V o l.2 N o.4 2010
Hard work manifesting into inspiration & success Talent and inspiration. I am continuously entertained and delighted with the level of talent, resourcefulness and amazing artistic talent that surrounds me. It is not just art that I am talking about, but also the talented musicians, actors and beautifully talented people I get to study and work with. Cover image: Clare Caldwell Untitled black & white 35mm �lm block mounted 350 x 270mm
Editorial included in this publication re�ects the opinions of the contributing authors and does not necessarily represent the views of Gallery36. Copyright for submissions belong to the contributors unless otherwise speci�ed. Gallery36 | Auckland, New Zealand ISSN 1179-8319 www.gallery36.co.nz editor@gallery36.co.nz Editor: Selene Simcox Ph: 021 169 9084 E: editor@gallery36.co.nz
Creativity expresses itself in many ways, not just the arts. I am continuously impressed at how different people use creativity in their jobs, lifestyle and day to day activities. Creativity enriches everyone in many different ways. And something that reminds me of the beauty of creativity is how hard so many artistic people work at their craft and promoting themselves in resourceful ways. The SCAN Collective is one example of a group of passionate artists who are organised, communicating with each other and the wider community and have exhibited three times in their �rst year out of their degree. And they have children or full time jobs. It is passion, dedication and stamina like this that reminds me of the beauty of hard work paying off. Another success I’ve seen is of a friend of mine who I do not know if she would mind if I named her or not, so I will not. But this wonderful lady has worked hard in her teaching whilst working through her masters. Her artwork has grown into some very powerful conceptual artwork that has caught the attention of many people. And the right people. Through determination, passion and talent, we see her success as a rightfully given reward that will lead to many more great inspirational moments in hers and our lives. If you create, no matter what genre, keep going. Do not stop for anyone. If it is you, honour it, work at it and love every moment of it.
Gallery36 is a not-for-pro�t organisation dedicated to showcasing emerging artists and photographers from around New Zealand and now also Kiwi emerging artists and photographers working internationally. The quarterly e-zine offers an opportunity for exposure for those still �nding their feet in their career who are passionate about art and photography and the role it plays in our society and culture. Gallery36 is dedicated to providing like-minded people with pro�les of emerging artists and photographers they will love to read about, packaged up in an easily accessible format that supports our planet by saving trees. Here at Gallery36 we want YOU to be pro�led. Say what your work is about, what your passion is, and/or what in�uence you want to leave behind. This is your opportunity to be showcased and put yourself out there! If you are an artist or photographer who wants to be pro�led, please submit (Approx 300 words and up to 4 photos of your works (plus a photo of yourself, if you wish to), and email all this to editor@gallery36.co.nz. Please remember to label your photos with the name, year of creation, medium and size. Join our email database so you don’t miss out on each publication. Just email me at editor@gallery36.co.nz with join mailing list in the subject line. So enjoy reading, and don’t forget to share it with your friends! Regards Selene Simcox Editor Gallery36 | Vol 2. No. 4 2010
Brad Novak
Artist
E: brad@bradnovak.co.nz W: bradnovak.co.nz Born in Auckland in 1976 with Croatian heritage, Brad Novak is a professional painter and printmaker represented by a number of reputable dealer galleries around New Zealand. The diverse iconography of Aotearoa inspires him. Recent achievements include being chosen by the official art licensee for the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup, to represent New Zealand in the international art collaboration for the event.
Brad Novak Reservoir Birds of NZ 1.1 2010 Screen Print (limited edition of 80) 560mm x 760mm
He has also been included in the New Zealand’s Favourite Artists Exhibition with artists featuring in Denis Robinson’s latest book New Zealand Gallery. This publication has been launched in conjunction with a recent opening of an exhibition by Denis Robinson at Harrison’s Gallery in Tauranga. The website for the book is www.artdirection.co.nz/ book7.html A strong desire to make a difference culminated in Brad graduating from Auckland Medical School in the late 1990s. Brad openly acknowledges never seriously having the opportunity in his youth to study visual arts. However, a turning point in life then occurred during his OE with his wife in 20002001. “Katrina single-handedly opened my eyes to the joys of art. It was during one of our visits to a famous gallery that she laid down a challenge for me to
4
Brad Novak Tiki with Danaus Plexippus Wings 1.3 2009 screen print (limited edition of 80) 560mm x 760mm
make my own artwork - and the rest is history!� Returning to New Zealand and specialising in public health medicine, Brad was introduced to and fully embraced this speciality’s strong ethical foundations. These include: the importance of the Treaty of Waitangi; and the need for doctors to show leadership in not only the prevention of disease but also the promotion of good health in our society.
