John Tarlton

Exposing The Abstractionist

Date: Apr 14 – Apr 27Space: Small Gallery

We are excited to welcome back contempoary mixed media artist John Tarlton with his new exhibition ‘Exposing The Abstractionist’

California-born New Zealander John Tarlton received a degrees in fine art at the undergraduate and graduate levels from the State University of New York at Albany.  Additionally John studied for a year with Rudi Gopas, William Sutton and Philip Trusttum at the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts (Ilam) in 1972.  He holds a PhD in Vocational Art Education from Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia.

His paintings and prints fit outside the norm of traditional figurative and landscape motifs, instead his preference is to present works which are mainly witty and sometimes irreverent engagements; personal discourses and visual narratives which probe both the individual and the universal on aspects of the human condition.

These days Tarlton primarily works on paper, using a full spectrum of media that includes watercolour, acrylic, gouache, ink, pencil and collage. The surfaces move seamlessly from passages of realistically rendered subjects, to areas of action painting and elements of collage. Compositions seem effortlessly balanced, as are the carefully thought out and engaging interplays of positive and negative space.  This exhibition provides the public a rare opportunity to observe this individual and unique voice within contemporary New Zealand fine art.

Join John and the CAN crew from 5pm for the opening on Friday, 14 April at 5pm All welcome! 

Works available to view and purchase 14 – 27 April in the Creative Arts Napier Small Gallery