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Three new exhibitions will feature at the Mangawhai Artists Gallery over the Christmas holiday period.
The annual cash and carry Christmas Exhibition opened on Saturday December 13 and will close on Christmas Eve, followed closely by Blur the Boundaries and then Entanglement.
Blur the Boundaries, which features Mangawhai-based artists Jocelyn Friis, Elena Nikolaeva, Kylee Newbold and Antonia Cooney, will open on the Saturday after Christmas, December 27.
It focusses on freedom and diversity through creativity, pushing beyond established limits, norms or expectations, blurring the boundaries. A gallery spokesperson says the exhibition is colourful and joyful, reflecting the beautiful surrounding environment.
Jocelyn Friis creates semi-abstract land and seascapes. Working in acrylic and encaustic, she explores the tension between nature’s resilience and vulnerability.
“Each piece is an invitation to pause, reflect and connect – offering a gentle reminder that air and nature can being peace, hope and meaning to our lives,” Friis says.
Kylee Newbold is a colour-loving creature, drawn to a variety of mediums and techniques. Currently working with the world of textile and fibre art, Kylee’s work explores the value of textile ‘waste’ and second-hand materials.
An artist and tutor, Elena Nikolaeva loves artistic experiments, exploring the limits of visual art, creating 2D and 3D objects.
“As far back as I can remember, I was playing with different materials and objects found in my environment,” she says. “Either an odd piece of firewood, or a rusty metal part from the machinery in my father’s workshop. I loved to touch them, feel their texture, weight and smell.”
Antonia Cooney’s latest work is inspired by a visit to Italy and Greece earlier in the year.
“I love exploring my imagination through art and travel,” Cooney says. “Europe and the history of its great painters are constant inspirations.”
She often draws on a quote from an artist friend: “Drawing is the speech of art, mind and hand working together. It is thought made visible.”
lur the Boundaries will be followed in early January by Entanglement, a solo exhibition, by internationally acclaimed Kaiwaka-based artist Peter Panyoczki.
Mangawhai Artists Gallery, 45 Moir St, Mangawhai is open daily 10.30am to 3.30pm (from 9am on Saturday). The Christmas Exhibition runs until December 24. Blur the Boundaries: December 27 to January 8; Entanglement: January 9 to 22.