Above: Brad Novak Football 2010 - Eye Chart for NZ in South Africa 1.1 2010 screen print (limited edition of 80) 760mm x 560mm Above left: Brad Novak Jesus of Nazareth 1.2 2010 screen print (limited edition of 80) 760mm x 560mm Left: Brad Novak Zeus Faber with NZ Flag 1.2 2010 screen Print (limited edition of 80) 560mm x 760mm Gallery36 | Vol 2. No. 4 2010
Eva Polak
Photographer M: 021 151 1656 E: eva@evapolak.com W: evapolak.com My name is Eva Polak and I’m an artist specialising in impressionist photography. I see my photography as a form of contemporary art. Just as a painter uses a paintbrush, I use a camera. My interests lie in presenting nature not as the eye sees it, but as I feel it and experience it. I take particular inspiration from the French Impressionist painters, not only for the dreamy quality of their work, but also for their attitude to life. They were unafraid to break rules in order to create something unique and original, and that is a part of the creative process I’ve really come to identify with. I have a deep affinity for the West Coast of Auckland; it’s where I create most of my work. This landscape that alternates between wild and subdued, silken and raw, presents an ever-changing world
6
of colour and light I can explore. I’m fascinated by moving water, tidal cycle, wild life and peoples’ activities on the beach. Photography, for me, isn’t about f/ stops, shutter speeds or equipment. It’s about experiencing, feeling, and seeing. It’s about opening my mind to learning, not only about the people, places and things around me, but also, about my own self. I have published two books: At the beach (2008), a collection of images; and Impressionist Photography Techniques (2009), step-by-step guide outlining ways to use your camera for a painterly effect. (Both available to purchase on my website). In June 2010 I had my �rst, very successful solo exhibition Tides of Light at the Depot Artspace in Devonport during the Auckland Festival of Photography.
Eva Polak Walking with Angles 594 x 420mm
Eva Polak Dream Voyage is 400 x 400mm
Eva Polak Hope 594 x 420mm
When it comes to my goals, of course, I’d like to continue with photography, exploring new ideas and growing as an artist. After all, being able to successfully do what you love is, I believe, one of the most ful�lling things life can offer. When I’m not photographing, I enjoy travelling, walking, cooking, gardening, reading and spending time with my husband at home in Auckland. Eva Polak Untitled 594 x 420mm
Ben Caldwell BVA
Visual Artist M: 021 023 61626 E: ben.j.caldwell@gmail.com
I am a person who has a great passion and energy for Visual Arts. I relocated from Wellington to Auckland in 2009 to further my education, in which I have recently completed a Transitional Certi�cate at Auckland University. I transferred my bachelor’s degree in Visual arts from Wellington Institute of Technology with the intention of doing the Post graduate diploma and master’s degree in �ne arts at Auckland University. I am currently the Exhibitions co-ordinator at the Devonport’s Depot Artspace in Auckland. Prior to my role in Depot Artspace I was an art educator and youth worker at Challenge 2000 College based in Johnsonville Wellington where I worked for nine years.
employment I exhibit my art at regular intervals at a Private art gallery in Wellington. I have been involved with numerous public gallery exhibitions, with most recent shows; Shapeshifter 2010 at The New Dowse in Lower Hutt and E:Scape at the Waitakaruru Arboretum and sculpture Park. Within my artistic practice I am concerned with formal properties of sculpture. My current works have been the exploration of the arc, along with its formal properties of: volume, space, materiality, verticality and horizontality; it also has many meanings in both scienti�c and spiritual understandings. It has been a subject explored by many artists such as Berneer Venet, Anthony Caro and Richard Serra.
Alongside my education and
8
Ben Caldwell Five Arc Forms 2010 �berglass
Ben Caldwell Untitled 2009 painted mdf
1. Ben Caldwell Installation view 2009 2. Ben Caldwell More Vertical Than Horizontal 2009 painted mdf 3. Ben Caldwell Five Arc 2010 �berglass 4. Ben Caldwell Untitled No.2 2009 painted mdf & polyurethane foam
1.
2.
3.
4.
Fiona Goulding
Visual Artist
M: 021 217 2405 E: fiona.goulding@actrix.co.nz W: fionagoulding.vc.net.nz
It is easy to see why Fiona Goulding’s artwork is often described as exquisite. Her oil paintings are �nely executed and seek to convey the unequivocal beauty found in nature and the connection she feels with this. She loves to get immersed in nature’s detail: its sculptural qualities, nuances of colour and affect of light. Born in England and inspired by voluntary work undertaken in Africa, Fiona spent several years travelling through Europe, India, Nepal, New Zealand and Australia. It was the sheer beauty and variety of the New Zealand landscape which drew her to making New Zealand her home. Although inspired by Realism, particularly the Dutch artist, 10
Gerrit Dou, she prefers her inspiration to come directly from her own �ndings and responses to her environment.
are 100% acid and lignin-free, protecting them from aging, yellowing and fading for generations to come.
“One of the many things I love about painting is that no one has told me how to do it. I enjoy the process of learning from every painting I do, both from a technical point of view and from the subject matter.”
