Reuben Paterson’s virtuoso tondo There’s a Limit to your Love (2013) is a trademark homage to floral fashion. Joanna Braithwaite presents new visual parables where surreal contradictions, human foibles and mannerisms are applied to the ubiquitous rat. Andy Leleisi’uao (currently undertaking a residency in Slovakia) in Iu of Eradeset (2012) and Iu of Pumalia (2012) uses the languages of colour to deepen space, augment and distinguish the different levels of the tales being told. Charlotte Handy (currently living in Russia) has introduced the figure into her work. In Girl and the Garden (2013) she blends dream, time and distance in a work which is both literal and representational yet predominantly composed of abstracted elements.

Australian-based, New Zealand-born, mixed media artist Emily Valentine, included for the first time in the annual Spring Catalogue exhibition, has developed a compelling and unique mode of artistic expression, using feathers from found sources. In works which are unforgettable, beautiful and extremely challenging, Valentine directly addresses our perceptions and assumptions about animals and birds.

Internationally significant glass artist Ann Robinson is included with two major new forms – the tour de force of the Rolled Lip Bowl (Citrine) (2013) and the astonishingly expressive Rolled Lipped Bowl (Chardonnay) (2013). Featured also is the (rhubarb) coloured Geometric Vase (2011) with lacebark leaves softly etched into the top surface. This work radically alters colour to green under fluorescent light and there is a remarkable interplay between a repeated square form and rising design.

Neil Dawson’s Vortex 5 (2012) is utterly beguiling. From wherever viewed it changes shape, substance, form and colour. Added to these perceptual illusions are the major roles performed by shadow and the ‘reflected’ blush that appears on the wall. Michael Hight’s Speargrass Flat (2013) and Wharehuanui (2013) are compellingly accurate, consummate statements about Central Otago - its unique light and landscape.

There are major paintings by Darryn George and Karl Maughan plus definitive monoprints by Stanley Palmer. Sculptor Paul Dibble is represented by four signature works. Hannah Kidd’s This Little Piggy (2013) tells the story of a horse race, using motion as a dramatic device, demonstrating her uncanny ability to capture the essence of her subjects.

2007 Arts Laureate Merrilyn Wiseman’s mastery of texture, tone and shape is demonstrated by two series of works. Christine Cathie is represented by a significant new development in her glass form, the Gold Amethyst Tall Ovoid (2013) where the shape stands up, becoming liberated and figurative, metaphorical and expressive.

The Spring Catalogue also features key paintings by Mike Petre, Bruce Hunt, Linda Holloway, Mervyn Williams, Dick Frizzell and Neal Palmer, plus wall sculpture by Graham Bennett and Sally Smith, and glass vessels by Paul Mason.