NZ Army Artist in a Special Gallery at 2014 NZ Art Show

NZ Army Artist Matt Gauldie to Feature in a Special Gallery at 2014 NZ Art Show

This year’s NZ Art Show will showcase five accomplished New Zealand artists in a dedicated ‘Look at Them Now’ gallery. The five invited artists all have a long association with the Show, which has been instrumental in building their careers as professional artists. Each artist will have two of their artworks in the Show and all works will be for sale.

The five ‘Look at Them Now’ artists are: Wellington-based artists Matt Gauldie and Mark Ussher, Golden Bay artist Ben Timmins, Jordan Barnes from New Plymouth, and Wairarapa artist Mandy Emerson.

Carla Russell, the NZ Art Show’s executive director says, “This is a new initiative that provides additional depth to this year’s Show. These artists are now well-known and represented in numerous collections. The NZ Art Show is proud to have played a key role in their development.

“The NZ Art Show is committed to identifying and selecting promising artists early in their development and to providing a platform for them to grow. Over the years, the Show has helped many emerging artists to become established by raising their profile, giving them a sales outlet and the means to develop their talent.

“The ‘Look at Them Now’ gallery celebrates some of our ‘stars’ and we’re delighted to showcase these five outstanding artists and toast to their success. Today their art now commands prices well above the traditional $5,000 cap applied to artworks exhibited at the Show, a tangible reminder that buying original New Zealand art at the Show can prove a good investment. Ten years ago these artists were new and affordable, look at them now.”

Matt Gauldie, the official artist for the NZ Army, is one of New Zealand’s most prominent artists. He exhibited in the first show with a few paintings and a sculpture of a sheep made from welded metal and exhaust tubing. Matt Gauldie is inspired by the many great NZ figurative artists and is interested in capturing contemporary NZ culture in his work. He’s had more than 20 solo shows, many group exhibitions, residencies and fellowships, and has been the official NZ Army Artist since 2005. He predominantly paints people, using oil on canvas, based on a philosophy of ‘paint what you know’. This has won Gauldie considerable critical acclaim and his work is widely held in this country and abroad.

Mark Ussher, Wellington-based artist and designer, has exhibited since the very first Show in 2004. This year he has worked with the NZ Art Show team to design and produce the Show’s creative identity: advertising, billboards, posters, tickets and related collateral. He has a deep and abiding interest in the early origins of graphic culture in post-war New Zealand and his artworks take us into the world of advertising as it appeared to post-war New Zealanders. His roles as artist and designer come together in the visual identities he has created for Lyall Bay’s Maranui Café and Foxton Fizz, amongst others.

Jordan Barnes’ association with the NZ Art Show dates from 2007. Painting since he attended New Plymouth Boys High, his career as a professional artist was boosted in 2010 when aged 24, he won the inaugural NZ Art Show $15,000 Artist Grant ahead of 500 applicants. The following year he spent six months in Wellington as resident artist at the Show’s Lyall Bay Gallery before travelling to New York to pursue his art career. This year he was appointed to the Show’s selection panel as a guest selector. Jordan mainly produces larger works using oil on canvas. A trained artist, he has a Bachelor of Visual Arts majoring in Fine Arts from the Western Institute of Technology in Taranaki. He credits Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol and contemporary German artist Gerhard Richter as key influences.

Ben Timmins has won a reputation for his landscapes and bird studies, oil on natural wood grain panels and framed with copper band. In addition to exhibiting at the NZ Art Show since 2007, Ben has previously exhibited at the NZ Academy of Fine Arts and also in a number of dealer galleries. In 2011, the James Wallace Arts Trust purchased a Ben Timmins painting; the Auckland-based Wallace Arts Trust has some 5,000 original New Zealand artworks and is regarded as one of the country’s most prestigious art collections. Ben has won the NZ Art Show’s premier award the $5,000 people’s choice Signature Piece Art Award in each of the last three years, and the Wine Label Art Award in 2012.

Mandy Emerson has exhibited at the NZ Art Show since 2005. The winner of the inaugural Signature Piece Art Award winner in 2009, Mandy used the prize to fund a trip to the 2010 Art Melbourne Show which proved pivotal and, as a result, she is now represented by three Melbourne dealer galleries. Mandy’s mixed media works incorporate acrylic, French stains, dyes, vintage lace and paper. Her intricate art has proven extremely popular with her works having homes all around the world.

The NZ Art Show runs over three days in the TSB Bank Arena on Wellington’s waterfront. It kicks off with a Gala Evening onThursday, 24 July, with open days from Friday, 25 July to Sunday, 27 July 2013.

The art displayed is constantly changing so there is always something different to see. The Show is open to the public by general admission. Tickets cost $10 each, concessions $7, with children 12 years and under free. Tickets can be purchased online athttp://artshow.co.nz/buy+tickets until July 17. Door sales are also available.

ENDS

ABOUT THE NZ ART SHOW
The NZ Art Show makes it easy & affordable for any New Zealander to own a piece of original NZ art.

The NZ Art Show promotes a wide range of art covering all mediums with the aim of enabling all New Zealanders to own original art. At the same time, it has helped provide the means for emerging artists to become established and helped create a dynamic arts community for the public to discover new artists and start or add to their art collection.
At the core of the NZ Art Show operations is a three-day art event held each year in Wellington.
The annual NZ Art Show art is the largest curated art sale of its kind and each year exhibits around 3,000 original artworks by some 300 artists: the emphasis is on quality NZ art at affordable prices by emerging and established artists in a dynamic and stimulating environment.
The 2014 Show will be held July 25 – 27 in the TSB Bank Arena, Queens Wharf on the Wellington waterfront with a Gala Evening held on Thursday, 24 July.
The annual event is complemented by an online art gallery located on the NZ Art Show website, artshow.co.nz, and features a range of styles, mediums and prices. Artworks can be purchased directly from the artists. The online gallery extends the reach of NZ art to a wider audience and provides a further outlet for artists.

Consistent with the aim of promoting a vibrant art community and helping NZ artists establish themselves, the NZ Art Show currently provides two arts awards:
NZ Art Show Emerging Artist Awards
Four cash prizes of $2,500 each. The NZ Art Show Emerging Artist Awards are open to students studying visual art at degree and/or diploma level at a recognised tertiary art school in New Zealand.
Schools are invited to nominate their most promising students.
The winners will have their artworks exhibited at the NZ Art Show event in 2014.
Signature Piece Art Award
A premiere cash prize of $5,000 awarded to an outstanding artwork chosen by the public.
10 finalists, chosen by the Show’s selection panel, are exhibited in the show’s Signature Piece Gallery at the NZ Art Show 2014 with the winner decided by public vote: all visitors to the Show can vote for their favourite.
The NZ Art Show is governed by the New Zealand Affordable Art Trust (NZAAT). Its vision is to encourage New Zealanders to celebrate NZ culture and identity through NZ art and to promote NZ artists by providing opportunities to further their development.
As a not-for-profit charitable organisation the NZAAT is a significant contributor to the NZ community with many people benefiting from NZAAT operations and activities: since its inception in 2004 nearly 85,000 people have enjoyed the art event, nearly $7 million has been returned to artists via art sales and around $60,000 in art prizes has been awarded to artists.
The NZAAT receives no government funding. All the costs of running the Show, the online gallery and funding the Awards are covered by sponsorship, grants, art sales, admission and donations.

© Scoop Media