The work of Christchurch Artist Galina Kim draws on a wide range of subjects, but is easily recognisable by the subtly fragmented quality and variety of textures that draw on her expertise as a textile artist. With two masters in design and fine arts, Kim’s creative work has been a lifelong career and a constant during times of upheaval.

Born in Kazakhstan, Kim’s family moved to the Ukraine when she was 12. Travel, changes and goodbyes featured strongly in her adult life as well. Her first husband was in the military and this led to many years of movement that left Kim longing for somewhere to connect and belong.

“I longed for a home, in every sense of the word: somewhere safe to bring up my two boys, and somewhere quiet to find and digest inspiration.”

Eventually Kim found that home in Christchurch. 

“I found myself. I rediscovered my roots and put down new ones, and the diversity of my art reflects the intertwining of cultures, experiences, values and influences within me,” says Kim.

Major life changes revealed themselves through distinct changes in Kim’s work, and her classical training - which had provided many years of valuable structure and discipline - suddenly felt restricting.

​Drawn to the versatility of acrylics, Kim spent years exploring the medium; working with different techniques, processes, products and tools.

“No one showed me any shortcuts. Everything I learned about working with acrylics, mixed media and palette knives, I discovered on my own. I think this has helped me to develop a distinctive and unique style.”

This approach to art making has become something of a mantra for Kim who provides private lessons and workshops for artists.

“I think it is important to put aside what you have been taught or told by others is ‘right’ and give yourself the freedom to play and explore and discover new ways of approaching your art so that it reflects your own journey and insights.”

In her own work, Kim’s approaches are combined with a yers of experience as a fabric designer. An expert in Batik, a term for various techniques of painting on fabric, Kim draws on the skills and processes of this art form and adapts them to her paintings.

Reservation, a concept at the heart of Batik, involves blocking out selected areas of cloth to preserve and emphasise both colours and patterns of the underlying fabric. Instantly recognisable in her painting, variations on this blocking technique reveal and mask aspects of composition, colour and pattern.

“For me, it's not just about capturing colour, texture, light, shape and space; it's also about releasing the feel, scent, sound and taste of moments in time. Capture and release; traditional and contemporary; realism and abstraction; simple and complex. Embracing the balance of complementary opposites like these is at the core of my work and, indeed, my life."

After teaching Art for 15 years, Whangarei-based artist Judy Woods has spent the last two years developing an intuitive painting style that explores rich layers of both family history and the painting process itself.

Woods has not always painted abstract works, but her earlier, more realistic works still began with a layer of more expressionistic painting in order to give the finished work a greater sense of texture and depth.

“I enjoyed how it felt to paint in this way and loved some of the effects, even though only some of this would show through in the finished work.”

A fan of Rauschenberg and Diebenkorn, the allure to experimenting with abstraction was strong, and when Woods’ father passed away in 2016, the time felt right to begin working in a more intuitive style. “My father’s death brought me sharply eye-to-eye with the brevity of life and so I threw myself wholeheartedly into my painting.” “For a year, I explored painting intuitively; just responding to what showed up on the canvas as I played with materials and ideas. I found this incredibly difficult but also exhilarating as marks, surface effects, and combinations of materials would surprise and result in work that referenced unplanned ideas and thoughts. I became more and more enchanted with the accidental mark.”

​More recently, a switch to painting on wooden panels has allowed greater expression in Woods’ work.

“My work is becoming looser and I’m incorporating collage underneath many layers of paint to create lumps and bumps and a history in the work. I dig into the wood and sand back through layers to reveal all sorts of hidden surprises.”

Like many others, Woods was quick to discover that painting in a truly intuitive way was not as simple as one might first imagine.
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​With no guidelines or blueprint to begin with, Woods’ approaches each of her works by experimenting with different processes of adding and removing layers as she discovers what works and what doesn’t. This results in works that are richly layered and draw on the history of the painting process. “Digging back down to those layers of experimentation underneath always reveals lovely little bits that are quite unexpected.  So the process really serves the best outcome.”

