Sarah Albisser was born in Switzerland. She trained as a contemporary dancer, completing her studies in 1996 in New York. Working as an independent dancer and choreographer she founded the award winning dance theatre company Waterproof in 2001.

After receiving a certificate in art from Farbmuehle in Lucerne, Switzerland she immigrated to New Zealand in 2007 where she continued to develop her style and art practice. She has had exhibitions of her work throughout New Zealand, Switzerland and Los Angeles.

Sarah captures expressions, feelings, moods and mental states. She finds it fascinating that each of us has our unique way, shown in facial expression, body gesture and overall presence. She prefers not to use images or photos of faces, her portraits are usually developed through improvisation inspired by female characters she has come across.

Known for her dramatic cast-glass sculptures, British-born Galia Amsel is one of the leading contemporary glass artists now working in New Zealand. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, Amsel relocated her studio and family to the rural edge of West Auckland in 2003. She is internationally recognised for her highly developed understanding of glass, with a visual language uniquely her own.

Amsel’s sculpture revolves around the central paradox of glass as both a fluid and a solid medium. Through shape, translucence, texture and colour, she conveys her preoccupation with movement, tension and balance and her resulting works manage both drama and subtlety.

She has a prolific exhibition history in the United States, England, Europe and Oceania. Her work is represented in numerous international collections including Corning Museum of Glass, USA; Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Ulster Museum, Ireland; and Glassammlung Ernsting, Germany.

Jessica Emily Bailey is a Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design graduate, a specialist arts educator, a musician and an emerging artist in her own right.

Jessica’s childhood was spent on twenty-one acres of land in the outskirts of Auckland. She was taught by the Mackenzie Hills of the south Kaipara, dredged in the waters of Muriwai Beach then hung out to dry in the plum trees at home. This formative imagery, juxtaposed with the high-key plastic fantastics also evident during her school years, influences her way of working today.

In her paintings Jessica tends to draw from everyday objects and scenes, extracting elements of colour, form, texture and tone. Each step depends on the one before, as in a game of dominoes. Layer upon layer to fashion a conversation of painterly arrangements.

This particular series talks about using the fluidity of memories to fashion small family portraits out of inks.

Dominique Baker is a painter, carver and printmaker, from the North Shore of Auckland. She graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts from the Auckland University of Technology in 2008. Baker is of Japanese, Māori and European heritage, which greatly influences her practice. Her work is informed by street art and explores a range of methods to result in visually intricate paintings. These works showcase her recognisable mix of painting and carving style.

Chosen to adorn Sir Paul McCartney’s room on his recent tour to New Zealand, Baker’s works have been commissioned by both local and international collectors.

Maria Balan is an accomplished artist with more than thirty years of experience covering all aspects of painting and drawing, ranging from landscape oils and abstract acrylics to charcoal. She has successfully shown her work at a number of exhibitions throughout Auckland.

Joshua Bashford was born in 1989 and is of Pakeha and Samoan descent. He gained a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons) from the University of Canterbury in 2012. He lives and works near Little River on the Banks Peninsula, southeast of Christchurch. Many of the motifs in his work - rivers, roads, fish and birds are inspired by his connection to the landscape surrounding his home territory.

Josh was selected as a finalist in the 25th Annual Wallace Art Awards in 2016.

Emma Bass is a New Zealand based international artist whose photographic floral artworks are in corporate and private collections worldwide.

Emma has established a strong following with her ‘Imperfect’ series. These photographic works are lusciously seductive, but close up the floral compositions deliver a sharp bite of reality. It’s here that Emma’s interest in the transient nature of beauty and a world too obsessed with perfection are explored. These portraits of flora ‘on the turn’ honour the beauty of the imperfect and the homely.

She has exhibited at a number of galleries, including London’s prestigious Royal Academy, and recently the Daniel Raphael Gallery in London’s Marylebone.

Katherine Batchelor is a 3D mixed media artist who graduated from Hungry Creek Art School in 2006 and NorthTec in 2016.

As a mixed media artist Katherine works predominantly with objects; found and created. She sees them as loaded with histories, containing traces of residual emotions and symbolism. Katherine grew up in post-war NZ where the craft involved in creating handmade objects was valued. She enjoys combining a variety of materials in her art, exploring the differences in their material languages. Katherine believes that through installation and assemblage, the juxtaposition of created and found objects can portray an emotional response and sense of human interaction more effectively than the spoken word.

Madeline Beasley is one of New Zealand’s most exciting and original contemporary artists. She was born in England and moved to New Zealand in 1968. Madeline has designed graphics, worked as a court artist for Television New Zealand, and illustrated several children’s books. In 1990 she began exhibiting her paintings around Auckland galleries. Her works are influenced by early Christian, Byzantine and medieval iconography, and are cut out of custom wood then painted in oils. Madeline is interested in people having their own symbolic guardian angel, and sees her paintings as protecting and empowering images.

Blake Beckford’s work is straight to the point. Sharp lines and tonal variations of vibrant colours are used to create simple but simultaneously intricate works of art. Pieces often contain several painted panels packed out from behind to give a 3D floating appearance. A contrasting background colour slices through, separating the foreground panels. This ties the works together in a fantastic alignment of colour, angles, edges, and aesthetics.

Kate Bedford is an Auckland based artist currently doing her masters at Elam School of Fine Arts. She has been painting for well over 10 years and has exhibited in shows around the country. Her paintings are mainly inspired by the natural world which she perceives as cosmic landscapes; they draw upon mythologies, cosmology and ecology. Kate paints from a spiritual connection to nature and from a place of unknowing as each painting reveals itself through the process. The use of raw canvas and linen engages with different surface qualities where parts are highly detailed and sharp against soft atmospheric backgrounds.

Sean Beldon lives in the Eastern Bays of Auckland. He paints in an expressive and sometimes explosive manner. Sean’s landscapes are inspired by his photographic compositions, and although almost abstract, a little bit of true realism is always present. Brush strokes are large and impulsive and the mood of the piece is created by strong colours, exaggerated for effect. At other times his paintings are subtle and the colours are luminous and soft, with quiet composition.

As well as landscape painting, Sean also enjoys creating figurative narratives centred around themes derived from his personal life and the world around him.

Fleur Benn’s choice of subjects and mediums may vary, but her passion for capturing the essence of the characters she is drawn to remains a constant objective. The animals or humans she depicts often incite the viewer to go out of their comfort zone - to re-consider concepts of beauty and to celebrate the unconventional.

Fleur has exhibited throughout New Zealand in both solo and group exhibitions.

Jane Blackmore is the co-owner of Blackmore & Best Gallery in Shelly Bay, Wellington. As a practicing artist with over 20 years experience, Jane’s work is primarily inspired by the stunning and singular vistas of the Wellington hills and harbour.

In an age where speed and instant gratification seem to permeate every corner of our lives, Jane’s paintings offer a space for thoughtful reflection. Her landscapes are unashamedly spiritual and joyful in equal measure, qualities also abundant in her series of florals. Flowers push forward from dark backgrounds, defiantly sensuous and celebrating the natural cycles of birth, growth and decay.

Jane’s recent work continues her exploration of colour, form, and the visceral qualities of paint. Marking a shift towards a more pure abstraction, she is peeling back layers of representation to arrive at a mélange of colour and light.

Tanya Blong was born in Australia and raised in Taranaki. She graduated from Hungry Creek Art School in 2006 with a major in painting and sculpture.

Her work suggests a timeless era, a mottled memory of belonging to a time and place. It speaks of hot heady summers, seclusion, and escape as it toys with shadow and light, the intoxication of the tropical, and the undercurrent that percolates.