Winner of Best Oil at the National NZ Art Awards,
Fiona uses the highest quality materials for her work ensuring that her paintings Fiona Goulding Resting 2008 oil 240mm x 240mm
Tauranga, Fiona’s work has been exhibited and collected both in New Zealand and overseas and is featured in Who’s Who in Visual Art (Vol. 20102011). Fiona is happy to be contacted directly regarding commissions or direct sales.
Fiona Goulding Meandering 2009 oil 380mm x 300mm
Fiona Goulding Morning Shadows, Port Hills 2008 oil 600mm x 325mm
Fiona Goulding Soar, Te Mata Peak 2010 oil 600mm x 400mm
Gallery36 | Vol 2. No. 4 2010
Isla Osborne
Glass Artist
M: 021 027 22005 E: isla.osborne@gmail.com W: isla.co.nz
“Lampworking is an ancient and magical process, a chemistry that borders on alchemy. As a contemporary jeweler I find its lure irresistible.” I have been making jewellery since I was a child and have vivid memories of my seven-year-old self, enameling copper coins with a blowtorch. I now make contemporary glass jewellery, perversely trying desperately to keep my two young sons out of the studio. Glass is both subject and object in my work and its chemical and physical properties fascinate me. It is �uid whilst unyielding, delicate yet impenetrable. Glass can transform from liquid to solid in an instant, while still retaining the illusion of movement. My process consists of making �nely crafted glass beads, melted with a torch according to traditional Italian methods. Although the techniques I use are ancient, their application is contemporary and I am constantly experimenting with the nature and chemistry of glass.
12
My current work explores the
Isla Osborne N34°05’ W04°57’ plate glass, glass enamel paints and copper wire 330mm x 330mm (framed)
relationship between interior and exterior spaces. Vessels are mouthblown from borosilicate tubing, more typically used for scienti�c glass, then crafted into jewellery. I have been working with these forms for some time and have begun to �ll them with other materials including wood and feathers, or as in the Chrysalis Ring (shown), silk thread. I am drawn to the juxtaposition of materials, exquisitely seductive glass curves laid against wood, rubber or natural �bres. Although my primary focus is jewellery, I also work on a larger scale. My next exhibition, Pixel Imperfect, explores the ancient practice of stained glass. Again using traditional techniques, I grind coloured glass into powder and mix it with lavender and clove oil to make paint. Finished panels are then �red in a kiln to create permanent images. In this series I am taking Google Earth satellite images
Isla Osborne Pendant lampworked sodalime glass beads on rubber
and reinterpreting them. N34°05’ W04°57’ (shown) uses the Dyers’ District in Fez, Morocco as its reference. I am particularly interested in exploring the use of dying traditions whilst creating my own pigments here in New Zealand. 1: Isla Osborne Torque Neckpiece lampworked glass, silver, s-steel mesh, s-steel wire 1000mm long. Beads 25mm diameter 2: Isla Osborne Pod Necklace lampworked borosilicate glass, wood, spray paint, ssteel wire 700mm long. Largest bead 30mm x 65mm x 30mm (hwd) 3: Isla Osborne Arc Neckpiece fused and coldworked borosilicate glass, silver, nylon cord 560mm long. Glass 100mm x 200mm x 15mm (hwd) 4: Isla Osborne Chrysalis Ring lampworked borosilicate glass, antique silk thread, silver 45mm x 10mm x 10mm (hwd) 5: Isla Osborne Ladder Necklace lampworked glass, rubber, nylon cord 900mm long glass 120mm x 35mm x 10mm (hwd) Photographic Credit: Shelley Jacobson
1.
2.
5.
4.
3.
Logan Okiwi Shipgood
Artist/Sculptor
E: skysurfer@xtra.co.nz W: okiwidesign.com Tena koutou e rau rangatira ma (Greetings and salutations) I’m not a poet and I know it and my cousin is not an artist but he can write so here’s his view of me. Okiwi’s Dad “Shippy” heralds from Hackney, London and emigrated here in the early 50s. Shippy won the heart of my Logan Okiwi Shipgood with his Aunty Wiki and they marble sculpture, 2008 enjoyed one another so much they had 9 kids and a lot of mokos. Okiwi is one of the later brood and was given an opportunity to study sculpturing in Italy and develop his artistic acumen. Since that time he has used different art mediums including; wood, marble, sand, granite, chipboard,
14
bones, pigskin, ice. You name it he can art it. Being raised around the geothermal activity in Whakarewarewa, Rotorua, Maori cultural has always in�uenced his art which has been displayed throughout New Zealand, Australia, Asia and Europe. Okiwi is a seasoned traveller and also draws inspiration from extreme sports like jumping out of planes, off ledges on the Swiss Alps. He currently mountain bike’s through the local trails. Whether he is performing kapahaka, creating a �lm set, playing golf, �shing or doing another ta moko (tattoo) for a cousin (who promises to pay) it is never a dull moment to see what Okiwi will create next.
