CURRENT GALLERY EXHIBITIONS
Visit the Malcolm Smith Gallery on Saturday 30 August, 11am for a conversation with three award winning artists of this years’ Estuary Art and Ecology Awards. Joining us will be Grace Thresher (Merit recipient), and Charli de Koning (Judge’s Award recipient). Each artist will share insights into their work and practice, diving deeper into their relationship with the Estuary and the themes their works aim to address.
This is part two of a two part artist talk series with the Estuary Art and Ecology Awards winners. The first part will take place at UXBRIDGE on Saturday 23 August.
In Conversation with Estuary Artists: Grace Thresher, Charli de Koning
Saturday 30 August, 11am
Malcolm Smith Gallery
Free entry
Astral travel can be defined as an intentional out-of-body experience – one in which consciousness functions separately from the physical body, emerging to embark on a journey through the astral plane and beyond. Flowing between real and unreal, other worlds become closer than they seem. Reaching out within her daydreams, imaginings and ruminations, artist Pat Basse creates and curates a surreal realm of strange familiarity.
Over her 40-year career Basse has explored the transcendental through her practise. Despite a gradual loss of sight, her expressive strokes capture the vibrancy of her dreams and memories in abstracted forms. Firmly believing that imagination can aid in overcoming despondency, Basse emboldens viewers to explore their creative power at will.
Visual Diary of an Astral Traveller reminds us that the mind is unhindered by human boundaries. If we open ourselves to the endless possibilities of the creative process, its transformative power is within reach for us all.
Pat Basse is a multimedia artist working in abstract realism and surrealism. With the Auckland Society of Arts, she participated in many group exhibitions before her first solo exhibition at Whitecliffe Galleries in the 1980s. Basse tutored screen printing at UXBRIDGE Arts and Culture shortly after its founding in 1981. In the following year, she exhibited alongside Malcolm Smith at the Canterbury Society of Arts printmakers exhibition.
She completed her Bachelor of Arts at The University of Auckland in 2001, majoring in Art History and English. The artist continued to participate in various national group exhibitions and art shows, having exhibited at the Fisher Gallery (now Te Tuhi) in the 1990s, Titirangi’s Upstairs Gallery in 2018 and most recently, the UXBRIDGE Wall Gallery in 2023.
Despite developing Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), which causes a loss of central vision, Basse has continued to paint with expression and vibrancy.
Please note that there is strictly NO PHOTOGRAPHY permitted of this exhibition. This restriction is to conserve the artworks and to protect the intellectual property of Pat Basse.
Please respect the artist’s wishes and enjoy the exhibition without screens.
EVENTS
Click here to read an article about Basse’s artist talk.
Diving Deeper into the Transcendental with Artist Pat Basse and Audio Described Aotearoa
Please note the gallery will be closed for the Christmas/New Year break.
Growing up, artist Amina Baker always adored flowers. Spending endless summers in her Mother’s and Grandfather’s gardens, Baker would examine the vibrant colours, sumptuous shapes and textures of every botanical. The artist delighted in the fact that, with their uniqueness, each bloom never failed to make her forget the world around her. This feeling is highlighted by her selection of flowers: delicate lilies and orchids convey peace and calm, while vibrant hibiscuses and pansies dazzle viewers with their charm.
Wild Flowers is a nod to the time spent in her relatives’ gardens surrounded by flowers basking in the summer sun. Finding inspiration in the tradition of skateboarders expressing themselves through unique art on their decks, Baker unites an enduring symbol of teenage liberation and individuality with verdant florals that burst off her canvas. Her exhibition speaks to the quiet rebellion of a blooming garden that cannot be contained. For Baker, spring blossoms become symbols of the coming summer and the freedom it brings with it.
“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
Amina Baker is a multimedia artist working in abstract realism, and year 12 student at Botany Downs Secondary College. Vivid colour, family and botanical themes are central to her artistic approach. Baker’s work has previously been exhibited in local and international galleries, including the Franklin Arts Festival, International Art Museum of America, and the Malcolm Smith Gallery as part of Howick Youth Council’s East Auckland Visual Arts Showcase, 2024. In the same year, she was awarded the top prize of Overall Winner for the Visual Arts Showcase.
Wild Flowers is her first solo exhibition.
Want to learn more about the artist? Click here to read the 5 Under 5 Interview with Amina Baker.