Adding another layer of meaning to Woods’ work, she has recently begun to incorporate motifs and messages from a collection of over 200 of her parents’ letters to each other.

“We found the letters  in the back of my father's wardrobe the night before his funeral.  My mother didn't know that he had kept them and she spent the first months after his death reading them over again.”

“Recently my mother died and I am discovering their love story through the letters. To have access to the very beginnings of their partnership, which lasted 58 years, is incredibly precious. Initially I used the words “darling mine” in my paintings, and I want to photocopy their handwriting to somehow include in my work.  I use collage in my paintings so this would easily work.”

You can see more of Judy’s work on Instagram, where she shares both finished work and insights into her painting process.

Sculptor and Tutor at The Learning Connexion in Wellington, Aaron Frater creates both assembled and carved works that have found homes in private residences and community spaces all over New Zealand. He has exhibited work for nearly 40 years and has taken part in group and solo shows in New Zealand, Japan, the United States and Australia.

Currently working with barrier mesh as his sculptural medium, Frater’s latest work is a study in iconic, symbolic and sign-like structures.

“The mesh is a barrier that separates safe space from unsafe space. In a way, it’s like cloth; separating private space from the world at large.”

Ubiquitous in industrial health and safety, the material goes unnoticed in our day-to-day lives, but Frater’s creations aim to draw our attention to the literal and metaphorical ideas surrounding it. The mesh serves to protect and demarcate, and the distinctive orange colour is intended to be a warning. Frater flips these concepts on their head; creating works that draw us un to take a closer look.

“The material itself has meaning: it is, a barrier between one world and another. The bright orange signals one area of life that is legislated safe, and another legislated as dangerous, and only accessible to the ‘specialist’.”

Frater sees the transitional nature of the mesh represented by its lack of physical substance, but instead of seeing this minimal, open structure as limiting, he embraces it as a material that retains elements of its original function in his work.

“We all need to live somewhere. Shelter and protection is important to the fundamental basis of human life.”

Frater’s latest exhibition, ‘Way Home’, opens on 6 September in Newtown, and explores our place in relation to housing, to space, to rules and regulations. He hopes his work will question the nature of protection and shelter and draw attention to ideas of separation and coming together.

Recently named the first New Zealand, Annie Sloan Painter in Residence, North Island painter Jeanie Simpson has a passion for breathing new life into unloved furniture. Inspired by everything from Art Deco to folk art, her creations are wide ranging in style but are connected by her love of quality materials and traditional craftsmanship.

“I look out for something that a little different and that helps with forming inspiration when planning to paint.”

The process of finding pieces to work with can be time consuming, and simply finding any old furniture isn’t enough. For Simpson, sustainability is a key part of her process so she actively seeks out pieces that are run-down or unfashionable enough to warrant extensive restoration and transformation.

Aiming to work with the history of a piece rather than erase it, Simpson retains remnants of old layers of paint when completing restorations. Bumps and scrapes become sources of inspiration and combine with ideas gleaned from research into particular design styles to create truly unique works that both respect the past and embrace the present.

“Each time I research a new era or design movement, I get totally immersed and enthused about artists, designers and craftsmen of the time.”

The Arts and Crafts movement that flourished across Europe and North America in the late 1800s is a favourite for Simpson. Following the industrial revolution, the Arts and Crafts style reacted to a perceived decline in manufacturing standards that accompanied what was the beginnings of mass production, and embraced traditional craftsmanship and simple forms.

Not only influencing the style of her work, the Arts and Crafts movement bears relevance to the concept of furniture restoration, and connects with our modern-day need for sustainability in design.

​“The sustainability aspect about what I’m doing is really important to me. My parents valued antique furniture over new furniture so, growing up, I learnt to appreciate the craftsmanship and history of old pieces. It saddens me to see much of this furniture is really unfashionable now and consumers would rather buy cheap new furniture every few years”.

Generally of a much higher quality than their contemporary counterparts, the pieces that Simpson works with feature solid wood and handmade construction that is valued by the style-conscious.

