In the late 1970s we got to visit many studios as we worked on the book
Contemporary New Zealand Painters (vol 1) with photographer Marti Friedlander. Most of these painters were working in converted garages or the front room with their work seldom supplying a full time living. That has changed a lot. In the weekend we visited a studio in a large Auckland warehouse with a forklift in one corner and large paintings hanging off industrial shelving. On the other hand, the artist did have a sleeping berth in the studio and nearby was something that has been typical of all painters' studios for centuries: that fascinating bunch of brushes, tubes, bottles and palettes that painters accumulate. In this case the artist has been far better known in another visual medium (here’s a clue – movies). At the end of the year you can see a large body of this painter's recent work taking up the entire Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. Step on over
here for the name of this artist.
NOTE: The Govett-Brewster tells us that there will be a Len Lye exhibition in the bottom two galleries but that (spoiler alert) Vincent Ward's exhibition will fill the rest.
