Now in its eight year, the Royal Queenstown Easter Show is a significant curated exhibition featuring new and major recent works across a diverse range of media.
Shane Woolridge may be something of a Central Otago secret but there can be little doubt that will soon change. He uses local stone, transforming this in numerous ways: his sculptural language is diverse, extraordinarily certain and accomplished, as compelling literal works such as Apple (2017) and the twisting, transformative Missing Link (2017) amply demonstrate.
Jeffrey Harris’ Nude 6 (2007/08) is a tantalising sequence of forms and visual rhythms, demonstrating his renowned restraint, while revealing layered dreams and tender insight. Ann Robinson’s sinuous Small Twisted Flax Pods (Mid Green/Emerald Green) (2016) change shape with each step: whereas the triumphant formal Cactus Vase (Sapphire Rose) (2015) completely changes colour under florescent light. The complex moods and atmospheres of J S Parker’s palette knife technique is revealed in the wonderful abstracted landscape of Plain Song: Columns of Light – In the Blue Air (2016).
Michael Hight’s Lake Benmore (2016) is quite simply a masterful work. Likewise Dick Frizzell’s Bedtime (2008) is a major example of his acclaimed graphic works. It is accompanied by a suite of new (small) screen prints.
Reuben Paterson’s significant accomplishment in the Aroma of Black series is fully demonstrated in the Dutch still-life inspired Pungarehu (2016) and Black Forest Chocolate (2016). Karl Maughan’s Colyton (2008/17) celebrates the architecture of a garden. Charlotte Handy’s hypnotic portraits traverse time and dream. The elusive magic and revelations of Garry Currin’s landscapes are seen in the Hints for the Incomplete Traveller (2013/14) series. Christine Cathie’s evocative Spring Tide (2015) is a visual poem in glass to that season.
There are significant works by Neil Frazer, Joanna Braithwaite, Neil Dawson, Chris Heaphy, Chris Charteris, Nigel Brown and Simon Edwards alongside new sculptures from Terry Stringer, Louise Purvis and Tania Patterson.