great fun and gives me a reason to get up in the morning,” she said
For the Katikati Mural and Art Festival Anne has created a collection of art time pieces with local themes specific to the Katikati lifestyle. She will also have an exhibition of painted decor wall plates called ‘Through a Child’s Eyes’ at KatiKati Picture Framers, 20 Main Road.
Lorraine Browne
Lorraine works from her studio in the garden. She paints most days enjoying the challenge of trying something new. Her style is imaginative, colourful, playful and has been described as uplifting. She has exhibited in Auckland, Papamoa, Katikati and more recently in the Tauranga Garden and Art Festival enjoying considerable success.
Val Tubman
Val was a trained professional airbrush artist both in Auckland and Sydney for 20 years. She attended many workshops and has won over 70 awards over 40 years including ‘Trust Power Art Award’ in Tauranga, Supreme Award at ‘Waikino Open Art Award’, Supreme Award at ‘Rotary Art Award’ in Paraparamu and Merit for a watercolour at the ‘Easter Show’, Auckland
She has exhibited in many galleries including Downtown Hilton Gallery and Peter Reynolds Interiors.
“I started my artistic career as an airbrush artist and freelanced later for 15 years. I was a tutor at Waihi College giving adult education classes for 22 years and have given workshops for many years at art clubs and at my home,” she said.
She added, “for many years I painted the originals for a card company and have had my work published in calendars and the Australian Artists Magazine. My art work includes oil, watercolour, acrylic and pastel mediums and commissions have been taken all over the world.”
Val’s website address is www.valtubman.co.nz
Leigh Basinger
Leigh has been interested in art for many years, experimenting successfully, using different mediums. She has created paper mache sculptures, limestone sculptures and recently started painting.
Since moving from the South Island to Katikati in 2012, she has focused on canvas and glass painting, the latter having become an integral part of her practice. It is known as “Reverse Glass Painting,” which is an ancient art form.
Leigh explains, “I apply paint to a piece of glass and then turn the glass over to view the image. It is a technique that requires reverse thinking and perspective, and it gives me the type of artistic challenge I enjoy.”
To find out more about Leigh go to: www.findus.co.nz/listing/x_listing_id/02303.html
Birgitt Shannon
Born in Australia, Birgitt moved to Katikati in 2012 and has been slowly getting her name ‘out there’ in the BOP and Waikato areas. She has had solo exhibitions and taken part in numerous group exhibitions at galleries like Creative Tauranga, Artspost in Hamilton, Wallace Gallery in Morrinsville, The Little Blue House, Katikati and many more.
“I was very proud to have been chosen to paint one of the Morrinsville Cows which is standing in front of the Morrinsville Museum. It was a lot of fun painting a life size cow and an experience I won’t forget.
At the last NZ Mural Contest & Arts Festival I painted two huge flower pots beside the BNZ Bank in public. I had a great time despite two days of rain.
I don’t have any one style because I am always trying new things but my work is always bold, colourful and different.
I am really looking forward to exhibiting with four amazing and talented artists at this year’s festival.”
Birgitt can be contacted through her website www.artbybirgitt.com and her Facebook page www.facebook.com/artbybirgittnz
The exhibition will be held at Harry Maddox Jewellers, 18 Main Road, Katikati, where there is a modern gallery space.
It will be open Saturday 30th Sept – Saturday 7th Oct
Sat & Sun 9:00 – 4:00, Mon – Fri 9:00 – 4:30
One of the artists will be available for a chat Sat 30th, Sun 1st, Thurs 5th, Fri 6th, and Sat 7th, from 10:00 – 4:00. We look forward to seeing you there.
Coming up at the end of September – the NZ Mural Contest & Festival
Check out Birgitt’s article about what’s coming up in the NZ Mural Contest http://artbop.co.nz/nz-mural-contest-arts-festival-katikati/
AND WHEN YOU’RE IN THE BAY OF PLENTY MAKE sure you check out
2017 Rotorua Museum Art Awards Exhibition of Finalists Judges Selection of Works
Until: Friday, 6 October 2017
Venue: Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts CentreTime: 10am – 4pm
Price: Free entry
Highlighting the exceptional talent of artists throughout the Bay of Plenty, this exhibition will showcase winners and finalists from the 2017 Rotorua Museum Art Awards.
