Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom’s latest exhibition To Catch a Falling Star, Hopukia te whetū rere opens on Saturday 27 January and shows till Friday, March 22.
It is a thought-provoking show by Te Awahou Collective designed as a spiritual interpretation of the work by the late Dr Cliff Whiting, aninternationally renowned artist, esteemed teacher and practitioner of Māori arts.
Whiting made an outstanding contribution to New Zealand arts and culture over a career spanning more than 50 years in the fields of art education, art administration, marae building and renovation. Cliff was also the mastermind behind the traditional and contemporary marae Rongomaraeroa at Te Papa Tongarewa.
Under the guidance of Albert McCarthy, the Te Awahou Collective, 14 local artists, come together for a two-month art exhibition showcasing their interpretations of his mahi.
Varied styles, techniques, disciplines and backgrounds (painting, sculpture, carving, weaving, photography, illustration and digital) have been assembled for this special showing of the local artists and their unique works.
Artists featured in the unique exhibition include:
Albert McCarthy: An internationally recognised artist and Te Awahou Collective creator. A contemporary sculptor, painter, and carver working in multiple mediums and techniques.
Foxton artist Albert McCarthy.
Gary Whiting: An artist and educator who has participated in numerous collective exhibitions throughout the land and has work held in national and international collections.
Meredith Marsone: A professional artist with an extensive national and international exhibition history. A contemporary figurative painter, Meredith has a unique and distinctive style.
Steve Leurink: With a background in art education and art practice ‘commercial and fine art’, Steve’s work through painting, technique and imagery explores a perspective of life cycle and energy.
Jenn Tonumaipe’a Farrell-Taylor: Jenn uses tatau (tattoo), sculpture, uku (clay), illustration and painting to pay homage to her roots and to Mana Whenua.
Phillip Andrews: An artist and educator working across traditional and digital spaces. His current artwork series employs a strong graphic flavour utilising a bold colour palette.
Miho Tsumakura: A photographer, NZIPP award winner and digital artist employing an orchestrated mix of camera shot imagery, Japanese aesthetic and compositing.
Tracy Underwood: With a deep regard for mātauranga Māori and other esoteric traditions, Tracey conveys her insights through her innovative sculptural approach with flax, clay and wood within a contemporary art context.
Sherilyn Vilela: A multi-media artist, Sherilyn works in 2D and 3D juxtaposing ideas, objects, humour and colour to reflect on her interpretation of topics that often scream for attention. She draws on inspiration from nature with a focus on our societal impact upon the environment.
Walter James Kupa: Using recycled wood, vinyl records and metal, Walter reconditions designs, ideas and concepts to retell old stories and concepts in a contemporary world.
Warwick Smith: Warwick’s mahi features portraits of great-grandparents with their great-grandchildren, seeking to show that even with our differences we have a lot more similarities.
Matty Green: Matty came to art through their love of music and musical instruments. This, and their upbringing in Aotearoa, inspired their mahi focused on taonga puoro (traditional Māori musical instruments) and whakairo (carving).
Leala Faleseuga: A multidisciplinary artist based in the Horowhenua, Leala uses photography, alternative processing, analogue-digital cycles and painting, audio-visual work, installation and writing.
Wouna le Roux: Wouna’s work explores the theme of liminality – the in-between or middle phase of rites of passage that we go through in various transformative stages in our lives, such as adolescence, marriage and motherhood.
John Bradley: Born in Nelson, John, a photographer and artist, is now living in Foxton. John has been awarded The New Zealand Operational Service Medal (NZOSM) New Zealand Defence Service Medal, New Zealand General Service Medal. He worked at Treasury NZ for 35 years, he’s an NZRJA national and international journalist and LRPS photographer.
To Catch a Falling Star Hopukia te whetū rere is open from Saturday, January 27 to Friday, March 22 and you can find it in Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom’s Māpuna Kabinet Art Gallery, 92 Main St, Foxton.