From a very young age, a belief in his own ability and the influence of his Uncle Rotohiko Heretaunga, Logan decided that art would become his career. Through the traditional art of Maori carving skills taught by his Uncle Rotohiko, where he was able to graduate from Wellington Polytechnic before gaining a scholarship to study at the Scuola D’Medici art school in Florence, Italy. His path led him back to NZ where he quickly became an established artist, it was not long before he returned to Italy then the rest of Europe and Scandinavia where he lived and studied also made his livelihood as a sculptor. His mixture of Maori and paternal Viking heritage has combined to bring a unique influence to his work which remains unmatched throughout the world today.
16
Gallery36 | Vol 2. No. 4 2010
Melodie Joseph
Artist
M: 021 022 22359 E: princess_melodie_7@yahoo.com
From a very young age, Melodie has always loved painting for the sheer joy of it. Her fascination with the great Italian Masters of the High Renaissance has and continues to in�uence and inspire her practice. Although most of her oeuvres are created with oil paints, she also uses ink pens as they enable her to create minute details in her artwork. Detail and depth to the works is an aspect she is always aiming to perfect.
she is currently pursuing her Bachelors of Fine Arts at Elam, University of Auckland, majoring in painting and design. Melodie has participated in various group exhibitions, and hopes to hold her �rst solo exhibition next year. She particularly loves doing portraiture pieces, and has sold a number of artworks in the past few years. Since exhibiting her
Her artwork is often inspired by her spiritual beliefs, as she aims to emphasise the beauty and design of the Creator’s hand manifest in human creation and the world we live in. Fascinated with the concept of chiaroscuro, or light and darkness, Melodie aims to use this in her opuses, especially the ones which deal with the human form. Having been awarded a tertiary scholarship for art,
16
Melodie Joseph Joy 2010 oil on board 400 x 300mm
work, she has received numerous commissions, particularly for her oil paintings. She believes a painting of a loved one is an original and special gift, and takes great pride in creating them for people. For enquiries regarding commissions for paintings and drawings, and information on her upcoming exhibitions, contact Melodie.
Melodie Joseph Innocence 2010 oil on board 850 mm x 600mm
Melodie Joseph Serenity 2009 graphite ink on paper 520 x 400mm
Melodie Joseph Second Last Supper 2009 oil on board 1.22 x 1.5 meters
Terry Bennett
Artist
Terry was born in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom in 1941, and emigrated to New Zealand with his family when he was just 10 years old. From his early childhood, Terry spent hours drawing, and in his early teens started to experiment with watercolours, then oils and �nally acrylics. His preferred mediums are now acrylics and oils.
18
E: terry.torika@xtra.co.nz W: artfind.co.nz
Painting then became a lifelong hobby rather than a fulltime profession, and was therefore put on the back burner for many years. This was due to marrying and helping to raise three children, which necessitated regular employment and a steady income. With his children all grown up and �own from the family nest, Terry retired from full time employment in 2006 and now devotes more of his time to his love of painting. Being self taught, he paints in a realist style, and has converted
his basement garage into a studio where he spends many long hours painting. Over the years he has produced a steady �ow of works, some of which are in private collections in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, France, Switzerland, Australia and Fiji, as well as in New Zealand. In 2009, Terry’s painting of a Venice scene gained �rst prize in the Images of Architecture sponsored by the Waitakere Achictects, and this year was successful in securing the Takapuna Art Supplies Award for painting, held at the Mairangi Arts Centre. In addition he has paintings featured on two 2010 calendars - a desk calendar produced by Art�nd.co.nz, and the other an in house calendar for a large multinational �rm. Many of his works can be seen on the website www.art�nd.co.nz and he also exhibits through his
preferred art gallery Monmo at Orewa on Auckland’s Hibiscus coast. With more time to devote to painting, Terry’s output is steadily increasing, as is the demand for his work.
