~ Represented Artists
We've chosen all our artists ~ simply because of the calibre of their work ~ and the fact that we believe they add something special ~ to the language of visual art.
Iain
Cheesman
Christchurch, New Zealand, b. 1963
Iain’s work is hard to define, but often easy to love. Quirky. Thoughtful. And often deeply profound, he marries personal experience with a deeply critical and keen eye for what’s happening around the planet we call home. A published poet, as well as an established maker, Iain’s practice is wide-ranging and encompasses painting, carving, sculpture, embroidery, and woodworking.
Sally
Gabori
Bentinck Island, Australia, 1924 – 2015
Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori c.1924–2015 is one of Australia's most significant contemporary Aboriginal contemporary artists. Her work – all landscapes of Bentinck Island in Queensland's Gulf of Carpentaria – offers us a glimpse into her life, her stories, her people, and her home. These powerful works are joyful, honest and profound. We are proud to represent her work in New Zealand, courtesy of Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne and the Estate of Sally Gabori.
Gill
Gatfield
New Zealand, b. 1963
Her ground-breaking artworks win national and international acclaim, and held in collections worldwide. Each object and installation holds a deep sensory pull – moving people to reach out to touch silky planes, internal curves or translucent edges. Political and philosophical ideas, intricately woven by the artist through her striated stone, shattered glass or reflective surfaces move mountains, and mind-sets. These abstract conceptual works challenge the perceptions of the beholder, raising eyebrows, questions, and the bar for minimalist art in contemporary practice.
Rupert
Herring
UK / NZ, b. 1978
Through exploration and experimentation Rupert takes great joy in transforming ordinary objects or materials into the extraordinary. In many cases celebrating the ‘not so perfect’ aspects of these (usually found) pieces. Defects, wear, and historical attachments are all subjects he finds himself drawn to. “A piece of old, discarded furniture has its history engrained into it – and thus when I re-work a piece of furniture or wood, I literally give it a new lease of life.”
Nicholas
Ives
Melbourne, Australia., b. 1979
Melbourne-based artist Nicholas Ives has a relentless curiosity that, as a painter, often takes him to places even he doesn't recognise. Generally figurative in nature, his works are sometimes absurd, often dark, and usually very witty, with strange beings populating landscapes that are dream-like and ethereal. His fascination for ‘other-worldliness’ often forces the viewer into focusing on the narrative of the work, stealing our gaze away from the subjects he explores; religion, power, and authority.
Cruz
Jimenez
Orange County, California, USA, b. 1967
At first, Cruz’s works seem seductive and readily accessible. But the truth is that they are often layered in deeper person history and meaning so it becomes almost alchemical in nature – referencing moments in time that are juxtaposed, forged and sampled together to form a highly personalised visual language.
Monique
Lacey
NZ, b. 1970
It is no accident that Monique crushes most of her work with her body. A physical manifestation of the rejection of so much which has isolated and marginalised women artists for entire millennia. Yet there is there little angst, and often lots of witty humour, in these works, which stand alone as mini monuments to the very uselessness of art.
Ivan
Lupi
Ferrara, Italy, b. 1972
Although an independent performance artist, we are proud to have a strong working partnership with Ivan. His extraordinary performance, ‘X’ at The Vivian had people talking for months. Ivan also chose to premier ‘A Private Requiem’ with us, a world-first event. Working internationally, as well as with public and private institutions across New Zealand, Ivan is currently based in Wanaka.
Patricia
Piccinini
Freetown, Sierra Leone., b. 1964
Patricia Piccinini is an artist whose work can literally stop people in their tracks. Responses can range from awe, to shock, and sheer delight. It is, by definition, sensational work. Yet her practice is deeply humane. Thought-provoking and always carefully researched, Patricia’s work often asks questions of what ‘nature’ means. Not just to human beings at this moment in time – but perhaps even the future – by exploring the inherent universal ideas such as motherhood, connection, empathy, dominance and abjection.
Rebecca
Wallis
UK / NZ, b. 1964
Rebecca draws deeply from her own life to make analogies in her work – physical manifestations of her experiences as a mum. As a woman. And as an artist trying to make sense of her place in a world that words simply can't lend themselves to – especially in moments of anxiety and abjection. Or, as the artist puts it, “The parts of ourselves and of life that we don’t include, that are unacceptable or difficult to represent through words.”