This weekend I was lucky enough to get out of the city
and popped in to Whangarei Art Museum to see "Distant Kinship",
an exhibition showcasing the work of 18 printmakers
from Grafiekgroep Bergen in The Netherlands
and the Print Council of Aotearoa NZ.
In 1642 the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman reached a new land in the Pacific Ocean and his cartographers named it New Zealand, after the Dutch province Zeeland. A kinship, distant in historical terms, was then born. Nearly four centuries later we now propose an exhibition of prints by Dutch and New Zealand artists: a contemporary kinship of printmakers, distant in geographical terms.
Featuring New Zealand artists: Jacqueline Aust, Kathy Boyle, Beth Charles,
Mark Graver, Steve Lovett, Kim Lowe, Prue MacDougall,
Catherine Macdonald, and Carole Shepheard.
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| Beth Charles (NZ), Number 4 Landfill "Abel Tasman is officially recognized as the first European to discover New Zealand in 1642, and his men the first to encounter Māori. My series of prints celebrates this achievement, and the ongoing connection and migration between the two countries." |
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| Kim Lowe (NZ), Nature-Culture "Much of my work uses themes related to the Chinese diaspora, hybridity and cultural connections, the found images of blue and white Chinese porcelain and delftware illustrates East/West historical connections related to 18th century sea trade." |
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| Kathy Boyle (NZ), Carpay "Frank Carpay arrived in Auckland in 1953, an innovative designer and decorator of ceramics who initially found employment at Crown Lynn pottery... Remembering Carpay depicts Carpay’s stylized bird design flying over a New Zealand landscape." |
Featured Dutch artists: Elsbeth Cochius, Gea Karhof, Hans Kleinsman,
Madeleine Leddy, Piet Lont, Nan Mulder, Jadranka Njegovan,
José van Tubergen, Eric van der Wal.
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| Hans Kleinman, Moving "Constructed from a range of digital impulses while travelling, a self-developed drawing machine transfers the image from the digital world onto large lithographic stones and separate layers of colours can then be printed." |
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| Gea Karhof, Towards the Unknown |
Here is a video Mark Graver made that introduces the NZ artists:
It's a great collection of works, and well worth the effort to go check it out.
For more information & artist statements, see: whangareiartmuseum.co.nz
Free entry.
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