Tanya works from Muriwai Beach, New Zealand. She has had numerous solo and group shows and her work is held in international, public and private collections.

Renee is a ceramic artist working from her studio in Auckland. Her work is clean, refined, delicate and minimal. She aims to tread the fine line between simple, timeless design and unique pieces that have character and presence.

When she started working with clay, Renee realised that it appealed not only to her fascination with materials and process, but also to her sense of independence as a designer. It’s the only medium that she has worked with where she can accomplish each step in the process herself, from design to finished product. The endless possibilities clay offers to explore notions of surface, scale and volume appeals to her aesthetic.

Margaret Bray is a producer of vessels and sculpture, using a variety of different materials ranging from clay to found objects. She is a multi-disciplinary artist, who also works with photographic imagery. Combinations of art, conservation, community and family are driving forces that guide her life. Margaret finds excitement in redefining something - a heap of remnant scraps that have collected over decades transformed by arrangement into an article to be read; soft clay turned to stone to help nourish and serve the bearer; or a compulsion to memorialise time in light, captured by camera.

Her forms are diverse; they can be thrown, sewn or hand-built. Margaret’s preferred firing method is in her wood kiln: a 17 hour process of stoking up the kiln until it reaches the temperature to fire ceramic stoneware. She works from both her Arthaus studio in Orakei, and her home in Ramarama, south of Auckland.

Caroline Burton works from her rural studio south of Auckland. She creates abstract contemporary fibre artworks, often with three-dimensional sculptural elements. Wisps of wool and silk fibre are used as painterly ‘brush strokes’.

Caroline is inspired by natural organic form and fascinated by details in creation that are hidden from sight. Her work is often informed by her background in engineering. A self taught artist, she has taken a medium that is traditionally ‘crafted’ and developed her artistic voice.

Caroline is an award winning artist and her work is available in a number of galleries around New Zealand.

Steve Cascalheira is a multimedia graphic artist based in Auckland. Working in a range of different styles and mediums, Steve's work ranges from detailed silk screen printing to paint in oils. Steve's approach to art is to produce whatever he is comfortable with and feels like producing at the time instead of being pressured or confined by a certain style or medium. Variety and the constant willingness to learn and experiment with new techniques drives him to be ever evolving in his practice. This approach means Steve produces a wide variety of artworks and, most of all, just has fun! Steve’s work can be found in a number of art galleries throughout New Zealand.

Pat Casey trained at the Harrow School of Art and specialises in painting London, his hometown, albeit with a foreboding edge at times. He attributes this to growing up in London during the 1970s at a time when the threat of violence was ever-present. He has developed, and continues to develop, a style which is influenced heavily by the paintings of Edward Hopper and literature of Robert Stone.

He was a finalist in the 2010 and 2012 Adam Portraiture Award and in 2010 his entry was selected to tour the country. He was also invited by Liz Caughey to exhibit at the Braveheart Youth Trust Art Exhibition in Auckland in the same year.

Issie is currently in her second year at university, studying a Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts majoring in contemporary dance. She started exploring semi-abstract landscapes in her senior years of high school, having a particular interest in the contrast between the fluidity of water and the rough uneven textures of rocky landscapes. She uses layering of impasto and acrylics to reflect the coarse and rugged textures found on the surfaces of mountainsides and cliff faces.

Despite training full-time to become a contemporary dancer, Issie continues to paint regularly and hopes to have more of her work exhibited in the future.

Christine works with abstract sculptural forms that curve and twist to bring movement to her pieces. She likes to explore the translucent nature of the lead crystal glass which absorbs and reflects the light according to its curves and density.

Christine exhibits throughout New Zealand, and has gained a solid international reputation exhibiting in Australia, Hong Kong and the USA. Her work is held in public, corporate and private collections both nationally and internationally including the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, New Zealand; Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, Denmark and the collection of Sir Elton John.

Brian Chrystall lives in Auckland. He utilises wood, metal and glass to make one off creations inspired by the world around us. His small cast glass objects are influenced by nature in form but not always in colour.

Each piece is constructed in wax then encased in a plaster and silica refractory. The wax is steamed out and the dewaxed mould placed into a kiln so that when heated, molten glass can flow into and fill the cavity. Careful cooling is needed to avoid stress buildup. When cold, the plaster silica case can be removed and the glass piece finished.

Vibrant, quirky, petite. Julie’s sense of style marries classic forms of function (ish) with quirkiness and charm. It connects the old with the new and tackles topics that bring little smiles to our hearts.

Julie was trained in Jewellery and Textile Design, and you find reference to this in the form of surface design she applies to a lot of her work, such as the collection “Memories of a Grandmother”. Of late she has worked in media such as metal and glass, and has also started to use form as decoration, minimizing the surface design.

“I make round things” – says Peter. That he does, and very well – creating pure, balanced, evenly proportioned objects that add enrichment to our environments. The forms, either voluptuous or sleek in shape, are in striking colours that can be either soft and subtle, or strong and vibrant. At times the vessels & objects are so large, it is difficult to make even his peers believe they are hand-thrown. In typical modest style Peter shrugs, smiles and says:" sure they are, I make large round things!"

Peter Collis has worked with clay nearly all of his life. The main focus to his work has been the handling of shape and surface. He creates pure form vessels, which he then treats in a wide range of methods. Crackle glazes, textured engobes, rich colour all enrich surfaces and complement form.

Bronwynne Cornish has developed her own unique and distinctive style over 50 years. She is inspired by history, potters of the past, mythology and legends. Her form includes animals, small goddess figures and temples. These familiar forms are sometimes grouped together to form large room sized installations, shown in public galleries both nationally and internationally.

She has represented New Zealand at the Brisbane Tri-inalle, and was invited to present her art in Japan to celebrate 100 years of women’s suffrage in 1993. Her work is held in major public and private collections, including Te Papa. She lives and works in her studio in Auckland, New Zealand.

Age is no drawback for young Holly Craig, who at 15 draws for the absolute love of it, and is finding success. Her detailed drawings are labours of love, sold initially because of a desire for One Direction tickets!

Within frames of objects Holly draws intricate patterns and details that can sometimes have messages or hidden meaning. There is a mesmerising quality to them. She has done birds, maps, yacht sails and logos, all containing her beautiful fine drawings with special meanings. From a distance they just look like a shape, but on closer inspection they are very detailed, fine, rhythmic patterns.

Rosanne lives in One Tree Hill, Auckland, and has been painting consistently since commencing her Bachelor of Visual Arts 10 years ago. Her main source of artistic inspiration comes from spending time outdoors in our beautiful country. Photographs from these excursions form the basis of each work, and the painting process refines the composition, accentuates colour and emphasises light. Rosanne paints in oils working with wet paint on one area at a time, giving the paintings a soft, harmonious and dreamy quality.

She has won several awards for her paintings and has participated in a range of group and solo exhibitions.

Deborah Crowe’s limited edition digital collages are part field-photography, part proposition, and part representation of potential future environments.

Trained at Glasgow School of Art, Deborah Crowe has been exhibiting since 1986. She has work in significant public and private collections including Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand, The Dowse Art Museum, Glasgow School of Art, Wallace Arts Trust, and private collections in the UK, USA, Canada, Germany, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Crowe’s interdisciplinary work has won awards and featured in national and international exhibitions. She recently judged the Molly Morpeth Canaday Award.

Laura Currie is a New Zealand artist who produces works across multiple media, including painting, ceramics and digital.