Terry Bennett French Village acrylic 900 x 600mm
Terry Bennett Old Humber (End of the Road series) acrylic 600 x 460mm
Terry Bennett Sunlight 1200 x 550mm
Terry Bennett Sandy oil 450 x 350mm Gallery36 | Vol 2. No. 4 2010
Clare (Claudie) Caldwell
Artist
Throughout my life the visual arts have become a plastic extension of the way I think and feel. Art pre-dates language. It’s primal, mysterious, beautiful and often a deeply profound communication, with subtleties far beyond words. Art has always been my preferred medium of communication to express my emotional, spiritual, psychological, intellectual and political view of the world, and my place and changing understanding within it. After graduating from Elam in Auckland with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, my immediate impulse was to �nd my true voice again. I painted proli�cally, working laterally, lineally and intuitively, trying to �nd my direction. I became fascinated with astro-physics and abandoned oils and acrylics in favour of spray cans and stencils, misting, dribbling, experimenting with endless techniques and chance effects. The movement of liquids and gases within the known universe
20
Clare Caldwell Broken Wings acrylic on canvas 900 x 705mm
M: 021 293 3171 E: clare.e.caldwell@gmail.com became metaphors for my changing earth-bound emotional states – the microcosm within the macrocosm - resulting in an exhibition of small, framed abstract works on paper. These were later followed by larger format works on board, that were also exhibited. The subjective intensity of punk and New Wave music and lyrics had a huge in�uence on my work at that time too. Artists like Patti Smith extended my concepts of female sexuality, spirituality and power. My art started to become more overtly �gurative, a visual diary, attempting
What’s Pain Awareness on Art Competition Winner
r e n n i W n o i t i t e p Art Com
to capture the transience of Being – the emotional impulse, realisation and manifestation. I was also exploring the ephemeral energies behind the known surfaces of things – the telepathic, psychic, clairvoyant and extraterrestrial. The tension of opposites - the light and the darkness - played out like a battleground as the paradoxes that exist within us all fought for supremacy. This theme is one that still interests me and appears again and again in my work. Over the next few years I had several solo exhibitions exploring these concepts at The Settlement and Taj Mahal Galleries in Wellington. I also began working sculpturally for the �rst time, on four large individual pieces, all three metres high – two enclosed, chrysalislike pods - two breaking open, revealing semi-formed, androgynous white �gures. The pods are made of hessian dipped in plaster then painted, backed by hardboard panels. The two emerging bodies are made from raised chicken wire with a layer of plaster then a thin layer of sanded epoxy resin. All four contain an internal light source. This project is still ongoing. After living and working in Sydney for a couple of years I returned to NZ in 1986 to become a mother and in 1988 I travelled with little Sarah round the UK and Europe in a camper-van for six months. I devoured galleries in France, Germany and Italy, archaeological sites in Greece and saw paintings, sculptures and
Clare Caldwell Don’t Let Go acrylic on canvas 400 x 300mm
architecture I’d always dreamed of seeing. In Yugoslavia (that was) I visited deep, ancient caves and befriended Albanian gypsies. I felt my mind expanding out way beyond the con�nes of my Australasian world view. While in London I was involved in a collaboration with techno-punk musician Manuel Payo and his Germanicstyle band Oil in the Eye performing at The Flag. For several nights, selected images of my darkest works were �ashed onto huge screens on either side of the stage as they played. Back in New Zealand, I realised the beauty and eroticism of European Classicism had had a profound affect on me. I wanted to somehow emulate and extend those concepts to the viewing public but put them into a more personal and contemporary context. I decided to do it as a series of black and white photographs, connected together in a narrative, like a silent movie.
So began Journey - a challenging 117 piece project that I laboriously shot, printed and edited myself over the next two years. (This was pre-digital). Very simplistically, Journey is a love story. With themes of encapsulation and metamorphosis implicit in earlier paintings and sculptures and now in these photos, the Clare Caldwell I am Less a Woman than a Hunger. Waiting modelling paste and acrylic on canvas 600 x 400mm
interplay between light and darkness is acted out on a backdrop of existential alienation and shared intimacy. The �rst showing of Journey was at the Manawatu Public Art Gallery in 1992 where it was shown in its entirety and set up as an installation within a series of white gauze and black polythene tunnels. The second showing was at The Lane Gallery in 1995 and was edited by Ron Brownson (Senior Curator, Auckland City Art Gallery). It was hung like a frieze around the gallery walls. The third showing was at Andreon Gallery in Parnell in 2009 and was re-edited by myself. The message I hoped Journey would bring was and is one of optimism, tenderness and ultimately, the triumph of love. Our world, now increasingly ravaged by aggression and greed needs to be reminded: this is not what we’re here for or the best we can be. Throughout 1996 I was involved in several collaborations: a group show at The Lane Gallery and two seasons of the multi-media Alive and Desperate Show (with performance poet Anne Jones and illusionist Tara O’Khan), at B-Side Theatre. In 2000 I was asked by Mercy Hospice if I’d be interested in pioneering an art therapy programme there, working voluntarily with patients and their families. This meant using art in a therapeutic rather than �ne arts way, helping people externalise and work through their issues in the face of imminent death. Two years later I enrolled at AUT in the new Post-Grad. Certi�cate in Expressive Therapies, to deepen my practice.
One of my ongoing passions is the study and observation of the human condition. I believe we must stay connected to our ancient and often dormant brain capacities, stay connected to the life-force of this planet and the myriads of life-forms it holds, somehow �nding a balance with this and the expansion but insidious disconnecting effect of the technological age. In 2000 I also began slowly painting two large identical panels, each several metres high. A white �gure emerged on each, one male (unknown), one female (me), facing each other. Feeling intrigued, I continued on, allowing them to form. A few months on I met the man I was to marry eight years later. As I progressed into my 50’s a series of Clare Caldwell Witness acrylic on canvas 900 x 705mm
I’m still with Mercy Hospice and still blown away by the power and efficacy of art when used in a therapeutic way. How has it affected my �ne arts practice? Dying is a great leveller. It doesn’t matter who you’ve been, how much or how little money you have or the position you’ve had in society. Working with the dying has helped give me a window into the complexity and raw essence of what it is to be human.