“Older furniture is generally much better quality than newer versions. Drawers were made of solid timber - not just cheap chipboard with timber laminate - and everything was assembled by hand. Furniture that’s as little as 40 or 50 years old is often of really good quality.”

“The concept of reusing furniture and making it functional and desirable in a modern home is important and I’m really passionate about it. People don’t want unfashionable furniture in their homes (I certainly don’t!), but that’s where I come in: to try and bridge this gap.”

You can see more of Simpson’s work on her website, www.jeaniusreloved.com.

Talented creator, and hand-made enthusiast, Pip Pottage has developed a successful design business inspired by her love of bold pattern and a commitment to a more sustainable way-of-life. Pip Pottage Designs, which combine high-quality design and construction with natural and environmental materials, is rapidly expanding it’s collection of products that are being snapped up by customers all over the world.

Pottage, who calls both New Zealand and Canada home, has always been conscious of the way that our consumer society impacts the world around us. Initially astonished that New Zealand had a gaping hole in the market when it came to organic, eco-friendly and ethical lifestyle products, she took it upon herself to right this wrong.

“I was creating handmade items and I figured it would be a truer representation of my own lifestyle commitment if my products reflected my sustainable beliefs too. So slowly I started switching everything over to organic cotton.  But, there is a catch… Organic cotton is not really super readily available for the small scale maker”

Pottage approached fabric distributors across New Zealand to find out if she could buy eco-friendly, sustainable or fair-trade products from them.

Growing up in Whangamata, about an hour north of Tauranga, provided a young Kane Facey with opportunities to explore two great loves: painting and surfing. At the local area school, a wave features prominently in the logo design and gives, perhaps, some indication of the lifestyle that is to be enjoyed in this part of the world.

Spending a great deal of time in the art room at school is regarded by Facey as a catalyst to his love of painting. Many hours every day were spent exploring different approaches to working with paint and other mediums. It was no surprise that when he left school Facey went on to study art at The Learning Connexion in Wellington.

From Dali-inspired scenes to vivid pop-art works, Facey’s painting style is diverse, but his landscapes have been his staple genre and photos from many surfing road trips provide endless inspiration.

Working on hand-made canvases, Facey works from photographs and finds the initial pencil lines to be the most satisfying part of the art-making process.

“I choose to not copy the image in its entirety. Instead, using it as a guide, I take elements from it and put in my own style.”

Currently living in New Plymouth, Facey has exhibited work in group shows and is now turning his attention towards solo exhibitions, but, as with many artists, balancing a range of commitments sometimes proves challenging.

“Being a father to two young boys I get to share knowledge and creativity with them both. Also, as they get older I’m finding more time to create art, so I can focus on honing my own individual style.”

Happiest and most relaxed with a paintbrush in his hand, enrolling as a builder was a difficult choice. “The upside to being a builder is that I have the skills to make all my own canvases and frames, and it also allows me to purchase art supplies without having to wait for exhibition earnings.”

With a lot more canvases and surf trips planned for the future, we can expect to see more of Facey’s work.

“Each new gallery opening I’m lucky enough to be part of is a great experience. It’s the expressions and reactions of guests that I really like, listening to other peoples view on my work and being able to evoke smiles from strangers is a nice feeling."

Studies towards her doctorate in biochemistry brought Akshita Wason to New Zealand in 2010. Originally from India and a keen environmentalist, her artwork combines themes of adventure, environmental issues and the ever-shifting nature of the world around us.

A self-professed wanderer, Wason sees this as a consistent storyline in her work.

“I guess a wanderer is also synonymous with an explorer and an adventure; someone who experiments and moves on to a new realm. The theme also encompasses the transient nature of my work, always evolving at its own pace, much like the earthy elements. So, you will observe representations of mounds, hills, arborescent patterns and geological formations.”

Wason also views her work as a way to highlight present-day problems that face our natural environment.

“The present generation is facing a tremendous task of alleviating the long-term effects of human interruption in the natural order. My work aims to start a dialogue to discuss this issue and that is why there is a lot of influence from earthy-elements and forms.”