Laura was a solicitor for several years before she made the switch to a career in digital design in 2012. She founded her studio, Loveday Barnes Ltd, in 2017 and now divides her time between branding and digital design work for clients and personal projects involving mixed media artwork and ceramics.

Laura is based in Auckland and presented her first solo exhibition in February 2018 at Allpress Studio.

Heather is a full-time artist who works from her studio in the countryside of Hawkes Bay. Born in Zimbabwe, it was a love of wildlife that lead to a career as an artist. Her inspiration comes from the connection between the natural world and human life. The combination of man-made items with creatures that inhabit the landscape echo the delicate balance that exists.

Heather’s work is in private collections locally and overseas, and she was awarded the ‘People’s Choice Award’ at the Art-X National Art Exhibition in Napier in 2016.

Contemporary artist Adele Eagleson works in oil on canvas. Not restricted by the brush, she will use a variety of tools, mediums and techniques to achieve her desired effect.

Adele first picked up a paint brush at art school in 1998 after a corporate career in HR and Banking Management. Exhibitions with established galleries throughout Aotearoa New Zealand followed in 2003, then invitations to exhibit internationally. Adele has works held in private collections both here and overseas, and is currently gallery-represented in Auckland and Wellington.

Paintings are allowed to evolve as the paint is worked to create points of interest on the canvas, keeping in mind Adele’s desire to capture a moment in time or a memory of a place. Her current collection plays with landforms and abstract seas.

Lucy's paintings have a dark fairytale-like quality. This, combined with a love of Renaissance painting and techniques, results in work that is both rich in detail and narrative. She is chiefly interested in the area where our conscious and subconscious worlds collide - the stories we create for ourselves, the lines between sleep and death, and dreams and hope. She often uses animals allegorically in her work to represent the various facets of our personalities and the human condition. She has works in private collections throughout NZ and internationally, and loves to work on commission.

Sarah lives in Auckland and is an Art teacher at Mount Albert Grammar School. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Canterbury, focusing on photography.

She has been working with clay for the last six years and finds that this medium lends itself to infinite possibilities, and that the craft of pottery is one of lifelong learning. She is always looking for new challenges and opportunities to learn – something she feels is important in her role as an educator seeking to inspire students to view learning in the same way. Sarah’s emerging style is one of creating works of art that reflect acceptance of unexpected outcomes, translating into real-life scenarios which require creative problem-solving. She also enjoys presenting her work as sets in which repetition of objects, details or decoration reflect a sense of unity in diversity.

Graham Fletcher's work explores the critical legacy of the widespread European tradition of housing collections of Oceanic and African Tribal art in domestic settings. Of particular relevance, to an artist of mixed Samoan and European heritage, is the question of how this legacy might be appropriated and subverted within a contemporary Pacific and New Zealand context. Fletcher has exhibited extensively in New Zealand and abroad since he began his career as an artist in the late 1990s. His works are now held in collections around the country, including Te Papa Tongarewa and the James Wallace Arts Trust. Gow Langsford Gallery has represented him since 2014.

Painter Rachael Foster’s formal art education began at Auckland’s Rangitoto College, where she studied photography and painting. A self-described ‘miserable and easily distracted student’ she completed 2 years of a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Elam, the University of Auckland, where she studied under Fiona Pardington and Judy Miller.

Rachael is inspired by a variety of sources, including artists like Michael Smithers, Thomas Hart Benton and Mel Ramos. She has also worked with outstanding artists like John Shrewry, Minhal Al Halabi, Jimi Stewart and Martin Horspool. She’s had solo shows in New Zealand, Australia, America and England and her pieces are found in corporate and private collections worldwide.

Her work currently focuses on the economic crafting of mid-twentieth century travel marketing art. It strives to honour the astonishing and painstaking precision of this form. Rachael puts emphasis on high quality materials and workmanship, ensuring that her prints are on Hahnemuhle and are of limited edition.

Barbara Franklet has been a professional artist for over 20 years. Her charming oil pastels hang throughout the world and can be found in the Fort Worth Library, Dallas Children’s Hospital and numerous other public spaces. Her work is inspired by her love of illustration, graphic design and folk art. Originally a printmaker, she now works predominantly in oil pastels and mixed media.

Born in Houston, Texas, Barbara moved to beautiful Nelson in 2008. Her days are spent marvelling at life’s wonder and joy while making pictures at her Mockingbird Studio.

The foundation of Sonia’s work comes from a sense of prehistory; untouched seascapes conveying serene isolation, capturing a sense of the familiar although not necessarily a specific place; and uninhabited landscapes, some with faint impressions of former human presence. Trees are a constant theme of her work and are either shown from a bird's-eye perspective, giving a sense of the abstract to otherwise recognisable imagery, or anchored against stormy skies, struggling with the elements.

Sonia lives in the Mahurangi region and has an Advanced Diploma of Art and Design, and exhibits and sells her work in several Auckland galleries.

Tomek lives in the beautiful Karangahake Gorge near Paeroa. He is a commercial photographer with a passion for landscape and fine art. In his art photography he wishes to convey the beauty and greatness of creation - in nature, people, and the world we live in. He embarks on every project as a new journey of discovery….. the play of light and shadow, colour, form, composition and emotion - and how they are best captured to communicate the story in an image. His work is an invitation to explore the incredible beauty found in the world around us, and inspiration to look deeper into our environment and our own being. Tomek hopes that his photographs can bring a moment of contemplation, insight and happiness into our lives.

Dick Frizzell’s work has always been characterised by a highly skilled handling of paint and an endlessly inventive range of subject matter and styles: faux-naive New Zealand landscapes, figurative still-life, comic book characters and witty parodies of modernist abstraction. His taste is conveniently broad and he has a penchant for fondly remembered and well-worn clichés. His work also portrays a sense of exuberance, ironic humour and baby-boomer nostalgia. An anti-traditionalist, Frizzell often makes a deliberate effort to mix up the categories of high and low art - poking fun at the intellectualisation of 'high art' and the existential angst of much New Zealand painting in the art culture of his youth.

Blurring the line between Photography and Painting…

Combining a love of photography and mixed media painting, Deborah’s works evoke a feeling of tranquility and calm. Her subject matter often conjures up images of nostalgia and reminiscence. Working as a full-time artisan for the last 19 years she is aware of how much of a privilege it is to be able to spend time creating in a space that feels like home. Deborah is the owner of Lava Gallery in Akaroa, on the Banks Peninsula.

Born in 1966, Jody Hope Gibbons paints full time from her Matakana studio. Her practice is materials based, the research occurs through the actual exploration of the materials used. It pushes the boundaries of traditional painting practice and techniques by exploiting the use of paint, stains, rust, inks, leaf and varnish. The actual application of the mediums and the natural reactions of these products is where the work is made, working within the moment. This alchemy makes them evocative and ethereal, and seemingly organic with the fluidity of the marks.

Gibbons has bodies of work from dreamy ethereal landscapes, brighter abstracts and grid like works of reassembling found materials.

Linda Gilbert was born in Grey Lynn, Auckland and now divides her time between Auckland and Wellington. Previously a lawyer and policy advisor she will complete a Bachelor of Visual Arts at Auckland University of Technology this year.

Linda is interested in the digital age, place, and neuroplasticity. She is investigating how these are reflected in contemporary painting. Linda’s abstract biomorphic paintings hint at naturally occurring patterns or shapes. Layers are used to build depth, colour and reflect light. Figure and ground relationships are explored and sometimes they are ambiguous. At other times, they are overlaid with a meandering painted line bringing rhythm and colour to the image.

