Hawke’s Bay Art Review 2025 Artist Statement Archive

Aimee Simpson – Motu o Kura | Guardians

Motu o Kura | Guardians is a deeply personal mixed-media work inspired by one of the artist’s most cherished vistas in Hawke’s Bay. Anchored in the serene majesty of Bare Island / Motu o Kura, the piece features two Southern Right Whales (Tohorā) as enduring guardians of the sea—symbols of protection, ancestral strength, and the quiet intelligence of marine life. Koru motifs unfurl through the composition to evoke growth, peace, and transformation, echoing the rhythms of nature and the artist’s deep connection to the ocean. Largely rendered in monochrome with accents of gold, the work reflects a love for the wild beauty of Aotearoa and the creatures that inhabit it. Created using mixed media, the piece is part of an ongoing exploration into how materials interact—how texture, tone, and form can work together to express a sense of place and presence. The use of charcoal adds a moody, velvety depth to the composition, enhancing its quiet intensity and grounding the work in a tactile, organic feel.

Ashton Lexie Jamieson – Voices

“Me aro koe ki te ha o Hine-ahu-one (Pay heed to the power and dignity of women)”

Brent Treacher – Cathedral III with Bluish Grey

“I am standing, the sun shines bright, golden yellow, warmth. There’s a gentle breeze. In the distance, blue, green, turquoise, the oceans, horizon. My feet are firmly planted, I have balance, harmony. I am searching for perfection. I look down to my feet, I look up to the heavens. I AM perfection.”

Cap Jacobs – Link Up

When we link together we are more than we are as separate individuals, allowing is to do more and be more. Linked together our inter-dependency is our strength. Linked together we are each critical to the whole, and so it becomes important to care for each other. This is called “society”, where “us” means more than “me”. A place where, as the fictional detective Harry Bosch said, “Everybody counts, or nobody counts”.

Chloe King – Matariki Fire

“I live near the beach at East Clive, and the idea of painting my familiar daily walk coincided perfectly with the Season of Matariki”

Claire Sadler – F Sharp Minor with a Flattened 5th (Winner – Supreme Award)

“The title of this piece is a piece of musical nonsense, something of an in joke, a label for something indescribable. This piece began its journey as a crazy and probably impossible idea and yet somehow it works. The piece of timber came from a scrap pile at a disused timber mill. I was told it was swamp kauri but that quickly proved not to be the case. Having been stored outside for many years, weathering developed the characteristics of the piece. The complex form plays with light and shadow, straight and circular lines. The lines of this piece should not make sense and yet they do. It can be displayed in many ways; suspended, braced, hung, or attached to a wall.”

Bio: Claire sculpts fulltime from her studio in Bridge Pa, Hawkes Bay. With no previous formal art training, Claire began learning stone carving andesite boulders at Te Kupenga Stone Sculpture Society New Plymouth in 2006. A recent foray into wood has created the opportunity to explore different forms. Her approach is to explore the individual piece of raw natural material, to respect and feature all of its characteristics and proportions. With a preference for the more humble materials, her works are mostly created from Taranaki andesite boulders, locally grown trees and salvaged timber. By attending over a dozen symposia around the country and exhibiting in sculpture parks and exhibitions such as NZ Sculpture Onshore and Shapeshifter at The Dowse, and throughout the North Island, Claire is gaining a widening experience and reputation. She has been featured in the book ‘Toi Wahine – A Celebration of 30 creative women in Hawkes Bay’. A participant of the Hawkes Bay Art Guide and Art Trail

Constance Fein-Harding – The Void

“A void between two people, or the void beyond.”

Corrina Heke-Mayes – Pātikitiki o te Rangi (Winner – Ngā Toi Māori/Pacifica Award)

Pātikitiki – the symbolism of prosperity and sustenance accompanied alongside the Poutama; a journey of advancement both spiritual and educational. Carefully choosing colours that reflect many aspects of enlightenment and balance.

Elizabeth Mary Goodall – The Permanence of Beauty

“I work with flowers, resin & light.”

