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Art lovers on the Hibiscus Coast are in for a treat next time they visit Orewa.
Sally and Grant Marshall have opened Marshall Gallery in Florence Avenue, turning a former bicycle shop into an inviting display space for curated home furnishings, and art works by some of New Zealand’s top painters and photographers.
The walls are lined with works by Dick Frizzell, Mark Cross, Sophie Minson and Liam Barr, to name just a few. There are also pieces by Kerikeri sculptor Grant Gallagher, with more sculpture, ceramics and glass to come.
“The combination of home furnishings and art seems to work well,” Grant says. “The gallery isn’t intimidating. We want people to feel comfortable browsing, whether or not they buy anything.
“We’ll also be encouraging people to pop in regularly as our displays will be constantly changing.”
Until recently, Sally and Grant had a dominant presence in Matakana Village where they at one stage owned and ran a gallery, jewellery store, gift store and home furnishings store.
“We’ve retained Matakana Home, but in all other respects, our attention is now focussed on Orewa,” Sally says. “We’ve got a loyal following of customers from the Coast and the North Shore, as well as from places such as Waitoki, Wainui and Coatsville, so the re-location to Orewa makes sense.”
The couple bring their own love of art – Sally is a painter and Grant a photographer – to the gallery, as well nearly 40 years of experience in film, publishing, advertising and design.
Grant believes that his many years as a creative director taught him how to recognise talent.
“I’m very picky when it comes to choosing works for the gallery,” he says. “It normally involves visiting the artist’s studio and identifying work that has integrity and creativity. It’s intuitive rather than prescriptive.”
Pieces in the gallery start around $500 and can range up to $50,000.
Gallery visitors may also be surprised by the size of the artworks on display with many large pieces dominating the walls.
“It’s one of the things we’ve learned – people love big images. We thought with all the downsizing going on it would be the reverse.”
