War artist Matt Gauldie launches 2016 Mercury Bay Art Escape

Mercury Bay Art Escape launches its 2016 season with esteemed New Zealand artist and sculptor Matt Gauldie.

Mr Gauldie has been the official New Zealand Defence Forces artist since his appointment in 2005.

He will be the guest speaker at the Art Escape's opening at Hot Waves Cafe in Hot Water Beach on4 March.

He recently completed a bronze sculpture of World War One artist and soldier Sapper Moore-Jones that can be seen on Victoria Street in Hamilton. The sculpture, called The Line of Fire, stands on a seven-tonne plinth of granite hewn from the battlefields of Gallipoli, where Sapper Moore Jones served.

The statue stands near the site of the Hamilton Hotel, where Sapper Moore-Jones died in 1922 while rescuing others from the burning building.

Sapper Moore-Jones's watercolour of Private Simpson and his donkey is considered one of the most evocative of the war paintings to emerge from the Gallipoli campaign.

Like Sapper Moore-Jones, Mr Gauldie has also completed paintings of the New Zealand military in action in his role as the official Defence Forces artist.

"Matt is a vibrant, enthusiastic member of the art community and has that 'number eight wire' quality and combined with a dry sense of humour will make for an entertaining speaker," says Mercury Bay Art Escape Trust Chair Stuart Christie.

Mr Gauldie will also lead a workshop for artists on 7 March.

The Art Escape Open Studio Tour runs the weekends of 5-6 March and 12-13 March. The self-drive tour is an opportunity for people to interact with artists in their studios and buy artwork directly from the creators.

Tickets to the launch with guest speaker Matt Gauldie and guides to the studio tour are available from the Mercury Bay Art Escape website - www.mercurybayartescape.com

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