Summer is on the way and Carol Bucknell’s Morning Light, with its saturated colour and play of light, is a welcome harbinger. The painting in cold wax and oil on panel was exhibited in the current Members Show, now halfway through its run at Te Whare Taonga o Waiheke/Waiheke Community Art Gallery. Sales of work have been steady and last week the exhibition was refreshed, with new pieces added. The exhibition is the first under new director Fiona Blanchard and contains a diverse and interesting collection of works across a variety of media.
“Thematically,” Fiona says, “there are no links apart from the artists all being gallery members, and the majority from Waiheke. There are some fantastic works, and it’s been a really lovely show for me to have as my first one because it’s helped me to create a connection with the artists on the island and the members. I’ve met so many people and created a relationship with their work as well, so it’s been a really great one to start with.”
It’s also a first exhibition on Waiheke for Northland artist Alison Fausett, whose 120mm high crosses, finely painted in oil on wood, are among the smallest pieces on display. Her delicately drawn figures or objects against an often threatening sea are influenced, by the effect of wind and water in her local environment. “The small crosses depict imagined and actual scenes in this environment. These are narratives which harbour levels of disquiet, strangeness and absurdity, as well as references to climate issues. The cross form provides a structure on which to create some of the narratives, e. g. figures standing or sitting on the edge of the form or looking down into the bottom part of the cross form. In some examples text is included, which supports the imagery created. The focus of my art practice in general is the negotiation of a liminal space between the abject and the sublime. This exploration moves around related and overlapping bodies of work – large-scale photographic works, sculptural works and paintings which draw upon notions about common and disquieting objects usually connected to the home.”
Full story in this week’s Gulf News… Out Now!!!
