In this episode, I visit John Brown at his home and studio in the Hawkes Bay.Among other qualifications, John holds a Bachelor in Art and Design from AUT, and has won the Kaipara Foundation Award in 2012 (which is the Swiss Residency award he refers to in our conversation) and the Molly Morpeth Canaday Award in 2019. John’s is a practice I’m excited to bring to your attention if you haven’t seen his work before. I first started really taking notice of his paintings only a few years ago, and in that time he’s evolved a really strong painting practice, both in technical execution and in representation of subjects, supported by years of engaging in other practice disciplines.There are images of the paintings that we talk about on The Good Oil John Brown Instagram Post for your reference. In the episode you’ll hear John speak about the thorough conceptual approach he takes with a subject before he even picks up a brush, but how that is then at least in part abandoned and replaced by the process of painting to create a work, the constant risk of him painting over what might be some of his best work, but also how he is unwilling to remove his mistakes because they contribute to such rich layering, the portraiture that is included in the work that you might never notice and how he deals with his self doubt of if he is even a painter, and if the work is any good.
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1:09:07
EP 31 Andrew McLeod
In this episode, I visit Andrew McLeod at his home and studio in Whanganui.Andrews holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland.He is now over 27 years into his practice, and his work is held in numerous public and private collections, including The Fletcher Collection, The Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, The Chartwell Collection, The National Gallery of Victoria, The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and The Arts House Trust. He has been the recipient of art prizes and residencies, including the Tylee Cottage residency in Whanganui.Andrew is represented by Robert Heald Gallery in Wellington Te Whanganui a Tara and Ivan Anthony Gallery in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.There are images of the paintings that we talk about on The Good Oil Andrew McLeod Instagram Post for your reference. This episode turns out to be, for me at least and I hope you, an excellent lesson in art history and how to look at paintings, both of which are Andrew actually talking about his practice. Although you’ll also hear him talk about being Gen X, and as a result what he’s not afraid of in painting, a want for his next painting to always be his best, how he views paintings as an arrangement of attention and a frozen choreography of brush strokes and how a key aspect of his job is to work in the visual subconscious world we all populate.Please note, if your’re listening with children or a priest present, Andrews enthusiasm in the interview leads to some occasional colourful language.
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1:08:51
EP 30 Seraphine Pick
In this episode, I visit Seraphine Pick at her home and studio in Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington.Seraphine has conducted a practice for over 30 years, in that time always exploring and evolving subject matter, use of materials and her overall approach to painting. Her work is held in numerous public and private collections, including The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, The Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū and the Dowse Art Museum, and she has been the recipient of several awards and residencies, including the Rita Angus Artist Residency.Seraphine holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury.She is represented by Michael Lett Gallery in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland and Station Gallery in Naarm, Melbourne and Gadigal, Sydney.There are images of the paintings that we talk about on The Good Oil Seraphine Pick Instagram Post for your reference.In the episode you’ll hear Seraphine speak about a want to not know how to approach a new mode of making to keep her practice interesting, her collaborations with ceramicist Jaime Jenkins and how that is influencing her practice, the sound and silence of her paintings, a want to more and more make paintings into objects and the need to see human vulnerability in paintings in the age of AI.
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1:10:50
EP 29 Darryn George
In this episode, I visit Darryn George at his home and studio in Ōtautahi.Darryn is of Ngāpuhi descent. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury and a Master of Fine Art from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.His work is held in numerous public and private collections, including The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, The Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and The New Zealand High Commission. He has been exhibiting consistently for over 30 years, with work in over 40 group or solo shows, including in major public gallery exhibitions.He is represented by McLeavey Gallery in Te Whanganui A Tara, PG Gallery 192 in Christchurch and Milford Galleries in Queenstown.There are images of the paintings that we talk about on The Good Oil Darryn George Instagram Post for your reference. In the episode you’ll hear Darryn speak about reconnecting with Maoridom and marae, developing his language through a combination of American minimalist abstract painters, kowhaiwhai patterns and Maori carvers, his willingness to work collaboratively across industries to achieve the best outcome in large scale painting, how his practice is influenced by and explores the intersection of Maori oral, and European written history and some advice from his gallerist Peter McLeavey that he’s never forgotten and still applies.
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1:05:33
EP 28 Martin Poppelwell
In this episode, I sat down with Martin Poppelwell at the Melanie Roger gallery surrounded by his new work included in a recent group show.Martin has established an impressive multi disciplinary practice, with paintings and ceramics complimenting one another.Martin’s work is held in numerous public and private collections locally and internationally, including Te Papa Tongarewa, the Lawrence B. Benenson Collection in New York, Reydan Weiss Collection in NZ/Germany and Reverend Ian Brown Collection, Australia.He is represented by SPA_CE Gallery in Napier and Melanie Roger gallery in Tamaki Makaurau.There are images of the paintings and ceramics that we talk about on The Good Oil Martin Poppelwell Instagram Post for your reference.You’ll hear Martin talk about how important to his overall practice studying ceramic design and production at the Whanganui Polytechnic has been, the origin of his grid motif and how it contributes to composition and philosophical approach to painting, how Samuel Beckett provided a new perspective on what his painting could be, the challenges he deliberately creates for himself in paintings and the time consuming, multi layered process he follows to prepare the surface of a canvas to make it look like there isn’t any preparation at all.
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