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Two Coromandel Peninsula artists have been recognised for outstanding work by two leading figures in New Zealand art.
Painter Michael Smither, from Otama, and ceramic artist Ian Webster, from Kuaotunu, were named on Friday night (February 26) as producing the best works in the opening exhibition of this year’s Mercury Bay Escape.
Art patron and collector James Wallace and ceramic artist and teacher Bronwynne Cornish chose their favourite works from 39 entries in the inaugural Taste of the Tour exhibition at Hot Waves Café in Hot Water Beach. Each of the participating artists in the Art Escape entered a work.
Mr Wallace chose a painting by Michael Smither which continues his exploration of the colour of sound and Ms Cornish selected a fish-hooked figure created by fellow ceramicist Ian Webster.
 
Michael Smither with his painting and James Wallace Ian Webster with his sculpture and Bronwynne Cornish
About 100 people attended the exhibition opening and the launch of the Art Escape at the café on Friday night. Special guests included former Governor General Dame Cath Tizard, Coromandel MP Sandra Goudie and Mercury Bay Community Board deputy-chairperson Alison Henry.
Dame Cath said the Coromandel Peninsula had an amazing proliferation of art and artists. “Everywhere you go, there’s an art studio, an artist and exhibitions.”
Ms Goudie said the Art Escape was a really important event and the organising committee had done an outstanding job.
 
Dame Cath Tizard MP Sandra Goudie
The exhibition, which runs until March 7, features a wide range of styles and subject matter. Mr Wallace said the variety made it hard to judge the event. “It’s always difficult to judge art … and in the end choosing is always subjective.”
Ms Cornish, who helped curate the exhibition, congratulated everyone who took part. There was plenty to choose from and everyone would have their own favourites, she said.
Good numbers of people visited artists’ studios and exhibitions during the first weekend of the open-studio Art Escape. The event continues next weekend, with studios from Tairua to Otama open from March 5-7. Art work ranges from paintings, prints and photography to sculpture, ceramics, jewellery and fabric art.
 
 
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The intriguing world of Mercury Bay Art Escape participants Julie Burns-Nevin and Gary Nevin features in an extensive article in the February edition of House & Garden. Writer Sally Duggan finds a couple who literally live and breathe art in their unique Whenuakite house.
To read the article follow the link In The Magazine - NZ House & Garden |
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To have James Wallace and Bronwynne Cornish agree to be present and for them to select their favourite pieces from our Opening Exhibition shows that the Art Escape has become an important event in the New Zealand arts calendar. |
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Bronwynne Cornish is a ceramic sculptor who is also well-known for her installation work and other 'multi-part' pieces.
Cornish originally studied to be an industrial designer but later discovered her true passion lay with earthenware and became an apprentice to leading New Zealand potter Helen Mason in 1968.
Cornish has since become one of New Zealand's best known ceramic artists. Highlights in her career include representing New Zealand at the Brisbane Triennial in 1996 and a solo show at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki in 2002. This exhibition, entitled 'Allude', referenced Cornish's fascination with New Zealand expatriate painter Frances Hodgkins who, in turn, had been fascinated by ceramic art. Cornish has also been the recipient of several awards, including a major prize at the Norsewear Art Award in 2004 for work she created in collaboration with her partner, painter Denys Watkins. She is an important figure in the recent history of New Zealand ceramics, in her role as both an artist and a teacher. Her approach towards her sculpture has seen her exhibit widely and earned her recognition and critical acclaim as a highly influential contributor to New Zealand ceramics and art-education.
Cornish's current series 'Trans-animals' looks at the crossover between people and animals, placing those characteristics in fine balance and emphasising the 'wildness' that we have lost in our lives today.
Cornish says, 'I make work that I hope will create a certain atmosphere, ring a long-lost bell, and help people create their own mythologies'.
 
