ART ASSOCIATES - Key Persons
Adrian Jackman graduated in 1997 with a Masters Degree in FineArts from Auckland University's Elam School of Fine Arts andhas been exhibiting in solo and group shows in Auckland and Wellington since.
Jackman encourages a sense of narrative in his work, oftenutilising the juxtaposition of seemingly random elements (a meltingice-cream, fawns, a diver, Manga anime figures) drawn from the environs of pop culture to create tension and energy and to provoke diverse readings of his work. For Jackman, modern popculture and advertising imagery inserts itself in the modern landscape in a casual yet inescapable way and his response to it isto illuminate its often other worldly existence by translating its most visible elements into his works in an often witty and self-referential manner.
Jackman's fascination with the modern landscape of emblems, symbols and imagery results in a kind of still-life a snapshot of a scene whose familiar elements are arranged in a decidedly unfamiliar way, or whose seemingly random juxtaposition of emblems entails a deeper symbolism.
Jackman also tutors in the finer aspects of acrylic painting at Art Station and Te Tuhi, was awarded the Mt Eden Young ArtistPremier Award in 1996 and has been a finalist in many major national art awards including the Norsewear Art Awards, Trust Waikato Contemporary Art Awards and the Wallace Art Awards.
Established artist Angie Dennis has lived in Auckland, NewZealand, since emigrating from the United Kingdom in 1998. Although Dennis has been painting for years, she chose to pursue it as afull-time vocation in 2002.
Anton Chapman studied Fine Art at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa, completing a Diploma in Fine Art in 1979 before travelling to Rome to take up a Scholarship year at the Accademia Di Belle Arti. Returning to South Africa, Chapman lectured in both Painting and History of Art at Rhodes University before completing his Masters in Fine Art (with distinction) in 1987. He continued to lecture in Painting at the University of Durban, Westville, before immigrating to New Zealand to take up a teaching position at the Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design, where he taught from 1994-2004. Chapman is now a full-time artist and private tutor.
Chapman's style brings life to his subject matter through an intense and emotive process of building, layering, scraping and brusquely applying paint - the physicality of Chapman's work cannot be ignored.
Clare Matheson attended Auckland University, where she studied for a Bachelor of Visual Arts majoring in Painting. Completing her degree in 2003, Matheson was honoured with the Top Graduand prize for her work. Following this success, Matheson continued her studies, graduating with a Masters of Art (Art and Design) from Auckland University of Technology in 2006.
On the surface, Matheson's works appear Minimalist in their outlook. Her hard-edged forms and bold blocks of colour recall the work of 1960's American proponents of the genre such as Kenneth Noland and Frank Stella. However, Matheson's practice differs greatly in philosophy and content from that of the early Minimalists. Where Minimalism as a style sought to reduce the work of art to its primary values of colour, form, line and texture by emphasising those exact points for their own sake, Matheson's work utilises those primary values in the opposite manner: as conveyors of meaning each form becoming a symbolic referent rather than simply an aesthetic element.
In Matheson's work, these forms often refer to statistical data,such as the diminution of endemic bird life in New Zealand since 1300 AD. Matheson's use of colour and texture imparts further symbolism to her referents - as a colourist, Matheson chooses to work with tones that convey a particular emotional reaction to the meaning and implication of certain statistics. In this way, Matheson's works are not simply statistical demonstrations, but data analysed and re-presented with an awareness of its implications.
Extrapolated out, Matheson's references to (and treatment of) statistical data in a Minimalist guise allude to the notion of the constant collection of data through surveillance and the way in which surveillance has become a necessary and even accepted part of everyday life. As such, her works provide a comment on the modern 'information society' and the social symptoms of unease and anxiety engendered by the sense that this way of life is not only inexorable, but also inescapable.
Claudia Pond-Eyley was born in Matamata in 1946 and was educated in Montreal, Canada and Yonkers, New York. She studied at Auckland University's Elam School of Arts, graduating in 1968 with a Diploma in Fine Arts. After many years as a professional artist, Pond-Eyley returned to the University of Auckland to complete herMasters in Fine Art in 1997.
Cruz Jimenez's work hints at a sense of wonder hidden just below the surface of the ubiquitous objects that create the backdrop for the humdrum, 'everyday' world. His is an oeuvre where it is only our perception of reality that separates us from a magic that is ever-present - Jimenez's work suggests that if we look beyond the mundane and allow ourselves to fully appreciate what is around us, we will see the wonder in the world as it really exists.
While his works are essentially abstract, they present a veiled imagery that brings forth an intuitive understanding of the form being conveyed. We can recognise insects, birds, fish, leaves, trees, fire, clouds - a plethora of natural elements reside in this artist's garden. Essentially optimistic, Jimenez imparts a sense of the miraculous in the small lives of everyday creatures - a pile of leaves being disturbed sets loose a furling mass of activity a fire generates a rain of ruby sparks a rippling pool disturbs the inhabitants and they dance under the surface of the water.
Elaine Conway's work is spread across a range of genres,including sculpture, installation, interactive work and lightboxes. Within the varied modes of her artistic practice, Conway investigates the nature of perception while simultaneously commenting on the advance of society, utilising a range ofmaterials that emphasise the synthetic and its place in modernlife.
As Conway explains her series of light box works as a,'21 st century version of Polyorama Panoptique back-lit images made to amuse the middle classes in the 18 th century. These works combine reflection and light to move the viewers' perception by blending reality with remembered images. Prolonged concentration creates differing readings as the brain and eye work together. The light boxes are explorative representations of established communities which ponder the impetus behind the pervasion of chosen sites.' In choosing thelight box as a medium, Conway exaggerates the visual effect of theimage, calling attention to the content of each work in an inescapable manner.
Conway's sculptures and lightbox works are held in public andprivate collections throughout New Zealand and in 2007, she was awarded the Harkness Henry Sculpture Award for her work 'CrumblingCrust' at the Waitakaruru Arboretum & Sculpture Park. Conwaycontinues to exhibit as a solo artist and as part of the Dust Collective.