Fi Tindall – Tom Parker Fountain #3

This is the 3rd in a series of paintings with Tom Parker Fountain on Marine Parade as the subject. Fi’s current work uses an interesting graphic style to observe Napier Art Deco houses and public gardens.

Gillian Marshall – Homage to the Gothic Queen-Magnolia

The Magnolia Queen symbolizes nobility, purity, and connections. She evokes beauty and elegance. This piece represents persistence and immortality. It is also a symbol of dignity and deep love of nature. Gillian has used string to tie the bonds together as one. Acrylic paint, watercolor pastels, charcoal, dye and spray paint.

Graham Stichbury – Secluded Inlet

Accessed only from the sea and by difficult overland trails, this secluded inlet is seldom visited.

Helen Kerridge – The Existence of Light

“The candle is a symbol of the light in the darkness of life.”

Jane Gray – Little Friend

“My current artistic practice has evolved from a need to work in the abstraction. The abstract forms talk of my private pain in a beautiful but private language communicating with the viewer, the toucher, the environment. My new to me “canvas” of clay, apart from glazes can incorporate rubber, found objects, sticks and bandages and glitter, which as in this piece is still often a self portrait. Eventually the pain is addressed acknowledged and released in the creative process, this artist’s mental health realised in a beautiful creation.”

Jill Kennett – Reef

Reef X explores the vibrant colours and intricate textures of coral reefs through abstract ceramic form. Made from clay and finished with a textured lichen glaze, the sculpture reflects natural growth, decay, and transformation – echoing the fragility and resilience of marine ecosystems in an increasingly threatened underwater world.

Joe Rowntree – A Different Path (Winner – Mayor’s Choice Award)

Acrylic on board, enamel on glass, reclaimed window.

An exploration of hereditary expectation and the subsequent discomfort.

John Lancashire – Tell Me of a Raging Sea

“This is the first in a small series of portraits of my friend Arahi Whaanga. This isn’t just about him. This was a peak time for the arts in HB.”

Julie Olson –  Backcountry Huts #1 – Mt Brown Hut

Altitude: 1120m. Region: West Coast, Te Waipounamu. Bunks: 4. The Lower Arahua Hut was built in 1962. Flown to Mt Brown and totally rebuilt to meet updated building code and safety requirements, the renamed Mt Brown Hut is a Backcountry Trust and community maintained hut that opened for public use in 2010. Views: On a clear day, keen hikers can expect excellent views of the Southern Alps, Lake Kaniere, Hokitika and out to sea.

Justin Kite – Wairua — Beautiful Wahine

A quiet image of a Wahine, stands present. Details are superfluous, underpainting is reduced by over-painting parts to leave only what would be skin, therefor the serendipity communicates the wairua of tupuna, taonga, mana and ataahua.
She is non-specific, she is mauri, she is Maori.

Justin Kite – Tukutuku Target – Pink

This centered, calm collection of 3600 X’s into rings and horizontal stripes is born from looking at Tukutuku panels in wharenui. For decoration as well as ways of signifying meanings of tribal history, mythology and cultural concepts.
This simple signifier (X) has meanings over time, from Mathematics as an unknown or variable, Roman times, meaning completion or perfection and Egyptian hieroglyphics denoting life or rebirth.
For Justin, he wanted to take the idea of Tukutuku craft and translate it into a contemporary painted piece where the X’s signify tupuna, from the centered bullseye to the outer rings being more distant whanau, hapu, iwi – bloodlines.
The artwork, like society, we can look at the individual or the group. This work is optically multi-dimensional and transcendental.

Karen Sole – Above the Beach

“My love for landscape and flora and romance of the beach near my home in Turkey some years ago.”

Karen Sole – Consequences II

“Made against the background of the world order moving in favour of supremacists, and the feelings of anxiety and heart sickness that elicits.”

Kate White – Breost-hord

This artist is a member of Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa which is an environmental society that advocates for holistic and sustainable care of our environment and all its species: living sustainably, in harmony with nature with environmental responsibility through good stewardship.

