Two Areas, Orange and Maroon

Mrkusich’s subsequent works, the Two Area, Three Area and Four Area paintings, draw on the legacy of his Corner Paintings. These creations reject the convention of a frame, doing away with the elements that anchor the image. Instead, they consist of fields of resonating colour aimed at engaging the soul. These works share more similarities with the immersive installations of artists like James Turrell, who transform entire galleries with light, than with any of Mrkusich’s New Zealand contemporaries. Remarkably, Mrkusich explored the potential of painting while maintaining the standard format — a square or rectangle hung on a wall. His painting Two Areas, Orange and Maroon exemplifies this, impacting the surrounding space without transcending the rectangular boundary.

In 2023, when artworks are often produced by teams of assistants in large workshops, one could mistakenly assume that Two Areas, Orange and Maroon followed a similar creation process. Despite its immaculate, precise execution, with not a drop of paint out of place, it is the work of a highly skilled painter at the peak of his craft. A closer look reveals a delicate, dappled surface that appears to advance, recede and shimmer.1 Mrkusich was 55 when he painted this work, and it encapsulates his vibrant energy and enthusiasm for the world. A true visionary, Mrkusich never rested on familiar techniques. He continually evolved, innovated and pushed boundaries throughout his career.

1 It’s appropriate to credit Hone Tuwhare with this description. In his poem Hotere (1970), he said Ralph Hōtere’s paintings appeared to “advance, recede, shimmer and wave”.

Seascape 2009 oil on linen signed McLeod in brushpoint lower right 1580 × 1580mm

EST $40,000 — $60,000

PROVENANCE

Private collection, Auckland; Acquired from Webb's, Important Paintings & Contemporary Art, Auckland, 31 July 2014, lot 77.

Andrew McLeod is wellknown in Aotearoa for his distinctive and dynamic painting practice. The artist is relatively young, still in his 40s, yet he is highly accomplished. His work is widely admired and held in a broad range of public and private collections.

McLeod’s paintings often incorporate historical content. He has made use of motifs and styles specific to a wide range of artistic contexts, including New Zealand modernism, Italian Renaissance painting, and Victorian art. From such sources, he generates unique, complex images that seem both contemporary and timeless.

Seascape is an oil painting that showcases McLeod’s painterly expertise. The work depicts a woman at sea with her hand thrown over her eyes, dwarfed by the magnitude of the water. She is lit by a thin beam of moonlight that also highlights the rough and stormy waves around her. Dotted throughout the scene are delicate flowers that appear to be growing out of the waves themselves. This composition feels at once both considered and effortless.

The painting is rendered in a dark, sombre palette that gives it an almost melancholic tone. This contrasts with the soft pale pink and greens of the flora peeking through – heightening their peculiarity and whimsy. McLeod is a master of creating fantastical and surreal settings in his paintings and this is no exception.

Recent years have seen increased market interest in McLeod’s paintings, which can be attributed to the undeniable quality of the work. The artist is also very much a rarity: he has produced a consistently strong body of work over a sustained period since the late 1990s, which has enjoyed a buoyant market from the outset. Yet, given his age, his most productive years seem to still lie ahead.

Kuaira 12 1978 oil on board signed Robert Ellis and dated 1978 in brushpoint lower left; inscribed Kuaira 12 in ink verso

890 × 910mm

EST $20,000 — $30,000

PROVENANCE

Private collection, Auckland.