Exhibitions opened

A pair of contemporary artists, one from the North Island and one from the South attended the opening of their exhibitions in Kapa Design Gallery and Toi o Tahuna art gallery on Friday.

Sculptor Sonia Keogh, of Alexandra, made her Kapa debut with a display of 15 sculptures for her show Aarpi.

Digital visual and ceramic artist Ema Frost, of Auckland, supplied about 15 digital works on paper and ceramics under the title New Works upstairs in Toi o Tahuna.

To create her sculptures, Keogh said she builds them up by moulding polymer clay over a metal armature, bakes the figures in an oven, then paints by hand.

Since 2012, she has been creating playful creatures with human characteristics and mannerisms.

They are called ''Aarpi'' and are made from ceramic clay.

Keogh's work made the finals of the 2003 Wallace Art Awards. She won the Central Otago Art Society/SBS Art Exhibition in 2005.

Frost said she ''loves intense, vibrant, pop-py colours that bring a sense of enchantment to art and to life''.

She is inspired by Japanese art from the past and present, whether it be packaging, toy design, 1940s and 1950s advertising, or wood-block prints. She said her passion for travel and photography also influences her design work.

''But my travels also give me an appreciation for my home country, New Zealand, and our native flora and fauna is also a strong influence and inspiration,'' Frost said.