22
Clare Caldwell Untitled black & white 35mm �lm, block mounted 420x300mm
images kept repeating in my head. I began to paint them with a restricted palette of sepias, whites and blacks. One day I found an article written by a woman who’d painted her way through her mid-life crisis connecting to and utilising Jungian archetypes. I realised I too was re-visiting, re-analysing my sense of Self on a very primal level. I’d instinctively tapped into that same collective unconscious that’s part of our ubiquitous human experience. My paintings were full of archetypes and went some way to make sense of the changes going on within me at that time. One of these paintings, Broken Wings later went on to win the online Pain Month Art Competition, art critic’s choice, in October 2010, www.painmonth.co.nz for its depiction (among other things), of the impotent rage I experience dealing with my chronic pain condition. It was exhibited along with other entrants at Tabac Bar, Auckland CBD and will replace Frida Kahlo’s stunning The Broken Column to advertise the competition next year. I began re-working a large painting in whites and soft greys I’d started several years before, that seemed strangely signi�cant. It portrayed me and my husband gently confronting several glowing white beings approaching us in a landscape. A few months later I became seriously ill, and nearly died. On my return home from hospital I looked at that painting with a whole new understanding. I’d come right up to that edge, twice. These pre-cognitive works that come every now and then are very special to me: they represent a tapping into a wisdom and time/space continuum that our rational mind with its measuring of real time tends to negate. After a long convalescence, I went on a six weeks trip to India with Sarah, who’d not long returned from Africa. India is an experience beyond words - a mind-blowing country, full of paradoxes, extremes and wonderfully intelligent and passionate people. The affect all of the above has had on my current art practice, plus navigating my way through changing Clare in a �ower market, Calcutta, India
world issues, is continuously percolating. Artists are often the watch dogs in society. As I reassess my thinking about the world and my place within it, I’m conscious that my art re�ects many of these changes. The new body of paintings I’m working on right now seems to have a more expansive world view and objectivity, and unlike the last monochromatic series, are full of colour. They’re to do with the shadow of globalisation – with the dis-location and dis-placement of humans – with the new paradigm of progress before people and planet – with our need to connect with the wisdom and energies of the natural world and greater universe before it’s too late. As our world homogenises and old beliefs and values are questioned and broken down, loss of cultural and personal identity and sense of place in this world inevitably begins to occur. I cannot help but feel that as a species, we’ve begun to lose our way. In the words of Edvard Munch: “My art ..is an attempt to clarify my own notion of life...but I shall not give up hoping that with its assistance I shall be able to help others achieve their own clarity.”
Artist
E: cdolsen@gmail.com W: charlesolsen.es
Madrid, Spain “I’m always surprised by where my passions take me; from the Saatchi Gallery in London, to a Colombian prison, to the Nga Puna Waihanga Hui in Te Aute College.” I began painting seriously in the 1990’s and studied at Middlesex University, London, with artists Marc Chamowicz, Jim Mooney, Jules de Goode and Richard Robbins, among others. Spain had always attracted me and so I came here in 2003 with my guitar to see the paintings of Velasquez and Goya and to study �amenco guitar with the gypsies. For two years I studied with maestro El Entri exchanging oil portraits of him and his son, guitarist Jesús de Rosario, for classes.
24
As well as painting I work with photography, stereoscopic photography, video, animation, graphic design, and I write poetry. In September 2010 I was presented with 2nd prize by Cristina Hoyos for my short �lm The dance of the brushes in the Flamenco Short Film Festival, Madrid. You can see the trailer in: ladanzadelospinceles.blogspot.com. My portrait of �amenco dancer Miryam Chachmany, La Sundari, painted in oils on old wooden window shutters, has until recently been on display at the Saatchi Gallery in London. I have lived overseas since 1981 and so I have to make the most of my visits to New Zealand. During my last visit in 2001 I ended up playing Charles Olsen The dance of the brushes Film still 2010
�amenco guitar at the Nga Puna Waihanga Hui in Te Aute College, and had my �rst NZ exhibition in Wellington. I have recently collaborated with Colombian poet Lilián Pallares taking photographs for her book Ciudad Sonámbula, and with Spanish actor Pedro María Sánchez, creating four videos for a musical recital of stories by Hans Christian Andersen. I am about to publish my �rst book of poems in Spanish and English titled Sr. Citizen. You can read my poems in pensamientoslentos.blogspot.com where you will also �nd photos of my recent recital in a prison of Barranquilla.