Breost-hord means “heart-treasure”in Old English – inspired by P.47 “Birds, Beasts & Fishes” by R.C. Lamb. “…and so the birds were neglected and, from sheer starvation, began to die off fast. Worse was yet to come; for the Asterope, when rounding the Cape of Good Hope, shipped a tremendous sea which broke in the front of the poop and flooded the cabin where the hapless rooks were confined, drowning forty of them in one fell swoop.”

Kate White – Forlaefan

Forlaefan (Old English for to leave behind, abandon). A depiction of unwantedness. Reference to late 19th century-early 20th century linear romantic nature works by Arthur Rackham.

Kate White – Fremde Land

Fremde Land (Old English for unfamiliar land). Drawing on 19th century botanical style to record a first day in a new land.

Kathleen Pickering – Portal of Violet Fire

Portal of Violet Fire is a mandala of spiritual alchemy, created through a meditative process of breath, brushstrokes, and dot work. Each layer an act of release transmuting dense energy into light. The painting channels the cleansing frequency of the Violet Flame, with embedded amethyst and quartz crystals to hold its vibration of healing, purification, and spiritual protection. This work is both a sacred portal and a personal ritual of transformation.

Kelly Hughes – Donut Touch: A Ceramic Feast

From patisserie chef to ceramic artist, this playful collection transforms sweet nostalgia into sculptural indulgence. Using a variety of techniques – wheel throwing, hand-building, coloured clay, and piped slip – each piece captures the charm of iconic treats in clay. A feast for the eyes, not the taste buds.

Kim Cleverton – Ice Blue

“I wanted the blooms to be the main feature showing the light on them.”

Liz Walls – View from Otatara Pa

A linocut print inspired by the view from Otatara Pa Historic Reserve. Liz Walls is a local printmaking artist.

Maiken Calkoen – Ahuriri Lagoon, Lifted Land

An aerial view of the land north of Napier Airport, including the Whakamaharatanga Walkway.

Maiken Calkoen – Tutaekuri, Puketapu, Bay View and Beyond (Winner – Highly Commended Award)

An aerial view of the land north of the Tutaekuri River at Puketapu, looking out towards the airport and beyond.

MamAotearoa (Jani Dixon) – Wharenui

“I have titled this work “Wharenui“, but the outcome suggests to me a combination of wharenui ano a korowai. Both have the warm sheltered sense of community, safety, well-being and beauty.”

Marion Courtille – Paysage VII

The inspiration behind creating a 3D painting stems from a deep appreciation for the breathtaking landscapes of New Zealand. Aotearoa is renowened for its diverse natural beatuy, from lush forests and rugged mountains to serene lakes and vibrant coastlines. The interplay of light and shadow and the diversity in colours among these environments became a focal point for the artwork. Layers of acrylic captures the essence of depth inherent to any landscapes in general. Each layer reflects and refracts light, creating a dynamic experience that mirrors the way natural elements interact – like the way sunlight dances on water or the subtle gradations in the sky at dawn. The use of transparency, opacity and reflection allows viewers to engage with the work from multiple angles, echoing the multi-dimensionality of the landscapes. The diverse colours of the acrylic evoke the earthy tones of the mountains, bringing the viewer into a vivid, immersive experience.

Martin Corke – Any Messages?

“I wanted to say something about the issue of social isolation often encountered by older adults and the reduction in interpersonal interactions.”

Matt Davidson – Minuet

This work explores colour-relationships, offering an interpretation of the way colour is presented and observed. With references to colour-theory and colour-field painting techniques, the work asks the viewer to explore harmonic and discordant colour relationships presented by way of grouped-colour, and the overall effect that colour has on the piece as a whole.

Michele Jung – Morning Light on Milton 

This painting captures Milton Road on Bluff Hill, a street rich in character and quiet rhythm. Michele’s work is strongly influenced by plein air practice, where painting on location sharpens her sense of light, atmosphere, and the fleeting qualities of a scene. She aims to bring that immediacy into the studio, using expressive brushwork and a contemporary palette to convey not just how a place looks, but how it feels to be there. Through her broader practice, she seeks to elevate everyday New Zealand scenes, urban, coastal, or rural into moments of stillness and beauty that invite viewers to slow down and look closer.

