Contemporary art enthusiasts will enjoy a rare chance to quiz a master on his life, career and latest work when Max Gimblett introduces his sixth solo exhibition in the Nadene Milne Gallery, in Arrowtown.
The artist will present ''Max Gimblett: All That Is'' on Tuesday, March 12.
He gives his floor talk, entitled Creativity and My Practice, in Dorothy Brown's Cinema at 7pm. The function then moves next door into the gallery for the exhibition opening at 8pm.
People are invited to call the cinema to book their seats. A fee of $8 will be charged to cover cinema costs.
The 77-year-old former Aucklander travelled around Europe in the late 1950s before eventually settling in New York in 1972 with the intention of studying works of art in the city's many galleries.
Abstract expressionists Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock were among the artists to make lasting impressions.
The painter, sculptor, ink drawer and author was the first New Zealand artist to have work selected for exhibition in the Guggenheim Museum. He has had scores of exhibitions during his career and in 2011 his work was shown in the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh.
However, Gimblett never forgot his homeland and gave about 200 of his works on paper, worth up to $2 million, to the Christchurch Art Gallery in February 2011.
The owner of the Arrowtown gallery, Nadene Milne, said yesterday Gimblett largely earned his artistic reputation by persistently exploring the intersections of Eastern mysticism and Western abstraction.''
Max Gimblett is a senior New Zealand artist who is gaining significant international recognition for his work,'' she said.
''We are privileged to see an artist of this calibre exhibiting here in Central Otago.''
Picks of the week
Today
8pm: Les Richardson on keyboard and Pat Monaghan on double bass and violin perform for the Friday Jazz Club in Les Alpes. Free.
Saturday
8.30am to 1pm: Remarkables Market continues to offer a variety of produce and products every Saturday during its last summer month, to end on March 30.
Entry forms will be available at the market and on its website for its inaugural dog show, to be held next Saturday, March 16.
Dog lovers can enter their faithful furry friends in the categories of best dressed, best bark, best groomed, best trick and best discipline, for a donation and/or a can of cat food for the Queenstown Cat Rescue charitable trust.
9pm: The Laugh Club NZ returns to SkyCity Queenstown Casino with more stand-up comedy acts. Nick Rado, the 2011 and 2012 winner of the New Zealand Comedy Guild best master of ceremonies award and television panel show regular, plays host, with Jeremy Elwood, TV3's 7 Days regular, and Anil Desai, top impressionist and star of the BBC's Goodness Gracious Me. Tickets are available for $25 each from the cashier's desk.
Sunday
6.40pm: From New Zealand's Got Talent, ''JGeeks'' bring their national Tu Meke Tour to the Queenstown Memorial Centre with special guest Tawaroa Kawana in a high-energy show for all ages.
The ''metro Maori'' deliver their own brand of tongue-in-cheek dance, music, singing, skits and pop culture and will perform their hits Maori Boy, Icky Sticky and their latest hit Best Day I Ever Had. Tickets are $16.60. They play the Lake Wanaka Centre the next Monday.