Emerging artists and photographers working abroad
Charles Olsen
Occasionally my brush fumbles to the same rhythm collecting thought the way the lapwing catches its sustenance in the air. (Charles Olsen, 1999)
Charles Olsen Totara St Garden 2006 Oil on card 520 x 560mm Charles Olsen La Sundari 2005 1580 x 1500mm
Larking about like Fools tumbling in an unseen Circus, lappingwings flappingwings sloop’n’roll to that jazzy cry.
Emerging artists and photographers working abroad
Charles Olsen A L Clayton in Thought 2001 Watercolour 260 x 170mm
What’s on
Bead Archeology www.nzgba.org.nz
Art Station, 1 Ponsonby Road, Auckland
1 st – 19 th Feb, 2011. Opening 1st Feb 5 – 7pm An exhibition of glass beads, jewellery and sculpture opens at the Art Station Gallery in Ponsonby this February. The New Zealand Glass Bead Artists (NSGBA) exhibition, Bead Archeology, explores the application of ancient techniques to contemporary beadmaking in New Zealand. Beads are one of the oldest forms of art and have been used for tens of thousands of years. Wherever the �rst beads may have been found, their history shows that they have been very important. Interestingly, beads are not merely decorative items and the desire and continued practice for them has lead to several technological revolutions. Central to the exhibition will be a large-scale world map, with examples of beads for visitors to examine, and information about the history of glass beadmaking. The show will then be divided into four geographical areas, each introducing a unique beadmaking
26
technique and presenting contemporary artwork and jewellery in�uenced by individual artists’ research. Alongside the exhibition, the NZGBA are running a series of workshops in glass beadmaking and jewellery techniques. These will include lampworking classes for beginners as well as more experienced glass artists, and there will be workshops introducing indigenous beading techniques. In conjunction with the exhibition and workshops, the NZGBA will run Release a Bead; planting unique, handmade glass beads around Ponsonby. Release a Bead is a global project with the aim of sharing the joy of beadmaking. Over the course of the exhibition more than 100 beads will be released into the wild, wonderful surprises for people to �nd in the most unexpected places. Bead Archeology runs from February 1st through to February Roll-up beads by Greg Smith
Hollow Earth bead by Isla Osborne
19th in the Art Station Gallery at 1 Ponsonby Road, Auckland. For more information please visit www.nzgba.org.nz
About the NZGBA The New Zealand Glass Beads Artists (NZGBA) is a small community whose aim is to educate and promote the art of Glass Bead making, preserve its traditions and encourage a continued renaissance. The NZGBA hosts an annual glass exhibition which is a major event for all members. This year the show, Lucent, will be held at The Depot Artspace in Devonport, running from October 16th – 28th. The NZGBA also hosts an annual Bead Week in May, with meetings, demonstrations, international
The NZGBA donates beads to The Child Cancer Foundation Beads of Courage programme. Beads of Courage is designed to support and strengthen the protective resources in children coping with serious illness. Through the program, children tell their story using colourful beads as meaningful symbols of courage that commemorate milestones achieved along their unique treatment path. The NZGBA donate one of a kind, handmade beads to the programme including purple hearts to represent the end of treatment and butter�y beads that are given to every parent who has experienced the loss of their child. We are very proud to be able to donate work to such a great cause.
About the Glass Bead making To create glass beads, lampworkers melt narrow rods of glass with a blow torch. Molten glass is wound around a metal rod or mandrel and the space occupied by the metal becomes the bead hole. Turning the mandrel and holding it in different positions allows gravity to help the bead take form, tools are then used to push and pull glass beads into shape. Once the bead is formed, surface decoration is applied and the �nished bead is put into a hot kiln to cool or anneal. This makes the glass strong and able to withstand the shock of normal wear and tear.
For more information visit wwwnzgba.org.na/wp/ exhibitions/
Workshops in association with the Bead Archaeology exhibition 071 Introduction to Glass Beadmaking with Isla Osborne This workshop gives participants a basic introduction to the art and science of making lampworked glass beads covering. There are demonstrations in how to pull glass stringers, making a round bead and applying basic decoration. Maximum enrolment is 6. 2 February Wednesday 9am – 12pm. Cost $95 081 Making Warring States Beads with Isla Osbourne This workshop in ancient Chinese bead making is suitable for beginner and intermediate participants, but a basic understanding of making lampworked beads will be an advantage. Maximum enrolment is 6. 3 February Thursday 1pm–4pm. Cost $95 091 Making Roll-up Glass Beads with Greg Smith This workshop over 3 afternoons and is suitable for experienced glass artists. Participants will cut and fuse coloured glass sheets in the kiln before using a diamond saw to section them into murrini. The murrini are then applied to hot beads using lampworking techniques. Maximum enrolment is 6. 2, 3 & 4 February Wed - Thurs 1 - 4pm Fri. Cost $285 101 African Ndebele Cuff Bracelet with Karilea Lyndsay-Beale This workshop is suitable for beginners. Participants will use a herringbone stitch to construct a basic African cuff bracelet. All tools and materials are included in the cost and work can be taken at the end of the class. Maximum enrolment is 6. 5 February Saturday 10am -2pm. Cost $85 111 Egyptian Sun Collars with Karilea Lyndsay-Beale This workshop is suitable for more experienced beaders. Participants will learn how to construct an Egyptian style
Earth Eye beads by Isla Osborne
Gallery36 | Vol 2. No. 4 2010
What’s on
tutors and the National Glass Bead Competition. Held alongside Bead Week, this is the only award of its type in New Zealand. The competition has a number of different categories, from beginners to advanced and the awards dinner is always an interesting event.
