Otago well in the frame

 Art is booming in New Zealand. But who are our boom artists? Nigel Benson writes.

Otago artists feature heavily in a new book celebrating contemporary New Zealand art.

Painters Ewan McDougall, Steev Peyroux, Justin Summerton and Marilynn Webb are among more than a dozen Dunedin artists selected in New Zealand's Favourite Artists 2.

Otago Daily Times cartoonist Garrick Tremain, of Queenstown, also gets a nod, as do Cromwell artist Deidre Copeland, Donna Demente, of Oamaru, John McCormack, Brian Millard, Angus Watson and Kate Watson, of Queenstown, John Crump, of Glenorchy, and Craig Primrose, of Wanaka.

Christchurch artist Eion Stevens, who was born in Dunedin and graduated from the Otago Polytechnic School of Arts in 1973, is also included.

New Zealand's Favourite Artists 2 is compiled by Denis Robinson and produced by Saint Publishing.

"It's a national look at what's selling," Robinson told the Otago Daily Times.

"There are a lot of good Otago artists, especially in Dunedin, and you also have a very diverse selection of artists down there.

"It's usually because there are good art teachers around. You get a couple of good art teachers at somewhere like the Otago Polytech[nic] School of Art and they encourage new artists to break through.

"That's where I think they're all coming from. But, there's no doubt that some of your new artists are really hitting the spot."

Robinson says healthy art markets were also developing in towns like Queenstown, Wanaka and Oamaru.

The book alphabetically lists work portfolios by 60 of the most popular artists working in New Zealand.

More than 80 art galleries around the country were invited to submit the names of their four "hottest" artists. The criteria included artist sales, reputation and the impact they had made on the art-buying public.

"I hope the book will be used as a stimulus for people to start collecting New Zealand art and as a reference to some of the wide range of talent our country has to offer," Robinson says.

"The art world is very parochial in New Zealand. Some artists have huge demand for their work in their local areas, but it never gets out. This book kills all that parochialism.

"In the same way, the public choice award in exhibitions is almost always totally different from the judges' choice. This is a collection of the paintings that Kiwis really are buying for their homes."

The book gives only brief biographical details of the artists and makes no attempt to comment or critique their works.

"I wanted the art to speak for itself, really. The works are also interesting, because you can see the progression of the artist," Robinson says.

The artworks range from $500 pieces to Tim Wilson's Haast, which is valued at $80,000.

The book also includes a potted history of New Zealand art and the international influences its early practitioners brought to the country.

"New Zealand has had a short, but highly innovative, art history by old world standards," Robinson says. For the past 170 years, artists have been attracted to the bright light and clear colours of New Zealand.

"A series of influential artists from Europe passed on their skills in the early days which, over time, has blended with the indigenous Maori and Pacific influences to produce a unique and refreshing style in visual art.

"This, coupled with isolation, brings an innovative creativity to our artists' work."

Robinson is a member of the Designers Institute of New Zealand and has previously managed art galleries in Auckland. He initiated the Auckland Art Fair in 2005 and now operates an art and design consultancy, locating artworks for buyers.

New Zealand's Favourite Artists 2 (RRP$50) follows his 2006 volume 1.