Neala Glass is an Auckland-based artist who works with drawing and printmaking processes. Characterised by a monochromatic palette, Neala's work features delicate surface details, subtle tonal variations, and compelling compositions that utilise the potential of negative space.

Through her figurative work, Neala examines the intricacies of the human condition, often with a deeper focus on psychology. The figure pose is a means to communicate narrative, mood, emotion and tension. These figures are simultaneously realistic and metaphoric; both believable subjects in themselves and vehicles for symbolism and broader narratives.

Neala's drawings on canvas are rendered in charcoal, pastel and graphite with technical precision; while her works on paper are rendered in ink applied with a looser approach.

Neala Glass gained her BA/BFA from the Elam School of Fine Arts. She exhibits her work in galleries around New Zealand.

Born in Timaru in 1973, Lisa graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design in Nelson in 2010. Now living in the South Island in rural Glenhope, Lisa’s studio sits high on a hill surrounded by 42 acres of pasture and native forest. She has chosen a more simplistic lifestyle. Inspired by her experience of motherhood and passion for nature, Lisa uses imagery of children with flowers, animals and insects, questioning young people’s view of the world, seeing a disconnection from nature with modern technology. Lisa emphasises this with her use of large white vacant space, creating a cavity to which her subjects float, this is the artist’s expression of the uncertainty of our future; it cannot be foreseen. She also likes to involve the viewer in the work via the reflective surface. By looking/reading, the gaze is returned, the spectator becomes the narrative and, in turn, part of the problem and solution.

International award-winning photographer, Amber Griffin, is known for creating strikingly beautiful imagery. Amber’s collaboration with professional dancers produced ‘The First Collection’ – a series of twelve vividly inspiring photographic artworks that explore the beauty and majesty of movement through a selection of contemporary photographic processes. Each limited edition piece is brought to life on a stunning metallic composite material. This serves to illuminate the highlights of the dancer’s muscularity and gives the works an ethereal nature as their appearance constantly changes with the available light.

Belinda Griffiths is a conceptual figurative artist based in Auckland. Working within the disciplines of painting and printmaking, her art explores the expressive potential of the gestural mark.

Belinda was the recipient of the Molly Morpeth Canaday Award in 2010, and the Estuary Art Award in 2013. She has been a finalist in the Wallace Art Awards, the NZ Print and Printmaker Awards, and the Adam Portraiture Awards. Her work is held in a number of private and public art collections.

Raised in Taranaki, Morgan Hancock is a full time graphic designer and part time illustrator now based in Auckland.

Many of her drawings and designs are inspired by fashion and popular culture. Born in the 90’s and always been influenced by 80’s and 90’s fashion, Morgan draws clothes she would have personally wanted for herself but never had. Incorporating quintessential kiwi icons within her work, she creates a feeling of nostalgia and memories of her kiwi childhood in Aotearoa.

Pen, pencil and acrylic paint are predominant materials, but subtle embroidered stitching is also utilised to create an element of surprise…….the ‘Aha!’ moment when people realise it is thread instead of paint.

Guy is a New Zealand artist living and working in Mount Eden, Auckland. Working mostly in oil or acrylic on canvas or board, his paintings include local landscapes, portraits, still lifes and unique takes on iconic Kiwi subjects. Guy’s work can be found in collections both here and overseas.

Joel is a Christchurch artist and designer who has gained prominence for both his studio and mural work. Combining elements of stencil processes and screen printing, his graphic works often reveal themes such as beauty, mortality and decay, all filtered through a sophisticated use of technique, colour and balance. This reflects his design background and imbues his work with an undeniable attraction.

Hugo Harvey is a former Mount Albert Grammar School student currently undertaking his third year of a Bachelor's Degree in Architecture at the University of Auckland. He takes interest in the contrast of figures and architecture through the lenses of colour and form. Hugo primarily uses dry brushing and careful mixing to soften the appearance of his paintings.

Between his studies and free time he has been teaching painting with the Fine Young Artists programme for schools and working to push his abilities further. This is his fifth year with the MAGS Art Show.

Jade is an Auckland based illustrator and is currently working in the creative industry, producing commercial illustrations as well as commissioned pieces. He has been drawing since an early age and loves bringing his own creative touch from the world around him. He gets a lot of inspiration from the native plants and animals of New Zealand. He enjoys looking into the animal anatomy which enables him to understand their form, all the way down to the skeleton structure. Jades spends quality time on fine detail which comes out in his art pieces.

Justine Hawksworth holds a Fine Arts degree from Elam and is trained as a secondary school art and design teacher. Now working from her studio in Mt Eden, she produces limited edition fine art prints and paintings using a range of materials - predominantly acrylic, pencil and copper on nautical charts and maps.

Justine’s work can be found in galleries throughout New Zealand as well as pieces held in both New Zealand and international collections. She is constantly inspired by our New Zealand native flora and fauna, our land and sea, holidays in the classic kiwi bach and the things we collect there to create memories.

Working mostly with found timber, Rupert sees wonder and potential far deeper than surface appearance. His work oscillates along a delicate line between sculpture and furniture.

Through transforming ordinary objects or material into the extraordinary, Rupert celebrates ‘not so perfect’ aspects such as defects and wear. A piece of old discarded timber or furniture has a history and thus when re-worked gains a new lease of life.

He believes everything we create is a result of our life experience, our culture, our language, and the exchanges we make - that our work truly comes from within.

In a world where throw-away is taken for granted and choice is paramount, the limitation of using what is pre-used and sustainable is very liberating.

A friendship spanning over 20 years between friends Julie Green and Gina Hochstein percolated into a wonderful creative collaboration. Both bring a similar creative aesthetic, but with differing skills. This originative duo challenge the viewer’s perception of the humdrum of everyday life. As mums, they struggle with the day to day conflict which our lifestyle on this planet brings, and wrestle with what the future holds for our children. Highlighting how lucky we are to be living in New Zealand, they celebrate by looking at the beauty contained in the small and ordinary, but highlight the dangers to our existence too. This journey of the collaborative process according to HOCH+GREEN has been both exhilarating and liberating.

Sara Hughes is a dynamic artist with a career well established and highly regarded in Australasia. Hughes has exhibited in major public galleries in New Zealand and her paintings and installations are held in many important Australasian public and private collections including the Chartwell Collection; Auckland City Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki; Te Papa Tongarewa; Wellington and the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Drawn from her in depth analysis of the colour content of websites, the Colour Codes series first exhibited in 2010, focuses particularly on the way in which colour is used by financial institutions online and extends Hughes' ongoing interest in global systems of information exchange.

Kate Hursthouse specialises in illustration, calligraphy and hand lettering. Her work takes on a number of forms from contemporary calligraphic artworks and commercial illustrations to large scale hand-painted murals.

Her commercial clients include Karen Walker, Lululemon, Spark NZ, Laneway Festival, TEDxAuckland, Hallertau Brewery, Panasonic, Creative Mornings and Auckland City Council. She is also an Ambassador for Pilot Pens New Zealand.

In addition to commercial work Kate has exhibited in a number of gallery shows, including her first international exhibition in Germany in March 2016, and has painted murals in New Zealand and the USA. In 2018 she published her first illustrated children’s book.

Nicola Jackson is an artist and printmaker, originally from the UK, who now works from her studio in Wellington, New Zealand.

Using a combination of mixed media, Nicola’s art is an extension of her previous life as a successful, independent print designer, selling work to leading companies including Marc Jacobs, Disney, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein.