About The Wall
The Wall is dedicated to supporting East Auckland artists working towards secondary or tertiary study. This exhibition space allows emerging artists to experience the process of exhibition making without the pressure that comes with the scale of a traditional gallery space. Situated amongst the hustle and bustle of the UXBRIDGE concourse, this gallery space allows young artists more exposure than its counterpart. Artist will have the opportunity to engage with the community and gain experience talking about their practice through optional Artist Talks and other public programming. After their exhibition, emerging artists will have a clearer understanding of the unseen aspects of exhibition making while members of the public will gain awareness of local creatives in their community.
Join us in the Gallery Café for a casual yet informative conversation over tea and coffee with exhibiting artist Eve Boermans and centre director Paul Brobbel.
Eve and Paul will lead a conversation for artists and art lovers looking at the themes explored in the exhibition Threads alongside insights into Eve’s wider practice.
Wednesday 1 May, 2 – 3pm, Gallery Café
Bookings essential: $10 for coffee/tea/scone and conversation.
Threads
Threads is an exploration of metaphorical threads in time – observing memories and recognising the subsequent evocations from these moments; emotions, sounds, smells, light. Small, unfinished paintings are positioned carefully on Uxbridge’s concourse wall and connected by material threads. Although unfinished, these paintings feel more human, more natural, more intriguing. Each canvas piques the viewer’s interest, containing different subject matter from piece to piece. Locating the work in a transitional space enhances the potential for interpretation. The viewer can imagine their own conclusions for each piece, whether it be material or emotional.
Threads is an invitation, an offering to the viewer, for connection, for recollection, for feeling.
About the artist
Eve Boermans is an East Auckland-based artist and student at Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland. Working in a variety of disciplines including dramatic and literary arts, her artistic work is currently focused on painting and installation. Boerman’s work has been seen locally in exhibitions such as the Focus Exhibition (2022). She was a finalist in the Wallace Art Awards (2022).
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Join us for a kōrero in the Gallery Café led by exhibiting artist Coral Noel Yang and Centre Director Paul Brobbel. Our conversation will be informed by the themes explored in Tokimeku, currently exhibiting in the Malcolm Smith Gallery. This is a great opportunity for artists, art lovers and the artistically curious alike to engage with contemporary art in an open and friendly environment.
All are welcome.
Tuesday 21st May, 2 – 3pm at the Gallery Café
Complementary coffee/tea are included in your ticket.
Bookings are essential. To secure your spot, please book through our website.
Tokimeku
‘Tokimeku’ (ときめく) is a Japanese word that beautifully captures the sensation of a throbbing, fluttering, and palpitating heart—a visceral response to the dance of anticipation. This concept serves as the inspiration for Coral Noel Yang latest collection of expressive abstract works. Influenced by her immersive experience at Tamagawa Hot Spring, a secluded mountain healing site in her mother’s hometown, Akita, Japan, these artworks vividly reflect the essence of her journey, where the heartbeat of nature resonates in captivating visual expressions.
As Coral delves into the memories of her travels, central themes of wonder, awakening, connection, and rebirth crystallise within this collection. A poignant narrative thread weaves through her heartfelt reunion with family after a period of Covid-induced separation, alongside tales of healing and the therapeutic energy found in Tamagawa. Coral’s purpose is to imbue her works with the vitality and sense of belonging she absorbed from this transformative journey.
About the Artist
Coral Noel Yang, an Auckland-based contemporary painter, specializes in abstract and floral art using acrylic, blending Soak-Stain techniques with Asian water-ink traditions. Her vibrant and layered works exude luminous hues and expressive marks, drawing inspiration from Aotearoa’s landscapes and florals, her 15 years of global filmmaking experience, and her Chinese-Japanese heritage. Enthralled by the unpredictable beauty of fluidity, she navigates between intuitive material play and meticulous design, crafting layers adorned with water marks, organic shapes, and whimsical brushstrokes. Her paintings capture nature’s essence intertwined with human emotions, evoking a profound sense of wonder and belonging, resonating both locally and internationally. Since 2021, Coral has held solo exhibitions in Auckland, notably including Unfurling (2023) and Tokimeku (2024). Additionally, she is invited to showcase her work at both The Auckland Art Show 2024 and Art in the Park 2024. In 2023, she received the John Wells award at the Emerging Artist Awards of Upstairs Gallery and was a finalist at Craigs Aspiring Art Prize in 2024.
Instagram link: @coralnoelyangart
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