The symbols on the side of a carton of wine glasses were enough to push artist Dick Frizzell in what he felt was the right direction for his charity wine-auction artwork.
He was talking with his art dealer in Auckland when his eyes were drawn to a stack of catering packs nearby, and the glass, the umbrella and the sun packaging symbols triggered a reaction.
The word "fragile", that was also on the carton, however, simply wouldn't do.
"I thought 'robust' seemed to be the logical word to go with," he says of the word which takes up a fair bit of space on his painting, entitled Good Health, the artwork for this year's Midlands Hawke's Bay Charity Wine Auction, previously known as the Hawke's Bay Winemakers' Charity Auction.
The work, donated to auction beneficiary Cranford Hospice yesterday, is the centrepiece of the 14th auction. It will be shown at Park Estate, Matariki, Te Awa, Seleni Estate, Kemblefield, Kim Crawford, Clearview, and Alpha Domus wineries before the auction at Church Road Winery on Sunday, June 4, Queen's Birthday Weekend. There will be a preview and wine tasting the day before.
It was the second painting Frizzell has contributed to the auction. His first, donated in 1996, was a 3D collage, called Still life with Corkscrew.
Frizzell, who moved back to the Bay after four decades away, has been well-known in the art world since the 1970s for his imagery created from popular and consumer culture.
The average price for paintings sold is $4500. The record was set in 2004 for Brent Redding's artwork, at $27,000.
Some 35 lots of varieties from local wineries will also be up for grabs. Other tempting packages include dinners, and a trip to Australian winegrowing region, the Hunter Valley, while Sacred Hill is contributing a signed Frizzell print.
The managers of Midlands Mortgage Trust, formed from the association of three law firms, Bramwell Grossman in Hastings, Davidson, Armstrong and Campbell in Waipukurau, and Halliwell's in Hawera, are sponsoring the event to the tune of $20,000 a year, for the next three years.
General manager Peter Harrison said: "Personally, for me, Cranford Hospice was important, as I was chairman of the hospice in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, for four years."
Frizzell work boost for charity auction
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