 
Works by Bronwynne Cornish
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Sunday Jan. 3rd
Art lovers from around New Zealand dug deep last week to support the Coromandel Peninsula’s fourth annual Mercury Bay Art Escape.
Fifty-six people, including some who live on the Coromandel and others on holiday, attended a fund-raising Long Lunch at Hahei on January 3, enjoying fine food, wine and beer and the chance to buy some of the best art on the peninsula.
Works by sixteen artists were available for sale and 10 selected works were featured in a silent auction at the event, which was hosted by Jane and Tom Parson at their home in Hahei.
Flaxmill Bay artist and chef David Fowell catered a four-course gourmet meal for the event, with the help of an extended Parson family and several of the participating artists.
Nearly $10,000 was raised for the Art Escape which will be held on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of February 26, 27 & 28 and March 5, 6 & 7. Thirty-nine artists exhibiting in 29 individual studios will be open to the public. A number of other well respected artists will also be represented in seven participating galleries.
Coromandel MP Sandra Goudie, who spoke at the lunch, says the Coromandel needs to let everyone know how good its artists are and the Art Escape is a great way to do this.
The Art Escape Board is delighted with the success of the first-of-a-kind Long Lunch, chairman Jerry Thoma says.
“The goal this year was to raise awareness of the quality of art and artists on the Coromandel and to raise the profile of the event in the minds of potential art connoisseurs.”
The board hopes this event, which grew out of the vision of a very few dedicated and diligent artists five years ago, will soon become one of the most coveted destinations in New Zealand for art lovers and art buyers.
“As art patron James Wallace has remarked, Coromandel art is undervalued and under-recognised,” Mr Thoma says.
Along with art patrons, The Long Lunch was supported by several very generous sponsors. These include:
Brian and Chris Bowerin the proprietors of Peninsula Party Hire, 60 Racecourse Road, Whitianga, for supplying all the equipment for the Long Lunch
John Davies, Ohui Vineyard Coromandel Wine, 8 Calypso Rd, Flagstaff, Hamilton, for supplying the fabulous wines
Greg and Lorane Miles, Aquaculture Pacific Limited, Hot Water Beach,for supplying their lovely paua.
Peter Wills, DB Breweries Ltd, 1 Bairds Rd, Otahuhu, Auckland, for supplying Tui Blond beer.
Hahei residents Gavin White and Penne Clayton take a close look at a Lucy Horne painting.
Plating up the dessert 'outback'
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Art lovers enjoy a Long Lunch at Hahei, held to raise funds for the Mercury Bay Art Escape.
Leah Ashton from Auckland with Mercury Bay Art Escape committee chairman Jerry Thoma.
(from left) Kirsty and Murray Higgs from Auckland and Cooks Beach, at the Long Lunch with Mandy Reid from Te Awamutu and Cooks Beach and Thomas Parson
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(from left) Rhonda Hawley, from Hahei, Mary Brook, from Auckland and Front Beach and Sandra Foote from Auckland and Hahei enjoy a drink before lunch.
(from left) Hahei holiday home owners Jan and Roger Hitchins discuss Falxmill Bay artist Dave Fowell’s latest work with Coromandel MP Sandra Goudie.
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New ( Yankee) Chairman takes the reigns, "official" Board of Directors, established; Advisory Board formed to better link the MBAE into important areas of New Zealand's fabric - The Arts, Government, Business, etc.
With a dedicated core group of Jerry Thoma, Rachel Olsen, Margaret Ivory, Judy Meehl, Airdrie Hamilton and Dave Fowell as directors and with Jill Cameron and Betty Collingsl as consultants, the Open Studio event is being racheted up to a new level.
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The impact of this more formal organizational structure has already been seen with the coup of having James Wallace, one of NZs most prominent art collectors and patrons, and leading ceramicist Bronwynne Cornish judge and present awards at our preview exhibition. Hot Waves Cafe is generously providing the venue and live music on opening night 26th Feb.
We are excited about the addition of Shenagh Gleeson to our team to co ordinate news and media. As artists it is always a difficult area for us and to have Shenaghs' professional approach is proving to be invaluable.
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Coromandel arts tour takes off
Mercury Bay Art Escape is gearing up a notch, with next year’s event expanding in more ways than one.Next year the annual Coromandel Peninsula arts tour will be held over two weekends (February 26-28 & March 5-7) instead of one weekend and involve 39 artists, compared with 22 last year, opening their studios to the public, along with gallery exhibitions and music events.
The tour covers an area from Tairua to Otama Beach north of Whitianga. Participants include nationally-recognised painters Michael Smither, George Baloghy, Rachel Olsen, Paula McNeill, Lucy Horne and Souzie Speerstra, sculptor Chris Charteris and a diverse range of other established and emerging painters, printmakers, potters, sculptors, jewelers and fabric artists.The self-drive arts tour provides a rare chance for people to see artists at work in their own homes and discuss their art with them. Along the way visitors can enjoy the stunningly beautiful environment of the Coromandel Peninsula. Artists are located in some of the peninsula’s most beautiful spots, including Tairua, Whenuakite, Hahei, Cooks Beach, Whitianga, Kuaotunu and Otama.The first event on the Art Escape calendar is a new, fundraising, invitation-only, art-lovers’ Long Lunch. It will be held at Hahei on January 3 and offer lucky attendees the chance to purchase some of the best art on the Coromandel.The Escape itself kicks off at 10am on Friday, February 26, when artists open their doors. At 5.30pm there’s an Opening Reception at Hot Waves Cafe in Hot Water Beach, featuring fine wine, delectable eats, easy listening music and a chance to mingle with the artists and distinguished guests.
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A limited number of tickets at $35/person will be available early in January 2010 - from Hotwaves Cafe (07-866-3887) and Information Centres in Tairua (07-864-7575) and Whitianga (07-866-5555).Hot Waves Café is also the venue for the new Taste of the Tour exhibition which features one work from each participating artist. A celebrity guest will open this event at a reception on February 26 and two new awards will be made; one for two-dimensional work by one of New Zealand’s best-known art patrons, James Wallace, and the other for three-dimensional work by one of the country’s leading ceramic artists, Bronwynne Cornish. The exhibition runs until March 7. Visitors will be able to vote on a new People’s Choice award, which will be announced at the end of the exhibition.
Exhibitions of groups of artists will also be held in Tairua, Whenuakite, Whitianga and Kuaotunu. Mercury Estate Winery at Cooks Beach will host a wine and music festival on February 27 and there will be live music at Eggsentric Café at Flaxmill Bay on March 5.The Escape has two main sponsors; Bayleys Real Estate and Whitianga Waterways. Escape organisers would like to thank them and all their many wonderful sponsors including; Tom & Jane Parsons, Brian and Chris Bowrin (Peninsula Party Hire), Sue Dorrington and Ron Egan (Net Action), Dave Fowell, Mary Channing & Terry Bright (Hot Waves Café), Brian and Sue Pilkington (Cathedral Cove Macadamias), Ohui Vineyard Coromandel Wine, Greg and Lorraine Miles (Purely Paua) and Peter Wills (DB Breweries).For further information contact: Shenagh Gleeson selshenagh@orcon.net.nz, ph: 07 8664886 or 021 965752
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