Her work is inspired by a love of florals, mark making, layering and colour. She is interested in exploring the tensions between complimentary and contrasting media. Her original artworks combine soft, fluid inks with sharp-cut, geometric collage to create visual interest and play with different tempos within the work.

Rogan James has been teaching Art and Design at Auckland high schools and exhibiting since 2004. She has recently become known for creating laser cut geometric art and acrylic paintings on circular ply featuring a range of flora and fauna – inspired by the flying visitors to her Titirangi garden.

Rogan’s work has proved very popular at local markets, group exhibitions and online, with work being commissioned and sent across New Zealand, Australia and the United States. In 2018 Rogan’s successes include being selected to paint an owl for The Haier Big Hoot Art trail and designing a ten metre ‘colouring in’ mural celebrating West Auckland for Lynnmall.

Educated at Auckland Grammar School, Stuart lived in London for 25 years where he worked for Liberty and Co Ltd as a designer. Now resident on Waiheke Island, he enjoys creating abstract images inspired by his surroundings, the coast and the sea. His work is constructed from layering hand coloured and textured paper.

Stuart was a finalist in the Walker & Hall Waiheke Art Award in 2015, 2016, 2017 and a finalist and prizewinner in the Waitakere Trusts Art Awards in 2015, 2016, 2018.

Timothy Jones is a painter specialising in contemporary and abstract works. His bold style blends colour and form in an expressive, purposeful way that invites a certain reflection from the viewer. Subtle hues and strong undertones compliment each other in these works that explore emotion and philosophy. In essence, much of the work is a plateau for personal exploration. The enticing yet muted tones draw the viewer into a tactile surface, guiding them whilst encouraging them to fill in the blanks with their own interpretation.

Timothy has been painting and exhibiting for over ten years and has combined his art career with time working on board yachts. Extensive travel and circumnavigating the world continues to influence his work with strong reference to the elements. His art enjoys high profile placements including the Hilton Hotel, Brisbane and commissions for Bristol City Council, UK.

Jacqueline Kampen is an Auckland based potter. She has attended classes at Auckland Studio of Potters and has been developing her craft specialising in small pots and vessels that are both decorative and useful. They are displayed as collections, often with found objects such as feathers, sticks and twigs. With monochromatic glazing they are displayed in wooden boxes that are either new, recycled or made.

Auckland artist and illustrator Michael Kennedy (aka Malangeo) creates wonderfully weird portraits of ‘creepy-cute’ critters, macabre beasties and fragile floral beings. His work is a celebration of traditional oil painting techniques and contemporary pop surreal style. Brought up on the irreverent humour of cartoons and comics like The Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes, his art oozes whimsical charm, dark humour and pop culture references. Michael has held solo shows at Depot Artspace and Satellite Gallery, and has been in many group shows in galleries around New Zealand, the USA, United Kingdom and Italy.

Anna Khomko is a watercolour artist native to Moscow, Russia. After travelling the world, and attracted by the beauty of New Zealand’s nature, Anna settled in Auckland in 2017. She is still fascinated by the variety of native natural life which is the driving force behind her painting. Inspiration for her abstract landscapes and organic sketches comes from watching the environment and its living beings.

Painting is a vital process for Anna – it’s a research, a meditation, a visual expression of emotions captured by the medium of watercolour. Anna also uses her artistic approach in floristry and photography and never misses a chance to paint outdoors while exploring new places.

Jimmy James Kouratoras is an award winning self-taught artist who has always worked with his hands. He is descended from a long line of artisans and has woven together his Cretan and Māori heritage with an imagination fired by the surf, skateboards and graffiti. He spent close to two decades working in the film industry as a scenic painter and his film credits include Hercules and Xena, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Last Samurai and Dororo (Japanese sci-fi).

Since 2012 Kouratoras has focused exclusively on developing his own craft. He has held solo exhibitions in Auckland, Los Angeles, New York, Brisbane, Melbourne and Queenstown, and has given many public talks on his art collaborating with Auckland Museum, SPLICE and the British Council.

Petra Leary is an award winning photographer whose work is distinguished by her travels. Petra's work captures a view out of the ordinary - whether through symmetry and motion in architecture or through patterns only discovered from above.

Since picking up a camera, her photography has taken her across her native New Zealand, over the ditch to Australia, and beyond the Southern Hemisphere to places like Cuba, Canada and the United States.

Petra’s work has been featured in various publications and sites around the world. Instead of creating a monotonous perception, Petra creates scenes from heights and places not for the faint-hearted to tell you a story from a different perspective.

Suzan works from her studio on Auckland’s North Shore where she has been glass casting for the last six years after graduating from Art School. She draws from nature a sense of colour and form, and through crystal glass, plays with the shifting depths of density and light to expose the inner and outer spaces of the objects she creates.

Anna Leyland is a contemporary New Zealand artist who utilises pattern making and symbolism to celebrate the diversity and multiculturalism within Aotearoa. Her works are a reflection of her mixed heritage and perception of life… beauty in everything and everyone around her; specifically the unique colourful milieu of the cultures in this country. It is little wonder - both Anna and her son identify as Fijian, Wallisian, Futunaan, Scottish, Hungarian, English and Kiwi.

Anna has had over 30 successful exhibitions since 2001 and has recently completed commissions for Nespresso, The Auckland City Council, Orcon, The Big Hoot and Sofitel Queenstown. Articles and interviews about her work have featured in the Herald’s VIVA, Remix, Denizen, Idealog and most recently in Habitat by Resene.

Anna’s works feature in twelve galleries throughout New Zealand, and she has a strong national following. She is currently working towards a fourth solo show in November 2018 and is pursuing opportunities internationally.

Ainsley Leonard’s work is an exploration of oceans and skies. To her they represent both stillness and movement, beauty and danger, serenity and looming environmental collapse. She explores water and air across two styles, Neo-Expressionism and Organic abstraction, sometimes separately and sometimes colliding. She also works on commissions as a portrait painter, in the style of the Mannerists.

Ainsley completed the first year of her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Ilam School of Fine Arts, Canterbury University before transferring to the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne University to complete her degree. After travelling for many years, she now lives in West Auckland and feels privileged to teach Art at Mount Albert Grammar School.

Maria Lloyd is fascinated by ancient civilisations, their cultures and how they created ceremonial art forms and objects to distinguish themselves and document their histories. By unravelling their mysteries we inevitably learn more about ourselves. Through cross-cultural exploration of our origins, our ancestors and the land, Maria seeks to replicate that sense of wonder and mystery.

Maria has a deep respect for artistic traditions which are reflected in her work through beading, sewing, carving and bronze work. The graphic and narrative nature of her work is an outflow of her formal graphic design background. The use of symbolism in her work creates a universal language.

She is hands-on and creates all her work in her foundry on Waiheke Island. Her sculptures have found homes locally and internationally.

Aimee MacMillan’s work addresses ‘tracings of memory’ - nostalgia, feelings of belonging, cementing one’s self in the lineage of history. Images that draw on ideas of family and ceremony – present, past and future; through tokens of inheritance, ‘handed down’ curiosities, and ‘glory box’ daydreams.

Aimee graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Canterbury, School of Fine Arts. She is currently enjoying being a stay-at-home mum to her twin toddlers.

Meredith Marsone lives in Blenheim, New Zealand with her husband, three daughters, one cat and two chickens, and paints almost every day from her purpose-built studio. She is an award winning artist with an extensive international exhibition history, and her work is held in numerous private and notable collections. Her recent solo shows were held in Sydney 2016 and Los Angeles 2017 and her work has been exhibited in over 25 US group shows in the past two years alone.