Natalie Blackwood – Nothing More

“I’m interested in the current and past realities we associate with the things we live with. I create arrangements combining found botanicals, textiles, and objects into island-like compositions, exploring the relationships between items and the memories they hold from the perspective of a woman in Aotearoa. Embracing painterly impasto oils, semi-abstraction and interesting colour relationships to explore the layered histories we live with.”

Ola Sawaie – RĀ

This framed textile merges Palestinian and Māori traditions into a single work. The central red panel features Palestinian tatreez embroidery, stitched in a symmetrical floral pattern that speaks to generations of storytelling through thread. Beneath it, feathers arranged in the style of a Māori korowai cloak bring texture, movement, and a sense of protection. Together, the stitched geometry and natural plumage weave a cross-cultural narrative — one that honours heritage while exploring new intersections of identity

Paula Taaffe – Pet by Proxy (Winner – Selector’s Koha Award)

“I witness youth navigating the tensions and codes of social media. When composure is a fragile performance of pose and style. In these hyper constructed portraits of my gals their animals are carriers of repressed emotion. Proxies for vulnerability, joy, and anger. They emerge where reality is not really smooth. The pet in this context is not ‘other’ but intimately entangled with the self. To live with a proxy pet is to live beside one’s own volatility, cradle that inner glitch and name it with affection. The animal becomes an avatar of what is held in and what threatens to be seen through the lens of ubiquitous social critique.”

Pita Kire – Reclamation

“Invoked by Carravaggio’s “Doubting Thomas”, a journey of cultural reclamation I am…Māori.”

“You may not know your Maunga, but your Maunga knows you! You may not know your Awa, but your Awa knows you! You may not know your Reo, but your Reo knows you! You may not know your Marae, but your Marae knows you! You are good enough! Because our Tipuna made it so!” – Rawiri Waititi”

Raewyn Harris – Moeraki Boulders

A watercolour landscape painting inspired by a visit to Moeraki in the South Island.

Ros Stewart – Karearea

“This semi abstract action painting expresses how much I value the beauty and uniqueness of aotearoa’s native flora and fauna. The background, representing Te Ngahere (native bush) has many layers of enamel paint which are created using actual native ferns and leaves from our garden, as stencils and transfers. The dynamic diving Karerea is caught hunting, flying superfast, with its wings tucked in, to catch its fleeing prey, reflecting survival. This artwork reflects the importance of all of us being Kaitiakitangas, guardians, looking after and conserving all of Aotearoa’s environmental taonga (treasures) ensuring survival.”

Ros Stewart – Protector

“This small abstract sculpture, resembling a totem; examines my deep care and love for Aotearoa’s natural indigenous environment. This white marble, I personally sourced from the Takaka riverbed. The colour reflects the purity of what it’s protecting.”

Rose Annear – Te Ara

“Connection to The Body Politic”

Sachiko Kosaka – 100% NZ Wool Gypsy Wagon

This is made by a single technique of felting needle by using a single material to express simpleness.

Shirley De Luca – Art Deco Morning Tea

I am inspired particularly by nature and use bold colours to create from my imagination.

Suellen Gifford – Grass Roots Vase

“Australian artist Bianca Pintan shared her secrets with an online course, so I now have it…a beautiful bold matt finish. Carving the grass-like texture to the exterior enhances the way light interacts with colour creating delicate contrast and richness that brings this vase to life.”

Tracey Adams – Sorry for the Inconvenience

Blind print linocut.

“Invasive, annoying, these, there, here, near. God she’s everywhere, get out of my face.”

Will Jenkins – Orbs and Lines

This painting explores the intersection between abstraction and formalism.

Yvette O’Neill – Memories

“My fundamental motivation is to portray, interpret and share with you something beautiful I have seen. This could be anything, from the patterns left in debris, to patterns in nature, or the elegance of signs and symbols. The rest of my paintings – they are the joy of things seen!”