New Shows At Roar! Gallery, 2nd - 18th August

In this show ROAR! gallery showcases two different artists and a curator's vision of how to see where we live, holiday and enjoy beauty in New Zealand.

Anne Marie Verbeek explores the perennial question of identity in Aotearoa, this time from the individual perspective of Dutch ancestry but New Zealand born. Interested in the idea of Tangata Whenua and what it might mean to be a 'person of the land', Verbeek uses her inimitable style with lush oil paintings to explore symbols and images which speak of a colourful and vibrant identity in New Zealand. Always questioning but with a light and humorous touch, she incorporates people, gumboots and strawberry sundaes in rural New Zealand to illustrate her take on the kiwi world.

Verbeek is a full time painter based in Wellington who has been regularly exhibiting at ROAR! gallery and nationally for the last ten years. Her works is held in private national and international collections.

Bill Allan's new works are a riff on two of his favourite subjects; women and flowers. A romantic as well as a painter, Allan uses his work to explore themes of beauty in the world. Influenced by greats such as Picasso and Matisse, Allan is a modern expressionist who works swiftly and with emotion to capture the feeling of his subjects. He describes his work as 'drawing in paint.'

'I paint abstracts and subject matter with a style almost musical and lyrical (i.e Jazz). The paintings are built with a few basic colours and then developed to a pitch of the 'minds eye'. They are deeply felt, intuitive and almost primitive. I paint 'oncers' to capture my Christian faith in the spirit and life of the subject

As I admire women, they seem to be one of my main subjects. I feel satisfied when the paint sings or cries as I do.'

Allan is a Wellington artist who has regularly exhibited since the 1980's, and was included in 'Wellington 84' at the Wellington City Art Gallery. His work is displayed in various institutes and a number of private collections. He is published in 'New Zealand Art - A Modern Perspective' by Elva Bett.

The Holiday Show is curated by Abby Cunnane and brings together artists from Wellington and further afield to unite in the cause of creating a holiday experience in the middle of winter.
'Holiday' is almost a magic word as far as I'm concerned. It's on a shelf with 'jam-and-cream', 'sleep-in' and 'midnight picnic'. The Holiday Show aims to explore the construction of that holiday feeling, and offer an 'instant holiday' for the viewer's consumption.

Using alternative processing such as pin hole cameras, the show presents spooky visions like the unsettling pinhole 'Pool' by Paul Neason, with it's fuzzy edges and air of uncertainty alongside dioramas by Heather Disprose which illustrate a lighter version which is a combination of Vegas desert with knitted cacti and Brighton beach with tiny glued together deck chairs. Representing the iconic New Zealand bush are images by Sam Cunnane. These dark views place the viewer peeking through huge ferns and forests, wondering what adventures have been played out here.

Cunnane has complemented the works perfectly with op shop finds of slides illustrating the New Zealand holiday experience.

ENDS

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