Marsone has established herself as a contemporary figurative painter with a unique and distinctive style. Working in traditional oils, her paintings have a haunting familiarity. Their abstract photo-realistic depictions express a swath of emotions and human experiences in a subtle and mysterious way.

Oli Mathiesen returns to the Art Show as an Albertian, now training full-time at Unitec Institute of Technology in contemporary dance. Oli strives to find form and shape in his work derived from his exploration of movement. His works often investigate ideas of identity as well as the manifestation of the inner narcissus; using himself as his muse. Oli aims to accentuate the beauty of the human form through his photography by playing with light and shadow against the distortions of the body. Oli continues to explore movement through different mediums of art and is using his studies in a Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts to further research into his craft.

Oli was the recipient of the Most Innovative Young Photographer Award at Mount Albert Grammar School in 2017 and has work held in the Wallace Arts Trust.

Born in Dunedin, Pauline McCoy lived in London for 20 years where she studied for a Bachelor of Arts 3D Design and a Master of Arts in Interior Design. After practicing as an interior designer Pauline moved back to New Zealand to raise her 2 sons. She is currently living in Titirangi where her studio is, and is studying part-time for a Diploma in Ceramic Art.

Pauline began her foray in ceramics in 2008 under the tutelage of Peter Stichbury and then Peter Lange. In 2016 she worked part time as an intern at Peter & Julie Collis’ studio. Her work, of mostly functional ware, reflects her design background by incorporating strong forms with a contemporary aesthetic. Pauline likes to infuse traditionally thrown forms with mechanical techniques to create her pieces.

Annie McIver is a figurative ceramic sculptor who hand builds using both coil and slab techniques to construct hollow forms. She endeavours to use glazes that inform the nature of her work. The formation of identity, particularly during childhood, continues to be a focus. The motivation is to capture and encapsulate those small hemorrhages of the self which chart a human’s emotional progress through life.

Annie completed a Master of Design at Unitec in 2012.

Peter Miller lives in coastal west Auckland but works from a central city studio, and has been working from this studio as a full time artist for around 20 years. He is perhaps best known as a realist still life painter, in particular as a painter of old toy cars and trucks. More recently Peter has also been using the human presence within his work to create a stronger sense of narrative within the painting. Within this he has been exploring themes relating to the state of the planet and our impact on it, at times to celebrate human potential and at times to suggest that we are falling well short of our potential.

Tracey-Lea Morgan's early self-taught work explored graphic design elements of multicultural New Zealand. In an effort to grow her practice she studied at The Learning Connexion Art School and was influenced by the work of Gustav Klimt. She incorporated Maori design alongside figurative work in her series Kia Ora Klimt, and the centerpiece "Te Kihi” won People's Choice Award at the Mahara Arts Review 2015 Exhibition.

Her new work is ‘a love letter to the female form’, developed after attending life drawing classes at the Glasgow School of Art where she began to view her own body in a kinder light.

Michelle McIver grew up in the south of New Zealand, and spent most of her childhood with pencil in hand, drawing. After initial studies in Fine Arts at Otago Polytechnic School of Art, she went on to the University of Otago to complete her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, Education and then Japanese. Five years spent living and working in rural Japan piqued her interest in the Japanese aesthetic, and it was whilst Michelle was there that she began her love affair with Japanese woodblock printmaking. This art form resonated strongly with her, as she enjoyed the often crisp, considered and bold graphics of relief printmaking. Upon returning to New Zealand Michelle taught in secondary schools and now lives in Auckland, where she enjoys painting and printmaking full-time. Always a keen observer of her surroundings, she focuses on shape, texture and form, and is inspired to elevate the ‘everyday’ to become objects worthy of closer inspection.

Anya Mowll is a full-time artist based in Wellington. She graduated with a Diploma in Ceramic Arts in 2012 and then completed a Bachelor of Applied Arts at Whitireia Polytechnic. Anya works from home in her studio mostly with clay, but also experiments with new media. The texture of fired ceramics is intriguing as she explores the very smooth to sharp as a knife, as well as preserving fingerprints in the finished pieces. Fluid glazes are another line of experimentation.

Anya finds her inspiration in nature, particularly in features like growth, weathering, evolution and organic structures. Always on the lookout for new ideas, she can also usually be found working on three or four projects simultaneously.

Cam Munroe’s large works on canvas speak confidently of texture and gesture - the latter being a preference for mark-making that offer contour to these creations. Works appear simple in composition, however the technique, restraint and problem solving are integral to the successful outcome of her works. Each gesture - balanced between purposeful lines of light and dark - remains. Each mark contributes to the creation of a work that captures a series of thoughts and moments with the ink and medium used.

Each form of shape becomes a letter of an alphabet but not each is used as a code. An L or Y shape therefore can represent any letter, hieroglyph or picture element in any combination. Like codices documents, sometimes these are unreadable until they are more closely scrutinised and deciphered. They also must work aesthetically in the composition which is an integral consideration.

Delena Nathuran is an Auckland-based photographer who takes an immersive approach to subject matter - whether it be human, object or environmental. She takes inspiration from her daily routines, working with subjects and ideas that explore the familiar and incorporate a strong focus on family and personal experiences. She is drawn to feelings of sentimentality, especially of objects and experience, and of the printed image not as an end-result but as a starting point for other creative processes. An example of this is re-making photographs that oscillate between what is present and what is past.

Natalie Nesbitt is a figurative painter who works ‘alla prima’ (wet-on-wet) in oils, usually from life. A distinguishing feature of Natalie’s work is her ability to see and express the intensity of every-day scenes and places, in part by centring her artworks around the subtle qualities of light. Most of her work to date is on a smaller scale, though as she finds a looser, more expressive brushstroke her work is becoming larger. Light and movement are themes she wishes to explore further in her work.

Natalie lives in Wellington with her husband and young daughter.

Art has always been a creative tool of expression for Jodi that works in harmony with her interior design and mid-century furniture business. Jodi enjoys the freedom of abstract expressionism, focusing on compositions, textures and layers along with beautifully considered colour schemes. Jodi experiments with materials, mixed media applications and expressive styles, initially starting with a client or interior scheme in mind.

Christian Nicolson has worked as a full-time artist for the past 13 years and is based in Auckland. He initially studied design and worked as an art director in advertising roles for several years in both New Zealand and London.

He loves to paint, sculpt, use photography, create installations, and make films. He has several works in the Wallace Arts Trust collection and has been a finalist in the Wallace Art Awards six times. Christian has also featured in three of Denis Robinson’s art publications including New Zealand’s Favourite Artists Volume 2. He focuses on one solo exhibition a year but has also featured in many group shows such as Sculpture on the Gulf and NZ Sculpture OnShore. Christian has also made an award-winning feature film called This Giant Papier Maché Boulder is Actually Really Heavy. Being creative is king.

Tony Ogle began his art career in the early ‘80s and over the years he has lived and worked in Cape Town, South Africa, and around the North Island of New Zealand including Matapouri, Devonport, Takapuna, Bethells Beach and most recently in Gisborne.

While in Takapuna he became involved in saving the historic Lake House and in 1995 organized the “End of an Era” exhibition with 25 other artists held in the House to draw public attention to its significance and fate.

Across the years his paintings and screen-printed works have continued to express the vibrancy, colour and authenticity that he’s known for, achieved by someone who is in touch, in synch and fully entrenched in the unique lifestyle that exists in his homeland.

Tony’s fine art prints (some have up to 25 individually printed, hand-mixed colours) are single edition productions, each work numbered and signed individually. Once the edition has sold out it is not repeated.