Kereama Taepa has won out over 148 other entries from across the Bay of Plenty to take out the $10,000 Rotorua Museum Supreme Art Award with his work Bicultural Dialogue I. Judge Emma Bugden said what set this work apart for her was its simplicity; superbly executed, smart and funny which drew her in and held her attention.
“While the sculpture tackles big subjects—the complexity of cultural identity and the changing nature of craft in a digital era—it does it with cheek and humour. The legacy of tradition is seen through a contemporary lens, simultaneously throwing light on the past and the future.”
The $1,000 Toi Ohomai Innovation in Art Award went to Jill Fleming for her work Ascension and Cheyenne Rose was named as Friends of Rotorua Museum Emerging Artist for her work Legs.
The Rotorua Museum Art Awards Exhibition of Finalists 2017 displays these three award winning works alongside 45 specially selected entries at Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Centre until 6 October 2017.
While the exhibition is on display people can vote for their favourite artwork either in the gallery or via the Rotorua Museum Facebook page. This year the More FM People’s Choice Award will offer $500 to the artist whose work receives the most public votes in the gallery and $500 for the work with the most online votes by the end of the exhibition (6 October 2017).
Entry to the exhibition at Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Centre is free and will be open daily between 10am – 4pm from 9 September until 6 October 2017.
For the first time this year Rotorua Museum will be displaying works that were not chosen for the finalist exhibition in a Salon des Refusés. This exhibition will be hosted at Rotorua Library (1238 Pukuatua Street, Rotorua) from 14 September until 7 October 2017 (during normal library opening hours).
All artworks from both exhibitions will be on sale to the public throughout the exhibition period.
For further information please contact Rotorua Museum, phone 07 350 1814 or email rotorua.museum@rotorualc.nz AND…
TAURANGA ART GALLERY toi tauranga
Bob Jahnke – ATA: a third reflection
9 September 2017 – January 2018
Reflections upon past events, like reflections in a mirror, are inherently skewed to the perspective of the viewer. Ata, meaning form or reflection, explores the connections between light and reflection, history and retrospection.
Like light through a prism, Jahnke’s sculptures offer us alternative perspectives, expanding our linear view of history into a spectrum of thought and colour. Symbols within the works cite nineteenth and early twentieth century Māori spiritual leaders such as Te Kooti Arikirangi and Rua Kēnana, reflecting on the artistic and religio-political innovations of their era.
Professor Robert (Bob) Jahnke is of Ngāi Taharora, Te Whānau-a-Iritekura, Te Whānau a Rakairoa o Ngāti Porou, Samoan-German, Scottish and Irish descent. As a significant figure in contemporary Māori art, Jahnke has an extensive exhibition history and has works in major public and private collections throughout Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally.
This exhibition has been developed and toured by Pātaka Art + Museum.
This exhibition at Tauranga Art Gallery has been generously supported by Kinetic Recruitment
Bridget Reweti, Irihanga
9 September 2017 – January 2018
Wellington-based artist Bridget Reweti (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi), who is originally from Tauranga Moana, has created an installation highlighting the 150 years since the Tauranga Bush Campaign that resulted in the raupatu (confiscation) of Tauranga Moana. Drawing on Pai Marire iconography and native flora, Reweti’s work portrays the complex ecosystem of the Kaimai, the area where the scorched earth policy was most intensely enforced.
Irihanga, which means to suspend or to hang, references various devices that have been used throughout early colonial history in Aotearoa. Haki (flags) and heke (rafters in a meeting house) have at various times both been employed as a way to communicate unification, dissension or to signal change AND
WHAKATANE MUSEUM & EXHIBITION CENTRE