Since launching into her artwork, Wason has experimented with wide ranging themes, compositional elements, and ideas. Her work is tied together by consistent use of ink.

“It has taken me a few years, many trials, to understand how the ink or pigments interact with paper. I have had no official art training, and am mostly self-taught. I attend workshops whenever possible to learn new techniques and meet people.”

Considering the future direction for her art, Wason hopes to work in a larger scale but will continue interpreting her themes through abstract forms that allow her greater expression.

“The biggest challenge is overcoming self-doubt as an artist and believing that the work is representative of something more substantial than daily existence. It is a continuing journey, influenced by many real-life experiences and people.”

You can see more of Wason’s work on her website, akshitawason.com.

For Florence Egasse, the museums and galleries of Paris were “playgrounds for the eyes” and the artist considers childhood visits and hours spent enjoying works by the modern masters to be a major catalyst in developing her lifelong passion for art. 

After studying in Normandy, Egasse spent time in London and began to paint. Immediately drawn to abstracts, her work explored shapes and colour inspired by nature and her surroundings.

As her corporate career as a knowledge manager developed, Egasse found it difficult to find time for her art and any possibility of swapping her corporate life for a potential career as an artist was well-and-truly thwarted when when her first child was born. Now, after almost 15 years, with two children at primary school and her corporate career behind her, Egasse has once again thrown herself into art.

Egasse’s more recent work is a combination of landscapes and abstract works, often juxtaposing fluidity in shape and colour with geometric shapes that create a sense of energy and movement. Evidence of many hours spent enjoying the works of artists such as Henri Matisse are evident here.

“Matisse is a big influence in my work as he conveyed emotions through an expressive synthesis of colours and simple dynamic shapes.”

In much of her abstract work, Egasse focuses on working in a way that allows for spontaneity and freedom in the process of bringing her creations to life.

“The composition of some my work is kind of planned but can differ when the painting is finished. I like the idea that ‘less is more’, but, at times, this is difficult to achieve. I can struggle to decide when to stop but I eventually solve my own puzzle.”

Although some works are more carefully planned and executed, often Egasse prefers to see where the work takes her; often opting to be guided by the paint rather than beginning with a sketch. This open-ended approach to art-making allows for broad interpretations of her work.

“There is no right or wrong. I love the fact that my viewers can see where the painting is taking them.”

“In my ‘Macarons’ series, which is a study on shapes, transparency and light, a friend saw in one work a woman on her hospital bed with her husband by her side. I did not expect such a funny and truly honest interpretation of my painting.”

Never short of inspiration, Egasse carefully balances time spent on each work with the temptation to produce more work.

“The fact that I am free to create what I want, when I want is a luxury and it is very exciting! I wish I could produce more artwork as I have so many ideas, but it is more of a priority to ensure that each piece of artwork is unique and has its own story.”

Egasse’s work is stocked by galleries throughout New Zealand including Auckland’s Mobile Art Gallery, Art Box Gallery in Christchurch, Majuba Gallery in Hanmer Springs and Art on Tyne in Oamaru. You can also take a look at more of Egasse’s work on her website, floart.co.nz.

Self proclaimed “accidental traveller” Santie Cronje, was born in South Africa and travelled through Europe before meeting her partner in the UK and moving to New Zealand.

“Travelling was never something I thought I would do a lot of; but I am an opportunist and I enjoy adventures”, Cronje explains.

One such adventure saw her travel by yacht from Cape Town to Gibraltar in 1998. A lover of the ocean, alongside travel, boats and the water have since become common themes in many of her artworks.

“Spending time in different countries has had a huge influence on my work. My sailing journey has become a symbol of the journey of life: how choices we make and take determine the next stages in our lives. If you stay or go are both equally big decisions.”

Birds were common visitors on Cronje’s sailing journey, often becoming the first to greet them before arriving at a new destination or calling the yacht home for a brief while before carrying on with their own journeys. This wildlife, too, has become a key subject in the artist’s work, symbolising journeys taken and migratory themes.

