NZ art venues are spreading

By Kip Brook

Dunedin Airport will later this year stage a significant major solo art exhibition by leading Otago artist Kerry Fenton-johns.

The November 15 to December 10 art exhibition will feature a series of special pohutukawa works.

Fenton-Johns won the Otago phone book art award last year and was runner-up this year.  She has exhibited all over the South Island.

The venue for this exhibition raises the issue of the growing variety of venues for artists – other than galleries. Last year big portrait artist Deidre Copeland held an exhibition of her works down the centre of the Queenstown airport terminal.
   
On giant canvases, she exhibited portraits of Invercargill mayor Tim Shadbolt, former Stock Exchange chairman and NZ Olympic head Eion Edgar, cricketer Richard Hadlee, equestrian Olympic gold medallist Mark Todd, Queenstown mayor Clive Geddes, bungy inventor AJ Hackett, Everest climber and expedition leader Guy Cotter, winemaker Alan Brady, businessman Michael Hill, writer Owen Marshall and speaker-entertainer Gary McCormick.

Copeland steered away from having the exhibition in a gallery and the event gave her greater profile. What’s more the airport was happy to support the region’s art community and the event added-value to their passengers’ airport experience.

In March, artist Lori Davis made a strong environmental statement with her art exhibition at the Bowater Toyota car yard forecourt in Nelson. Davis staged her exhibition in the car yard to raise issues including global warning. 

Last year, New Zealand landscape artist of the year Hannah Riden exhibited her iconic Christchurch scenes at The George, a luxury boutique hotel in Christchurch. Her works included Christ’s College, Cup day at Riccarton, Worcester Street and the Cathedral, the Port Hills, a typical suburban diary corner, New Brighton, punting the Avon, High Street, Hagley Park,  the Estuary, the CD brewery and Sol Square.

Galleries still have their place and small public galleries are still strongly supported but some galleries have shut their doors. New Zealand as a nation is embracing art and emerging artists like never before.

Last year, superbly talented Christchurch artist Melissa Sharplin sold one of her larger female works for nearly $12,000 at a Linwood College art auction – held at Turners Car Yard - to help raise funds to send school students on a study trip to China. Sharplin, a Kiwi from Christchurch and a survivor of last year’s Samoan tsunami, also exhibited at an art hotel in Sydney earlier this year.

Schools are also great vehicles for promoting emerging artists but with the Rugby World Cup next year, airports may also be perfect venues for showing off New Zealand’s best iconic art.

Dunedin’s Kerry Fenton-Johns says she can’t wait for her exhibition At Dunedin Airport, which sees more than 775,000 passengers a year through its terminal building.

Her event is perfectly timed in the run up to Christmas as pohutukawas are also known as Christmas trees.

"I love the blazing red colour, the softness of the flower, the insects and birds that are drawn to the tree and the strength of the older trees trunks. I just love the mist of red they leave on the ground when the flower is spent.

"I know there have been concerns in parts of New Zealand because of possums but it seems we are protecting, caring and appreciating our pohutukawas more these days."

Pohutukawas were devastated so badly some years ago there were grave concerns about the species extinction in some places. Possums are the greatest threat to their future. Project Crimson was formed in 1990 following conservationists' concerns that the pohutukawa was in genuine danger of extinction. There are about 30 million possums in New Zealand

Dunedin International Airport chief executive John McCall said they were excited about staging their first significant solo art exhibition by Fenton-Johns at the terminal.

"We are keen to support the Otago creative arts community. Kerry is an outstanding local artist and her work will really add-value to travellers experience while waiting or passing through the airport. We know there will be a lot of interest in this event which is great for Dunedin Airport."