The best Whanganui artists' work on display at Sarjeant Gallery

Mark Rayner's La Corona (The Crown), latch hook wool & rug canvas. Photo / Supplied

The best of the best is on display at the Sarjeant Gallery.

The Sarjeant's current exhibition is the "Whanganui Arts in Review: A Survey of Past Award Winners 2011-2021".

There are 23 distinctive Whanganui artists, operating in a multitude of mediums.

Kirk Nicholls' Untitled, 2022, made of recycled milk bottles. Photo / Supplied

"The calibre and variety of artwork being created in the Whanganui region is something we at the Sarjeant find really exciting," assistant curator Jessica Kidd said.

"It has been great to work with all of the talented local artists involved in this exhibition."

For some, their win at the Whanganui Arts Review was the first public recognition they had received, a Sarjeant spokesperson said.

In several cases that helped kick off a career as an artist.

David Murray's Territory (Olive Green), 2022, made of cast glass. Photo / Supplied

"It has really confirmed for me the value of the Whanganui Arts Review," Kidd says.

Sculptor Kirk Nicholls won the Carey Smith & Co Ltd Highly Commended Award in 2011.

"Like a lot of other artists sometimes I question my own taste and wonder whether it's good, bad, if my ideas are relevant and strike a chord in our present times.

"So winning the award in 2011 was validation that perhaps I was doing something right and gave me a boost moving forward," he said.

Amy Blackburn, who won the 2017 Belton, Smith & Associates Ltd Highly Commended Award, said her winning painting was originally created for her first solo exhibition.

"Receiving this award gave me added confidence in my painting style and direction in art making."

In recent years, the Whanganui Arts Review exhibition had become a popular destination for out-of-town visitors, the Sarjeant spokesperson said.

Amy Blackburn's Gather Here, 2021, oil on linen. Photo / Supplied

It is known as a snapshot of what is happening creatively in the region and attracts large numbers of visitors to the gallery.

The Sarjeant said it was also an important time for artists to connect directly with the curators and team at the "nationally significant public gallery" in Whanganui.

The Whanganui Arts in Review: A Survey of Past Award Winners 2011-2021 exhibition includes works from last year's Open Award winner and Pattillo Project recipient Andrea Gardner.

Her work is represented with her staged photography, alongside recent photographic works by Tia Ranginui, Brydee Rood, and a video and 3D printed sculpture by Brit Bunkley.

The local ceramic community is present in the vastly different works of Leigh Anderton-Hall, Andrea du Chatenier, Rick Rudd, and Angela Tier.

The art of jewellery can be found in a new body of work by Frances Stachl.

Whanganui's glass community is exhibited with works by David Murray and Dr Kathryn Wightman, with sculptural and installation works by Tracy Byatt, Glen Hayward, Lee Morgan, Kirk Nicholls and Penni Wyse.

Drawing and painting are also well covered with the varied works of Amy Blackburn, André Brönnimann, Katherine Claypole, Catherine Macdonald, Prakash Patel, Mark Rayner and Paul Rayner.

At 34 years of age, the Whanganui Arts Review is New Zealand's longest-running public arts review.