121 Fused glass pendants - an introduction to making fused glass jewellery with Isla Osbourne This course introduces students to the art of decorating and fusing glass. Participants will learn how to cut cold glass and decorate it with a variety of media including coloured glass, frits, stringers, confetti and metal inclusions. Maximum enrolment is 8. Saturday 5 March 10 – 3pm. Costs $80
Please note: All tools and materials are included in the cost of all the above workshops.
Peter Viesnik makes a glass bead
28
Call to artists
collar from simple patterns of repeating beads. Work can be taken at the end of the class. 12 February Sat 10am –1pm. Cost $110
Art in the Dark
THE FUTURE
After much planning and nail-biting the �rst official Art in the Dark began as the sun set on the 15th October. After only two days of set-up, aided by a very efficient and patient team of volunteers, all projects stood ready and waiting for the �rst wave of visitors. By 7pm Western Park had already started to �ll up, as young families arrived to experience Art in the Dark before bedtimes rolled around. It was incredible to see a Park, otherwise notorious for being unsafe at night, awash with delighted faces. Children utterly enthralled by the small house that dished out sweets, and on occasion, tricks or the miniature cities as seen through a magnifying glass with exhausted, but happy parents in tow. As the evening progressed, more and more folk streamed through the park to pedal for �lms, lie back on the grassy banks and listen to sound installations or gaze at the changing light of the giant moo chandelier. The hardest part was having to usher people away at 11pm!
From an Honours thesis, Celia Harrison and her small organisational team have managed to create a unique, environmentally friendly, large scale community event from very limited resources in less than �ve months. This would have been impossible without the support of our sponsors, friends, volunteers and artists, and we hope that Art in the Dark will inspire other communities to work together in a similar fashion. Art in the Dark also hoped to galvanise Auckland’s artistic community to work together alongside local businesses and community groups. Other arts festivals and organisations have approached Art in the Dark, requesting the Company’s involvement, and we see this as a fantastic opportunity to provide a platform for local artists to gain exposure and support in Auckland.
Saturday saw even more traffic through the Park, estimated at roughly 4500 comparative to Friday which we place at around 3500. This increase in �ow is a compliment to the Art in the Dark team, as reviews conducted would indicate that the event had been recommended to visitors by friends and family who had visited the night before. Overall the feedback has been fantastic, with applications for projects to exhibit next already arriving as well as a surge in visits to both the Art in the Dark website and facebook groups. Furthermore, the local community has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic about the prospect of bringing Art in the Dark back next year. Further to the accolades received both via email and posted online, the atmosphere generated by Art in the Dark was evidence enough that a unique event had been created. In such a public space no trouble was caused, and a unique and amiable sense of community emanated from every corner of Western Park.
Art in the Dark aims to be an annual event, and has received enormous support and encouragement to this end. We have applied for funding to tie in with the Rugby World Cup, as well as various other charities, in the hope that we can widen the scope of the Art in the Dark and make it a truly spectacular annual community happening!
Gallery36 | Vol 2. No. 4 2010
�g 1: Photograph by Elizabeth Clarkson - Art in the Dark 2010 �g 2: Hans E Hammonds - Art in the Dark 2010 �g 3: Moo Chandelier by Hamish Stirrat, Jun Tsujimoto & Callum Dowie. Digital photograph by Elizabeth Clarkson �g 4: Miniature cities by Emily Priest. Digital photograph by Hans E Hammonds �g 5: The �nd another way barricade by Brydee Rood. Digital photograph by Hans E Hammonds �g 6: A life by the ocean by Jodie Salmond. Digital photograph by Jodie Salmond �g 7: Ride-in by Celia Harrison & Emily Pirest. Digital photograph by Hans E Hammonds
�g 8: Trick or treat Melissa Durbin. Digital photograph by Elizabeth Clarkson �g 9. Sky mirror by Julia Oram. Digital photograph by Hans E Hammonds �g 10: Cosmic Earth by Jim Oborne. Digital photograph by Hans E Hammonds �g 11: The velociteers. Digital photograph by Pascal Laguillon �g 12: Ride in by Celia Harrison & Emily Priest. Digital photograph by David St George �g 13: Art in the Dark. Digital photograph by David St George
www.artinthedark.co.nz