JOINT EXHIBITION:   24 AUGUST - 24 SEPTEMBER 2010 

 

 

McCarthy Art Gallery is proud to present this joint exhibition by Diana Smallfield and Jeff Lockhart , both accomplished visual artists and wealth of vast knowledge as art educators.

 

Diana Smallfield new works is representative of a “Sense of Place” - an experience of reflection and recollection of personal meaning in places of importance to her, and perhaps others who relate to such places. In this most recent series Smallfield have concentrated mainly on the coastline of the Waitemata and the Hokianga, places where she lived and love to visit. "My Celtic origins are important. It is equally about manaakitanga, livelihood, ownership, access - seabed and foreshore issues. It's about working together to preserve a national taonga." The use of the photographic image as a point of reference gives a sense of a real experience and a sense of ownership. The drawing process - interfaced with the manipulated digital imagery - enables Smallfield to weave the threads and pathways that connect us with the moment and place. The multi-layered the print process with acrylic on canvas, and included the raw edges and use of text as devices to create further connections and/or discords. The works are therefore a rich tapestry of intertwined personal meanings and pictorial narratives.

Jeff Lockhart is a well versed art educator and also an accomplished visual artist in painting, printmaking and sculptures and exhibits widely. He was initially trained in Geography and Education. Lockhart is inspired by his interest in the people that make up our community. As a pakeha decent, he believes that acknowledging and celebrating our Pasifika place in the world is integral to being a New Zealander, stimulated by the colours, symbols and motifs of Pasifika. Lockhart works explores the possibilities and tries to acknowledge our links to ancestry while looking towards the future. Both artist compliments and acknowledges our placements as a society so connected by diversity of cultures, land, sea and our sense of history.

 

We look forward to your visit.