Studio Insights - May 2025
CREATE: What I’ve created/done & what I’m working on.
INSPIRE: What art has inspired me.
LEARN: What I’m learning to develop my practice.
PLAN: What I’m planning next.
“The best art divides the audience. If everyone likes it, you probably haven’t gone far enough.”
This month I finally finished off everything for the NZ Art Show and could take a bit of a breath and quietly prepare to exhibit. I felt a bit guilty ‘relaxing’ as my work was left to imaging and framing on a very tight deadline. A huge thank you (and sorry) to Cameron (Z3D) and Lauren (Redican Framing) for going above and beyond to get everything ready in time. I’m overjoyed with the final results and had an amazing time showing off all my hard work at the show.
This is also a special entry as it marks one year of creating Studio Insights monthly reflections! This has become one of my favourite parts of my entire process. Even though I know most don’t read it all, I love writing these. Thank you to all my loyal subscribers and welcome to all those who are new! And a reminder that you can view every previous entry I’ve written on my website.
Table of Contents:
CREATE: NZ Art Show
INSPIRE: The Dowse - ‘The Brood’
LEARN: Metric of Success
PLAN: Exhibition Planning
CREATE: NZ Art Show
For the show this year I unveiled my new Urban Solitude series, with both Christchurch and Wellington variations. Even though I was sad none of the framed Christchurch pieces sold last month, it left a great opportunity to see all 8 paintings in a set together. The Wellington scenes had a darker and more closed-in feel, due to the scenes I chose which all had no sky. The custom framing with router details was an amazing unique addition, gaining many compliments. Despite the differences, the unified colour palette kept everything cohesive.
After enjoying the live painting in Christchurch, I decided to try it in this one too. I had intended to finish this painting for the show, but never got around to it. Let's just say I purposefully left it to give my viewers a unique insight into a work in progress. In the end, I had the very fortunate problem of too many people coming past, so I only managed to paint one afternoon.
INSPIRE: The Dowse - ‘The Brood’
This was one of the more disturbing exhibitions I’ve been to in a while, and I absolutely loved it. On display are a range of commissions from some of Aotearoa’s ‘darkest’ artists, inspired by the themes of horror movies like ‘The Brood’ and others. The Dowse is my favourite gallery to visit, and for good reason. I find New Zealand art can be especially overrun with safe, ‘pleasant’ artwork that doesn’t push the boundaries. I feel so privileged to be around a gallery which isn’t scared to delve into the truly bizarre.
Pictures don’t do it justice - it needs to be experienced in person. There was a real uncomfortable atmosphere, with a mash of loud rock music and mutilating screams echoing around the halls. I felt bad for the security guards sitting in it all day. There was even a room which exhibited different scents - truly an exhibition for all the senses.
LEARN: Metric of Success
The last two shows have made me really think about what I define as a ‘successful’ show, and what I’m really trying to achieve. I often get asked “how the show is going” or if I’ve “sold a lot” and never quite know how to answer. What is my metric for defining a good or bad show?
Money Earnt
If the metric is money earnt, then Christchurch was my worst show yet, and Wellington was about half as good as other years. I’ve been going to art shows for 4 years now, and I had a good run where each year I sold more. To take a ‘step back’ this year has been a little demoralising, even though I know it’s largely a state of the economy and felt by most artists around me. It’s never been about the money though, something I’ve told myself since day one of selling my art. I’d be delusional to follow this path if that was my motive.
Individual Sales
Perhaps the metric is the amount of art going out the door. That’s what this is all about, right? Getting my art on people’s walls - out of storage and in new homes to be appreciated, even if that art is ‘just a print’. On those grounds, I’ve steadily improved each year, with the NZ Art Show being my best so far. Yet I still struggle to fully accept this - the sale of an original just has this special weight to it, that a print never quite satisfies.
Art Appreciation
What if the metric is the appreciation of my work? This one is hard to measure. I met a new art friend next to me at the show this year, who expressed sincere amazement at the response to my art. He kept making this same comment over the weekend. “Put up a sign, $1 to view Ethereal Moss, and you’ll easily make your money for the weekend”. I kept brushing off the joke. I was so used to it at this point that I felt confused and surprised by his reaction. Later in the weekend, I finally realised he was right, and I’d become somewhat ‘desensitised’ to compliments of my work. I noticed, appreciated, and responded to all of the comments, but I wasn’t feeling them. I was no longer taking in the true weight of genuine appreciation for my hard work. This is obviously easy to do when there are thousands of visitors each day, but still, it was a good reminder to be thankful. I took a moment to recall a time when I was one of those awe-struck admirers, dreaming of having my own art in a show like this one day.
Connections Made
Finally, there’s the metric of my community of artists. Each year I meet new friends, and catch up with old ones, growing my network. It really feels like a family at this point. We’re all in this together, for the good and the bad. I would really miss this the most if I stopped going.
So was it a good show? Having reflected on these points, I can now confidently say yes. By most accounts, it was a resounding success.
PLAN: Exhibition Planning
Now that I’m finally done with the big art shows for the year, I’m ready to switch my full focus over to my upcoming solo exhibition. This will be on at Te Auaha, Wellington, in November this year. I’ve got a lot of ideas, and I’m feeling very inspired and excited to create without the pressure of other commitments. At this stage I don’t have anything else planned until then, although I’m sure that will change as irresistible opportunities come up.