Vacation from Reality – Pener, Fiksate Gallery, 15th July, 2022
Polish artist Pener’s mid-Winter residency at Fiksate culminated with a stunning show at the Sydenham Gallery. Despite the cold and wet weather, Vacation from Reality was irresistable, with the artist’s striking abstract paintings spilling subtly onto the walls behind, extending the impact of the bold lines, colours and forms. The combination of bright and muted colours, along with the dynamic compositions wowed the crowd, who were treated to the sublime work of an international visitor with a refined practice…
The entrance to Vacation from Reality was impressive, the walls painted to work with the canvasses
The beautiful canvasses envelop the viewer in new planes
The artist (L) was all smiles, as was Fiksate’s Jenna Ingram
Our pal Ghostcat pulled out the blue steel…
And he had created a new miniature wall installation
The crowd came out despite the cold and wet weather weather
Pener (R) chatted with Distranged Design recently back from a spell in Los Angeles
Opening June 4th, Elliot ‘Askew’ O’Donnell and Jasmine Gonzalez present their first collaborative show Continuum at Fiksate Gallery. Based on a series of Gonzalez’s photographs interwoven with O’Donnell’s painterly investigations of digital and analogue abstraction, the show is a reflective rumination on the travails of the last year, the couple based largely in the US during the Covid-19 pandemic and the broader civil unrest that also flared during 2020. Continuum reflects the philosophy adopted by the duo as coping mechanisms throughout those challenging times. Viewing history and the contemporary experience as part of a continuum, the artists have created a body of work that is both beautiful and unsettling, as well as highly collaborative – working with O’Donnell’s florist mother Meghan Humphries and Wellington-based dancer, poet and performance artist Jahra Wasasala. The sequence of large canvasses suggest the interconnection of experiences and the cyclical pattern of history, even as hopelessness and isolation abounds.
Continuum opens June 4th at Fiksate Gallery (54 Hawdon Street, Sydenham), and runs until July 3rd.
Ghostcat is set for his first solo show, with Shadow Town confirmed as Fiksate’s first exhibition at their new Hawdon Street location in Sydenham. Opening Friday April 9th, Shadow Town will present a selection of Ghostcat’s fascinating scratch-built urban miniatures, including the detailed recreation of local spots, from the grimy and overlooked to the iconic and vanished.
Ghostcat’s recreation of Staveley Market, one of the works to feature in Shadow Town at Fiksate
Originally from Birmingham in the UK, Ghostcat has found a new home in Otautahi, and his work is both a celebration of the physical sites he has explored and the stories of the changing city recounted via friends, adding an emotional resonance to the works beyond nostalgia and visual detail. The artist’s infectious sense of humour, laced with a healthy dose of body horror-influence, will also be on full display, with the grimy elements of our urban environment celebrated over the picturesque; from dirty toilets and graffiti-ed alleyways to dumpsters and sticker-laden street signs.
Many of the works also feature collaborative contributions from local artists, from Fiksate’s own Dr Suits to members of the DTR Crew and the Slap City collective. This has proven an important aspect of the artist’s process, adding authenticity and collectivism to a concept already driven by real experiences and a sense of connection.
One of the set of doors featuring collaborative contributions for local artists that will feature in Shadow Town.
Ghostcat’s star has quickly risen as his creations have caught the attention of Instagram scrollers, with interviews and media coverage ensuring Shadow Town will surely be a popular occasion with a hum of excitement already buzzing…
Shadow Town opens 5pm, Friday 9th April at Fiksate Gallery, 54 Hawdon Street, Sydenham.
The artist also known as Distranged Design is gearing up for a brand new solo show. Opening Friday November 6th, Belle Âme will be hosted by Victoria Street’s 013 Gallery.
The title of the show translates to ‘Beautiful Soul’ and Root explains that his new works seek to illuminate “the beauty hidden within life’s most challenging moments.” He adds that the show has also been indirectly inspired by the struggle of mental health, a cause Root has championed previously with a group exhibition, and an attempt to turn “one’s negatives into positives.” The works will feature details and meanings that may not be immediately obvious, lying hidden but always present. Root is also excited by the potential for audiences to bring an outside point of view to the works and adapt meaning to their personal experiences. Continuing a recent focus, these new works will add sculptural and three-dimensional elements to his established stencilled figurative images and stylised surfaces, creating a new direction for the young artist.
Belle Âme opens 6pm, Friday November 6th at The 013 Gallery, 123 Victoria Street, and runs until December 6th.
