"No! @#$#@! LAUGH!!!!!!!!", Chris Knox
(Olga)
Chris Knox has always been a man of creativity and communication, almost always combined with humour, wit and deeply felt emotion.
Graphic art has long been a feature of Knox’s work, as evidenced by his videos and album covers. When a stroke robbed the King of New Zealand indie music — and his public — of his primary form of expression, he turned to this secondary skill, and it is no surprise that the artistic drive which was present in his music is still present in his art.
Knox’s paintings are filled with bold, bright colours, with human forms appearing as caricatures. They are at their most realistic here in the distended grey figure in the monochrome Title and Date Unknown #2, and the nude female of BAD444, though their presence dominates many of the works in some form or another. Bright, sickly yellows, browns and greens delineate these characters, often seen breaking free from inky black backdrops.
It would be easy to explain these forms as the artist breaking free from his own darkness in flashes of violent colour, but perhaps that would be too easy. These are passionate works filled with Knox’s characteristic wry humour, not cries in the darkness, and this is made clear by the joyfully tongue-in-cheek title of the exhibition.
Pauline Bellamy has taken the concept of the Christmas advent calendar and run with it at Bellamys Metro Gallery in Moray Place.
The gallery is filled with 24 paintings of the life and buildings of St Bathans in all its colourful seasons, all painted in Bellamy’s expressive loose gestural style. Works such as Autumn and St Bathans Wildflowers burst with the golden colours of Central Otago; winter images such as Main Road, St Bathans and Winter Fun present a more muted palette.
Unusually for the artist, one or two of the works are interior views, most notably the Vermeeresque simplicity of Stables Shadows. Another intriguing work is Silver Birch in Winter; Bellamy’s son and fellow artist Manu Berry has been greatly influenced by traditional Japanese art prints, and it almost appears in this work as if some of the same influence has rubbed off on Pauline.
Overall, however, it is the depictions of the town’s buildings which are generally the stronger works, images such as Back Yard beautifully capturing the light and texture on the walls and roofs.
As with traditional advent calendars, the works are being officially "unveiled", one per day, from December 1 through until Christmas Eve, though all the works may be unofficially viewed at any stage during the exhibition.
(Fe29 Gallery)
Fe29 Gallery is presenting a fascinating show featuring New Zealand artists whose paths crossed or intertwined during long careers.
Several of the works are familiar to visitors of the gallery, but many of them have not been previously seen, and the gallery is simultaneously taking the opportunity to introduce some new artists to their stable.
The works are grouped in such a way as to explore the relationships between the artists, and any influence they may have had upon each other’s work. Fine bronzes by Tanya Ashken sit alongside paintings and prints by her late husband John Drawbridge. Nearby are works by their former housemates, Don Peebles and Robert Macdonald. Elsewhere, more of Drawbridge’s works are paired with some beautiful mezzotints by Chris Adams, who was introduced to the process by the older artist.
In another part of the gallery, works by good friends Philippa Blair and Marte Szirmay are presented alongside each other, as are works by husband and wife artists Peter Nicholls and Di ffrench. Poignantly, among these works is a large sculpted cross by Nicholls created after ffrench was diagnosed with a brain tumour. The work becomes an elegiac reflection on life, love and mortality.
Similarly, this exhibition reflects the work and friendship of a generation of impressive New Zealand artists.