Lisa Ormsby is an established artist based in Otorohanga who has exhibited in group exhibitions and art events throughout New Zealand since 1998. She shares her passion for art with her four children and also enjoys networking with fellow artists.

Lisa specialises in acrylic and mixed media, striving for a balance between evolving her work and maintaining her own sense of style and uniqueness. She uses nature as a reference point and inspiration, offering us an opportunity to see the natural world through her eyes - where the beauty of the rock outshines the diamond.

Carina Orvan is a self-taught artist, based in Auckland, working with acrylic on canvas. Carina first started painting in her late teens as an emotional release, which has lit into a passion she holds close to her heart. Carina experiences emotion on a deep level then this translates through her work. She has dabbled in painting all different subjects but feels her talent shines through the most when she paints animals. Her main focus is on bringing forth the animal's character and making that emotional connection between subject and viewer. Carina releases progress photos of her work on Facebook, allowing people to follow her through the process of each painting and become involved in the adventure. Carina's work is available through art shows around Auckland, as well as through her Facebook page.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Joon-Hee Park emigrated to New Zealand in 1993, and has completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts at Elam, graduating in 2003. She currently lives in Auckland.

As a child, Park spent many happy hours in the studio of her father who was a well-known surrealist painter. Surrealism is a strong influence in Park's own work, which she considers a process of exploring and mapping her psyche.

Park draws from a variety of sources - memories of a childhood split between two cultures; favourite toys, traditional festivals and Korean sweets; revisited dreams, memories and events; and the bittersweet vagaries of adulthood. Funny and lyrical, strange and sad, Park's surreal and dream-like paintings invoke the sharp tang of memory and a lost past.

Monica Paterson has an interest in figure and portraiture in her painting and drawing, weaving this together with a desire to be connected to her Samoan genealogy. Her work references family history and spiritual beliefs, and draws from her background in computer graphic design, illustration and fabric design. After a period away from the arts whilst raising her family, Monica has returned to painting regularly in recent years. At the beginning of 2017, Monica joined the Corban Estate Arts Centre as an artist in residence where she painted as she was inspired.

Rose Petterson lives in Oakura, Taranaki with her young family. She graduated from the Otago Polytechnic School of Fine Art in 2006 and has been exhibiting her work nationwide since then. She sculpts using a variety of mediums from wax and plastic to steel and wood. Often inspired by the architecture of gothic cathedrals and the Victorian era, her work confronts the duality of opposites; it is perfectly imperfect. It is solid yet transparent, it is light and it is darkness. It is through a gothic framework that this contradiction can be placed. The gothic as a genre is a fine balance of oppositions - it appeals to the mysterious and what is unknown.

Bertie Plaatsman is a photographer and awarded documentary film-maker, based in Auckland. She is interested in how people live their everyday lives, and their relationship with their environment and objects around them.

Plaatsman's strong sense of curiosity shows in the variety of subjects in her work. Her recent project 'Shopping Spree' reflects her love of colour and collage. On her regular travels, she takes her camera on a shopping spree to look at what is available, and to feel the atmosphere. It helps her to get a sense of the place and the people which inform her work.

Grace Popplewell is exhibiting in the Mount Albert Grammar School Art Show for her third year, but this time as an Albertian studying Communication Design at AUT. In last year’s show, she placed 1st in design among the students and sold one piece to the James Wallace Arts Trust collection. Grace’s digitally illustrated pieces evolve from sketches, and are saturated with bold, striking colour and style reminiscent of the 1920s. Her goal is to let her work speak of the enjoyment she has in creating it.

Dean Proudfoot’s paintings have the common thread of exploring and celebrating our culture and identity - who we are and where we have come from. Recently he has returned to themes of nostalgia. An award-winning freelance illustrator with 20 years’ experience, Dean has worked with a diverse range of clients both in New Zealand and internationally, while also developing a career in the fine arts. His work appears in a number of prestigious private collections including the James Wallace Arts Trust, the collection of Dunbar Sloane Snr and the Museum Art Hotel. Dean is a Wellington based artist and is represented by Smyth Galleries in Auckland.

John Pule was born in the village of Liku in Niue, and immigrated to New Zealand at the age of two in 1964. Pule first visited Niue as an adult in 1991 and has since returned a number of times. This triggered a strong interest in the history and mythology of Niue which continues to inform his work to this day. Pule is an accomplished painter, printmaker, poet and writer. His work is highly inventive, particularly in its adaptation of traditional Pacific art forms. It is also challenging and provocative in content John Pule is a diverse and talented print-maker, working in lithography, etchings and wood-cuts alongside his painting practice. This medium has often been a platform for Pule to incorporate his poetry and writing practice into his work as a visual artist.

Robin Ranga achieved her Bachelor of Visual Arts in 2005. She is inspired by nature’s design and endurance, and how subliminal forces impact on social, cultural and environmental perspectives. Using a variety of mediums she strives to express and share empathy for the viewer to recognize universal compassionate matters.

Robin was invited to visit and exhibit as a guest artist at the Nongyuan International Arts Village, Chengdu, China. The rich experience of sharing ideas and expressions with other artists - the privilege and honour to be immersed in their culture and participate at the 2016 Image & Imagination exhibition is a highlight in her art career. She was also recognised in the 2017 Waiclay National Ceramic Awards.

Ben Reid is a Hanmer Springs based printmaker whose interest lies in the fragile relationship that New Zealanders have with the natural environment.

He brings together a myriad of references that draw attention to the complexity of a relationship with the natural world that has been both exploitative and beneficial to humanity. He recognises there are no easy solutions yet his images retain a faith in the redemption of this relationship with nature.

He is a graduate of Christchurch Polytechnic’s Visual Arts degree course and past assistant to master printmaker Marian Maguire at PaperGraphica. He exhibits on a regular basis throughout Aotearoa.

Catherine Roberts lives on the south coast of Wellington, where she has painted her semi-abstract landscapes for 18 years. Painting is in many ways an organic process for Catherine. The inspiration comes from our environment, in particular New Zealand forest and bush scenes. The execution of each piece usually evolves from layers of texture, paint and lacquer, resulting in an ‘organic looking’ piece of work. No perfect lines or brushstrokes to be seen. Each piece of work starts with an idea and an open-minded vision. Due to the style and process of Catherine’s painting techniques, some of the movement of paint and colour distribution is out of her control, and she ‘lets nature take its course’. Catherine’s work is available in art galleries throughout Aotearoa.

Based in Orakei, Bec Robertson is a mixed media artist, who primarily uses pen, ink, watercolour paint and pencil. She has always drawn, however she started seriously exhibiting in 2013. Since then Bec has won the mixed media category at the Royal Auckland Easter Show 2014 and has had other category placings in subsequent years.

Bec has two main styles which she alternates between depending on her mood or current commissions; the humorous Peacock works and the more serious detailed ink work. She has recently started to explore resin and wood as a medium and is enjoying the creative process involved in preparing the wood through to sanding and finishing. Bec has works in collections across New Zealand, Australia, USA, United Kingdom and Scandinavia.

RUSH has evolved from Rachel Rush’s love of all the amazing street art around the world - from the alleyways of Melbourne, the surviving slabs of the Berlin Wall, to the gritty streets of New York. She was inspired to capture the energy and feeling from the streets, and to put it up on canvas, offering each painting to ‘become a piece of the bigger picture’.

