Artist, 95, proves you're never too old for firsts

You are never too old to have your first solo exhibition. Two members of the Waikato group Artnexus, Jean Horn and Vicki Carruthers, are exhibiting solo in two adjoining galleries at ArtsPost in Hamilton in July-August, and for 95-year-old Jean, it will be her first solo exhibition.

Exhibiting is not a new thing for either artist.

Both were founding members of Artnexus which has been annually exhibiting for 18 years now, with shows around the Waikato and in Auckland.  So their work has been seen around.

This year, as well as participating in their group show, Jean and Vicki decided to exhibit their Waikato landscape paintings side by side at ArtsPost. But Vicki’s ‘In Form’ (Ida Carey Gallery) and Jean’s ‘Waikato Reflections’ (Margot Phillips Gallery) display their very different styles and experiences.

The third Waikato view ‘Story of a Raindrop’ is by Jacki Key (Chartwell Gallery), a Tauranga photographer, who has had multiple shows throughout New Zealand.

Jean has lived in rural Waikato most of her long life. Her works convey her perception of progression in land use, earlier farming practices, the rhythm of the seasons, and generational settlement and commitment to the land and its community. At the same time recognising ongoing change, and the effects of modernisation and current projects.

Vicki is drawn to landscapes and land features with strong forms and shaped by extremes.  Her Waikato abstract paintings seek to capture the essence of the land or coast, as an underlying permanent structure overlain by changes in use and the season.

She also sculpts in marble, using each stone’s characteristics to shape it, reflecting the permanence of landforms. Both art forms will be included in her display.

Jacki’s current collection ‘Story of a Raindrop’ is a collaboration of photography and student art works focussing on water and its influence in our lives.  It takes a journey down the Waihou River, aiming to tell of the river and its people and celebrating people working together for a better future. This show returns to the Waikato from a recent stay at Bowen House, Wellington.

These shows together will provide visitors with a comprehensive landscape experience of the greater Waikato region, allowing for photography and student works,  structured abstracts in oils and three dimensional sculptures, to more realistic paintings in acrylic, all reflective of Waikato’s moods, atmosphere and people.

The exhibition opens at 5.30 pm on Thursday,  July  19 and closes on  August 20.

Story by Sue Edmonds – Stuff