The Value of Art.. This is an open-ended question! However, to me and my personal well-being, having original art around me in my home is absolutely essential. Not only do I find them aesthetically pleasing but each artwork has a story attached that triggers a particular memory: where I bought the work, where was I living then, my relationship with artist, why I chose that work, or at what stage of my art career was I when I made a particular work, and where was I studying at the time and who with?
My Passions.. I do love beauty, be it in nature or art forms. I would like to think that I am curious as I do love learning. Travel, especially to places like Japan and New York have been a huge source of inspiration to my art. Needless to say, Covid19 has placed a real dampener on that assumed luxury. I so look forward to settling into bed at night with a great book. I’m currently rather obsessed with the Swedish artist, Hilma af Klint (1862-1944). Hilma was a female painter whose abstract works from 1906 pre-dated those of the male artists who have claimed that title in Western art history. She was talented, curious, deeply spiritual, and worked with other realms to create her paintings. Extremely modest, she had the foresight to recognize that the world was not yet ready to receive her mystical works and so she insisted that they remained hidden until 20 years after her death. Their rediscovery has only been very recent. I saw her exhibition twice in Sydney before lockdown and was overwhelmed with its power and beauty. Luckily the AGNSW have had some excellent online events exploring these works and their ramifications for art history. Perfect for lockdown learning. Browse online here!
Places I dream of.. Being home in Central Otago, New Zealand and bike riding on the trails. The scenery is spectacular and it’s certainly how and where I feel my happiest.
I hope.. Enough people get vaccinated very soon so that we can regain our freedoms and be able to travel, see and experience art in real life, and reunite with our much missed families and friends.