Rachel Rush has been painting and successfully exhibiting in many of Auckland’s most prestigious exhibitions and galleries for many years. She loves the freedom of mixing acrylics with resin as there are no hard rules, to watch each piece take on its own vibrancy and energy is a real joy.

Ioana is a photography teacher at Mount Albert Grammar School. The inspiration for her painting work can be attributed to her Samoan heritage, New Zealand culture and Christian beliefs.

Originally from Hawkes Bay, Mathew Scott is of Maori, Irish and Scottish descent. He graduated from the Wellington School of Design in 1991. Over the past two decades his creativity and aptitude for design have encompassed landscape and interior stone sculptures, abstract acrylic paintings and more recently feathers and shells carved from New Zealand native timbers. From an intergenerational family of designers and artists, Mat’s work reflects not only his connection to family but also an interpretation of the environment in which he lives. Mat is an avid surfer and skater and the land and sea are as critical to his creative process as the obsessive passion with which he channels his energies into each new creation.

Robin Scott’s works are visually rich and stimulating, often representing New Zealand life and icons. They are inspired by the beauty of nature, from flora and fauna to our beautiful sunsets and beaches. Her primary objective is to evoke an emotive response from the viewer.

Bevan Smith is a wildlife artist based on Auckland’s North Shore where he spends much of his time producing life-like recreations of animals in pencil. Graphite is a fantastic medium for focusing on the finer details of a subject. The absence of colour fixates the viewer’s attention to the detail of the piece rather than the ‘noise’ colour can create. Bevan is in love with nature and spends much of his time outdoors in Auckland’s reserves, inspiring him to create more wildlife pieces.

David Traub grew up in New York and has worked in glass for 45 years. Self taught as a glass blower, his work is featured in public and private collections both here and abroad. In 1995 David moved to Whanganui to lead the glass program at the polytechnic, and in 2006 opened his current studio. His work can be found in dealer galleries around the North Island and in his studio in Whanganui. Over the years he has received numerous awards and his work has been featured in major exhibitions and publications.

Michel Tuffery lives in Wellington and is one of New Zealand’s most sort after contemporary artists internationally. Renowned as a sculptor, carver and painter, he holds a passion for printmaking, which he majored in at art school with a Master of Fine Arts (Hons).

His kaupapa is to take the role of working ‘in-between’ his art, bringing you into his research with an intent to open up conversations across environment, cultural, community and historical art divides.

In 2008 he was appointed as a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for his services to Art.

Based in Wellington, Sheyne Tuffery is a multimedia visual artist whose primary mediums are painting, animation and printmaking.

Sheyne received a Bachelor of Visual Arts from Auckland University of Technology in 1995 and his Masters of Fine Arts (Hons) in 2000 from The University of Auckland. Since graduating, Sheyne has received a number of awards, residencies and commissions. His works are held in many public collections including those in Christchurch, Auckland, Washington DC, Michigan and Bethlehem. Sheyne also notably founded and directed LeSa Gallery in Petone from 2007 and 2012, an important dealer gallery for Pacific artists.

Rebecca Tune is a full time artist and graphic designer working from her Auckland studio.

Her art revolves around her interest in the ways paint can be manipulated, layered and stripped back to both hide and reveal small gem-like images, flashes of colour, and movement beneath a plain surface. This becomes a dance of chance, control and surprise - of knowing when to let the paint flow where it wants, or when to reign it in and manipulate it into a space that is readable, poetic and eye-catching.

Rebecca exhibits nationally and has work displayed in international collections. She is a regular supporter of the annual Artists In Eden auction, and is a Mount Albert Grammar School parent.

Fiona Tunnicliffe has been a potter for about 30 years. Her beautiful pieces almost always use animal forms as a starting point, mostly horses and lately, rabbits. She loves the qualities of clay, texture and surface detail, and its ability to take on a life of its own. Each of her rather special formed ceramic animals seems to exude its own unique personality, enhanced by the textures, pattern, text and relief work to its coat and shape.

Fiona has won numerous accolades for her work including people’s choice awards and overall section winners at key New Zealand art and ceramic exhibitions. Her work is available in galleries across New Zealand.

Dennis Knight Turner (1924 - 2011) is primarily recognised as a pioneer abstractionist, Turner defined the New Zealand landscape in abstract forms, developing a new art of multicultural influences - art that spoke of the social and industrial rights of ordinary people in an easily accessible style. Turner used Maori motifs early on in his works as he had known Theo Schoon and Gordon Walters, who introduced him to the rock drawings In 2014, the Gus Fisher Gallery mounted a retrospective A Continuous Line: The Art of Dennis K Turner.

Suzette van Dorsser has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Massey University and is a Franklin based artist. She uses printmaking techniques to generate the raw materials used to construct paintings and mixed media works. Suzette's work features a series of intricate layers to build depth, movement and interest. Often her work is illustrative but for this exhibition she has focused on working in an abstract format to depict the vastness of the ocean and Antarctica.

Denys Watkins was born in Wellington, and received his arts education at Wellington School of Design, Central School of Art and Design and Royal College of Art, both in London. An important contemporary artist, Denys Watkins is currently a full time painter and was a senior lecturer at Elam School of Fine Art between 1980-2011.

He has been the recipient of multiple awards and attended international residencies in Australia, Europe and India. His work has featured in solo exhibitions in London, New York and New Zealand and is now in numerous collections including Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland Museum, The University of Auckland, Te Papa, Govett Brewster Art Gallery, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Chartwell Trust Collection, Fletcher Challenge Corporate Collection, Australian National Gallery, and The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is represented in Auckland by Ivan Anthony Gallery.

Richard works out of his studio in Ellerslie and is the owner of Artworks bronze art casting foundry. Represented by Parnell Gallery in Auckland, Bryce Gallery in Christchurch and Bonz in Queenstown, Richard’s works are held in collections both here and overseas including the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa’s permanent collection.

Rae West’s work pulses with the kinetic freedom of fluidity and light. She uses multiple veils of pigment, resin and ink, which blend and react against each other creating beautiful forms and textures. The end results are spontaneous, subconscious, and sensual.

Angus Wilderspin is an artist working in photography or ink, pen, pastel and oil to create stunning contemporary artwork. Angus likes to recapture the feeling and atmosphere of the sunrise and sunset when everything is bathed in a golden light. Shapes and forms come out that could not be seen before. As the sun rises and lowers there is the drama and dance of the shadows, silhouettes appear, the crisp outlines of the landscape and highlights of light resting on the surface of objects. There is a sense of mystery; something magical taking place. It is like having a different set of eyes; the natural world is unveiling itself for those who can sit and watch.

Angus’s work is held in private collections in New Zealand and overseas, including the Wallace Art Trust.

Finn Wilson is based in Mt. Eden, Auckland. Art has been a huge part of his life ever since he was a kid, when he discovered it was the best way to express himself. As he’s matured, his art has evolved rapidly from doodles in school books to being featured in art exhibitions, gallery spaces and people’s homes. His work is planted firmly in the street genre and is heavily influenced by graffiti, music, cartoon-based illustration and the surf and skate cultures. He’s inspired to create work that communicates with viewers in a positive way, often with a whimsical twist.

Heather Wilson is a well-established professional artist originally from Wellington but now living in sunny Hawkes Bay. Over time her work has emerged from painting Kiwiana and inanimate objects, into a visual feast of patterned colour and multi-textural layers of acrylic and mixed media on canvas. Subject matter is limitless, although there is a strong pull towards retro images and repetitive patterns.

Heather is a regular exhibitor at the New Zealand Art Show in Wellington, and her work is available from galleries and design stores around New Zealand and from her studio in Taradale.