Art seen

"Colourific", Association of New Zealand Embroiderers' Guilds, (Lakes District Museum, Arrowtown)

[1] Scene From Above, by Hilary Paterson
Unlike the artist who uses brush and paint, the embroiderer uses needle and thread as their medium of expression. These masters in the art of embroidery are showing their work in a national exhibition consisting of 120 embroideries from 50 guilds.

For many of the embroiderers invited to take part, it is the first time they have put their work out into a national forum. The exhibition is fascinating and inspirational with work ranging from traditional 3-D "stumpwork" to contemporary embroidery.

The brilliance of the exhibits immediately takes the viewer's eye, as does the wide variety of interpretations on the "Colourific" theme - from flowers in the garden to hot-air balloons, a weather map to a coat of many colours.

A variety of decorative stitching techniques and other materials are used in many of the exhibits.

Hilary Paterson's contemporary work Scene from Above is a good example of this creativity in which the design based on an aerial photograph of a paddy field is worked in applique, ribbon and silk with a range of surface stitching outlining the contours, depth and texture of the landscape depicted below.

Guest exhibitor Dianne Van Brandenburg displays rich fabrics and stitches, as well as beading and gold threads in her work.

"Oroua Valley", Karl Maughan, (Milford Galleries Dunedin) 

[2] Loveday Avenue (2011), by Karl Maughan
Auckland artist Karl Maughan has made his reputation through painting one subject, gardens.

His latest work of 10 garden paintings, now showing at the Milford, are not only captivating but they typify his practice of close-up viewpoint, strong contrast between light and dark and a decorative emphasis on the patterns made by flowers, stems and foliage.

Although Maughan's landscapes are fantasy, they compel the viewer to approach his work, as if inviting them to take a walk along the garden paths that meander among super-bright flowers and sunlight-dappled bushes.

These stage-managed gardens show no sign of nature's flaws.

On closer inspection, each work is a world of painterly invention in which colour is applied with deliberate and distinct brushstrokes that are abstract in style, yet collectively establishes an environment so convincing in its naturalism that it looks photographic.

Maughan's large-scale paintings, in some cases mural size, are worked in clear, bold colours. The flower gardens painted with a profusion of blooms are depicted in bright, almost garish hues.

While they appear obviously pretty on one hand, the deep shadows and absence of human life give them a more disturbing dimension as well, as in Awahou North (2011) and Awahou South (2011).

Although individual paintings, when hung together as in the gallery the complete picture is shown, leaving the viewer caught in the deeply shaded foreground, able only to look at the beautiful sunlit path and garden beyond.

"I See You", Jo St Baker, (Gallery De Novo) Jo St Baker displays several sides of her art in an exhibition at Gallery De Novo. Her exhibition consists of work we expect from St Baker with four large paintings being realistic scenes.

Unlike her usual watery-type themes, St Baker has focused this time on Dunedin's historic buildings in two of her exhibits.

With her work, Immaculate Illusions of Life and Dream she continues to distort reflections, this time in glass spheres encouraging a thoughtful response from the viewer - possibly history, tradition and memories, all mirrored in a sunny day.

Another exhibit, Everyday Heroes is more realistic in its rendering, in which upturned chairs on tables signify not only an end to a busy day in a cafe, but also shapes, patterns and reflections.

These works could be seen as St Baker's stock in trade, and so the remainder of the exhibition was somewhat of a surprise.

St Baker returns to her love of Forbury Rd and the St Clair beach area with a photographic documentary, I See You. It is a record of the ever-changing weather moods, sculpted coastline and the coastal culture that inhabits this area.

The documentary of "today" as seen through the lens of the camera consists of 277 black-and-white photographs, recording life as a living work of art, put together in an album and as a wall installation.

Ceramic and linocut work exhibited among the paintings further indicate the diversity and imagination of this Dunedin artist.

- Julie Jopp