J S PARKER, born 1944, Auckland; died 2017, Blenheim John S Parker painted full-time from the time he was awarded the prestigious Frances Hodgkins Fellowship, University of Otago, in 1975, until the year of his death. Apart from some early landscapes and portraits, he always painted abstract works. His paintings are a reflection of his life’s experiences … Read more

James Ormsby was born in 1957, of Ngati Maniapoto, Waikato, Te Arawa and Katimana (Scottish) descent. He graduated with a MFA from The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Australia, in 2001. He has participated in both local and international group exhibitions since 1998, and has been exhibiting in solo shows since 2001. Ormsby focuses on … Read more

RICHARD MCWHANNELL, born 1952 in AkaroaMcWhannell graduated Diploma of Fine Arts form the University of Canterbury in 1972 and has been exhibiting regularly, particularly in Auckland and Wellington, since 1974. Early landscapes ceded to cityscapes and portraits, and the occasional sculpture, after he moved to Auckland in 1978. Travelling through Europe in the mid-1980s, McWhannell … Read more

MARY MCINTYRE, born 1928, AucklandA self-taught painter, McIntyre has been a full-time artist since 1980, and is well-known for her realist works in which she creates ambiguous, often surreal, narratives. One of New Zealand’s foremost realist, figurative painters, she has a reputation for producing works that defy political correctness and usually contain barbed humour or … Read more

RICHARD LEWER, born in Hamilton in 1970 and currently living in Melbourne, graduated BFA from Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland University, in 1992 and MVA from Victoria College of the Arts, University of Melbourne in 2000. He has explored a diverse range of sometimes rather unexpected media, including canvas, stainless steel, aluminium, sheepskin, paper … Read more

GERDA LEENARDS, born 1946 Nijmegen, Holland Leenards emigrated to New Zealand in 1956. After a career as a draughtswoman and a graphic design assistant, she completed a Diploma of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts, in 1970. She first exhibited in Wellington in 1981 and in 1985 she won the … Read more

Born in 1946 in Kawakawa, Aotearoa. Attended Wellington Polytechnic School of Design in 1963, Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland in 1964/65 and Chelsea Art School, London in 1979. King began focussing on sculpture in the mid-1980s, and has worked in Hinuera stone, bronze, aluminium, stainless steel, earth and wood. Underlying her practice … Read more

Born in 1953, Jurisich is a Hamilton-based artist of many years’ experience, whose often-temporary public installations have been increasingly visible since 2005. A painter and sculptor, her signature works are her extraordinary, innovative and playful sculptural installations created for the most part from unusual and unexpected materials such as plastic, lei or coloured builders’ twine, … Read more

MONIQUE JANSENBorn in 1970, Jansen graduated BFA in 1992 and MFA in 1995 from Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland. She also gained her Certificate in Adult Teaching from AIT in 1995. Jansen is driven by her fascination for the divide between the handmade and the machine-generated, and her love for repetitive mark-making. Using … Read more

MICHAEL HIGHT, born 1961 Stratford Hight graduated B.Soc.Sc from the University of Wellington in 1982. He is a self-taught artist who has been painting since the age of 14. During the 1990s, Hight’s focus was on abstract series of work which he enjoyed for their element of chance, and the subsequent uncertainty of outcome. These … Read more

CHRISTINE HELLYAR, born 1947 New PlymouthHellyar graduated Diploma of Fine Arts (Hons) from Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, in 1969. She taught at Elam from 1981 to 1996, during which time she was awarded the first Adam Award for her significant contribution to New Zealand art, leaving there to work full time in her studio. Common … Read more

BIOGRAPHY Born in 1985 in Christchurch, Sam Harrison displays an exceptional talent in his extraordinary woodcuts and life-sized sculptures of wax on plaster. He graduated with a Bachelor of Art & Design from the Canterbury Polytechnic Institute of Technology’s School of Art & Design in 2006 and held his first solo exhibition in 2008. A … Read more

JEFFREY HARRIS, b. 1949 Akaroa A self-taught artist, Harris has been painting since 1970, and was the recipient of the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship, University of Otago, in 1977. Then a prolific painter, Harris’s works over the next two decades depicted couples or family groups in various daily situations. They were largely autobiographical, highly symbolic and … Read more

PAT HANLY, born 1932, Palmerston North. Died 2004, Auckland. Graduated Diploma of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts, 1956.Throughout his long career, Hanly juggled his need to express his response to matters of social conscience with his gift for creating paintings that convey great joyfulness. The resulting works were, variously, political, reflective … Read more

W.D. HAMMOND, born 1947 in Christchurch. Bill Hammond is one of New Zealand’s most exciting contemporary artists and his work is in huge demand. He attended Ilam School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury, from 1966-68. Although it wasn’t until 1980 that he began exhibiting his paintings, it didn’t take long for the New Zealand … Read more

Born in 1970 in Christchurch, Darryn George (Nga Puhi) graduated BFA (Painting) from Ilam School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury, in 1993, gained his Diploma of Teaching from Christchurch College of Education the following year, and graduated MFA (Painting) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1998. He has been exhibiting since 1994 … Read more

MARIAN FOUNTAIN grew up in New Zealand with a strong visual contact with Maori art, and also an acute sensibility towards the mixing of two cultures. At the Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, where she discovered her oracle and means of expression, Marian learned the techniques of bronze casting. Arriving in Europe in … Read more

TONY DE LAUTOUR, born 1965 in MelbourneDe Lautour has lived in Christchurch for most of his life. He graduated Bachelor of Fine Arts (majoring in sculpture) from the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts in 1988 and in 1995, just one year after his first solo exhibition, he won the Visa Gold Art Award. … Read more

CHRIS BOOTH, b. 1949 Kerikeri After studying at Ilam School of Fine Arts, Canterbury University, New Zealand in 1967 and 1968, Booth undertook two years of specialist sculpture study with such prominent sculptors as Barbara Hepworth, Denis Mitchell and John Milne in St Ives, UK, and Quinto Ghermandi in Verona, Italy. Chris Booth works closely … Read more

For images of Gretchen Albrecht’s paintings, visit her website: www.gretchenalbrecht.com GRETCHEN ALBRECHT, born 1943 in AucklandGretchen Albrecht is one of this country’s most respected senior abstract painters. She graduated DFA (Honours in Printmaking) from Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland in 1964, and was the Frances Hodgkins Fellow at Otago University in 1981. … Read more