Cronje’s first New Zealand exhibition, in 2008, was titled ‘Creative Journeys’ and used birds as a symbol for her own migration. A similar show in 2009, ‘If Godwits Couldn’t Fly’ explored displacement and a sense of being torn between two countries.

Native to New Zealand, the godwit holds the record for the longest non-stop flight of any land-based, migratory bird.

“They fly to Alaska every year to breed and return again the following year”. If they can do that, I could be from two countries as well.”

Basing her work on a deep pool of experiences, it took several years in New Zealand for Cronje to gather the material and ideas to begin painting.

“The birth of my daughter became a way back in. I had painted for friends and family before, but becoming a mother made me braver. I set up my art business in New Zealand as a company and I was ‘The Sleepy Kiwi’, creating children’s art and Kiwi-themed ABC posters. It grew organically from there, and looking back over 10 years of exhibiting in galleries across New Zealand, it has been a continuous motion of growth and progress”.

This year, Cronje and her horticulturalist partner have combined their love of Art and Plants and opened Deciduus; a gallery and plant boutique. The space hosts a small number of artists for a three month period before changing artists and themes.

The gallery is currently hosting the works of seven female, New Zealand artists all working with botanical themes.

You can see more of Cronje’s work on her website www.santie.co.nz, and artists interested in learning more about Deciduus can follow the gallery on Facebook, www.facebook.com/deciduus.

Spending half an hour with self-taught, Nelson-based artist Anicë Doel highlights the sort of modesty that New Zealanders are often known for. Her first exhibition, ‘Visual Sensation’ is a bold collection of colourful, acrylic works focused on local architecture.

Doel enjoys painting local buildings and reimagines well-known locations with a colourful, pop-art-inspired twist. Her painting of Nelson’s Civic House, a work inspired by a challenge from her husband to portray the oft criticised building in a creative way, is testament to her ability to shed new light on her architectural subject matter.

“I like challenging myself with buildings that are not usually considered aesthetically pleasing and try to make them so on canvas,” she explains.

Doel, who has been painting for about five years, has always had an interest in art, but struggled in the past to make the time for her art.

“My dad died a couple of years ago in an accident. It was so sudden and unexpected that it made me think about my life. I realised that life is short and I’d hate to think that I didn’t do something I’m interested in and passionate about just because I was always busy doing mundane things.”

Balancing painting with other work and a family, Doel relies on setting aside time in the evenings to complete her works and has been preparing for this exhibition for over a year, with larger works taking upwards of 60 hours of painting time.

The exhibition, which explores a range of other subjects alongside her large architectural works, has been well received, with people commenting on the variety and boldness in the work.

“I would predominantly say I’m inspired by pop art and I’m still trying to find my style. I’ve settled in comfortably here, but I think there’s more to test out. I’ve got all these ideas buzzing around in my head, but because the way that I work is very slow and methodical it’s a matter of finding the time to do it all.”

As this exhibition comes to a close, Doel is now looking ahead to Art Expo Nelson, which she describes as a real highlight.

“Every year I go [to the Expo] and look at all the artwork and I’m always amazed by it. I’ve never had enough work to show, and I felt like it was a distant dream. But, part of doing this exhibition was gearing up mentally to apply for that.”

Being a self-taught artist is no problem for Doel, who finds Nelson to be a great community in which to work.

“There’s heaps of artistic people here’s and everyone’s willing to share. It’s really helpful. There are a lot of markets and just so many options to get yourself out there.”

Looking ahead, Doel has no shortage of inspiration for future work.

“I’m still trying different things. I feel like there’s a lot more to explore in the floral works, and I have an idea for a feminist series that has been bubbling away in the background. And, of course there’s always great buildings to paint.

“A lot of the different things that I’m trying is purely me saying “I wonder if I can do that”.

To see more of Doel’s work, you can follow her on Instagram where she regularly shares her creative process.

‘Visual Sensation’ runs until Saturday, April 14th at Art@203 in Nelson.

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