Grace and her voluptuous art exhibition

Grace Wright with one of her "Loop" artworks. Photo/George Novak

Tauranga abstract painter Grace Wright is celebrating her first solo exhibition in Auckland.

The 23-year-old artist only graduated from Elam Art School last year and was excited to get an email from Warwick Henderson Gallery earlier this year proposing to represent her.

The gallery represents many prominent artists including Robyn Kahukiwa, Philippa Blair and Fatu Feu'u.

According to Warwick Henderson, many galleries will not touch new graduates and while he gets approached by hundreds of artists a year wanting to exhibit in the gallery, Wright was different.

"Grace ticks all the boxes. Her palette and the combination of colours, her tones and balance, her design work really stood out," he said.

"She has lovely, gestural brush work and, unlike a lot of New Zealand art, her work is positive, bright and enjoyable. She has something different. It is certainly a celebration of colour and movement."

Ten paintings make up the exhibition, entitled Loop, exploring ideas around pleasure. The works are voluptuous, and the layers of colour contrast against each other, creating tension and depth.

"I'm looking at paintings as visual pleasure and trying to create a sense of bodyliness, without painting an actual body," said Wright.

The Tauranga Girls' College former student is also an accomplished musician, playing the piano and bass.

She says she enjoyed her schooling at the college and credits strong music and art departments for encouraging her passions.

Grace Wright puts on some finishing touches. Photo/George Novak

While her studio remains in Tauranga, she also works part-time in Auckland and is set to travel to New York, London and Berlin to immerse herself in their art worlds for a month.