Parnell Gallery | 12-26 March
Preview: Tuesday 12 March, 5.30pm
Anna Stichbury continues her 20-year exploration of colour and meaning, with this latest body of work triggered by vivid childhood memories of her grandmother’s emerald green jewellery.
Anna’s signature gestural brushwork and luminous application of bold and vibrant colours on board and canvas are present throughout the aptly titled exhibition, Emerald Expedition. A dynamic twist sees the inclusion of moths, beetles and butterflies in acrylic and paper cut-outs which serve as both an ode to memory and the beauty of the natural world. A larger-than-life installation of acrylic cut-outs is a whimsical departure from Anna’s large abstract canvases but also retains familiar stylistic elements characteristic of her approach to painting.
Anna’s joyful, uplifting immersions into the natural world offer a gilded interplay of light and water, land and sky, resulting in abstracted landscapes that engage and delight. Allowing the material to take charge alongside her guiding hand, Anna celebrates the unexpected voyages that can arise from ‘letting go’: “Most of the pieces have a central point where the landforms part and the colour and pigment is able to navigate its way through to open sea or sky. The paint is on an unpredictable but liberating and colourful journey to meet and mix freely with the mediums of the sky or distant horizon.”
Born in 1974, Anna has held solo exhibitions throughout New Zealand and Australia, and her work is held in private and public collections internationally.
Top-Bottom:
1. ‘Blue Escape’, mixed media on wood, 1200mm diameter
2. ‘Emerald Tide’, mixed media on canvas, 1270x1270mm
3. ‘Ocean Calm’, mixed media on canvas, 800x800mm
09 377 3133 / parnellgallery.co.nz
263 Parnell Rd, Auckland
art@parnellgallery.co.nz
