Jane Gray and Annie Smits Sandano at Toi o Tahuna art gallery
29.08.09 – 23.09.09
Toi o Tahuna fine art gallery will be holding an exhibition showcasing new work from Hawkes Bay artists Jane Gray and
Brazilian born New Zealander Anne Smits Sandano.
Jane Gray has been painting professionally since 1989. She is well known throughout New Zealand and has a large
following. Her intense primary colour palette reflects the Hawke’s Bay environment. She finds the area a great source
for ideas and subject matter. Taking a great interest in people and their social behaviour, Jane’s work is often based
around social activities, such as concerts, ballet, wine tours etc. The characters she portrays are captured with brisk
brushstrokes and vivid colour. There is a sense of movement and action in almost all of her work. With the return to oil
as her choice of medium, detail of facial expressions is now evident in the works.
Jane’s paintings are most often on a large scale, with broadly applied colour, the background is usually linear, which
concentrates the attention to the fore. Jane describes her work as veiled layers of mood and atmosphere with a minor
introspective note. Her personal style is unique and engaging and her work remains popular throughout the country
Annie Smits Sandano was born in Brazil and has lived between New Zealand and her home country for the past ten years.
She attended Rhode Island School of Design in the USA where she strengthened her skills in illustration, design and
composition. Following this, she spent a semester in Florence, Italy, where she studied illustration, painting, Italian
art history and textile design. Upon her return to New Zealand, she attended Elam School of Fine Arts at The University
of Auckland, where she spent her undergraduate years developing a conceptual foundation whilst consolidating technical
printmaking skills.
Annie currently produces art works in her studio in the Coromandel. She has participated in numerous group exhibitions
and has had two successful solo shows at Seed Gallery. Works by Annie feature in collections all around the world,
including Japan, Brazil, New Zealand, Australia the UK, USA, Canada, Dubai, France and most recently Fiji. A highlight
for 2008 was the acquisition of a piece from her solo show, “Delirious Utopia”, by the James Wallace Art Trust, an
organisation based in New Zealand to collect works by emerging artist so as to create a cultural resource.
The show will run from 29 August until 23 September 2009.
ENDS