Artists

Meg Gaddum grew up on a remote Gisborne farm, surrounded by nature and art. Encouraged by artist relatives, she began painting early, inspired by vivid materials like French pastels. Though a science career led her into agriculture, horticulture, and, via a master’s degree in landscape architecture, she ultimately returned to art. Self-taught through books and online courses, Meg now paints abstract landscapes that reflect environmental and social themes while aiming to evoke joy. She lives with her husband and dogs by Ōhiwa Harbour, exhibits at art shows, and sells her work from her studio. Her art blends observation, critique, and sustainability.

Based in Palmerston North, Michele draws inspiration from everyday interactions and human connections. Working primarily with acrylics, she uses colour and abstract forms to convey emotion and energy. Michele’s art remains open-ended, inviting viewers to interpret and connect with each piece personally. Through her work, she hopes to evoke familiarity and resonance, reminding viewers of the beauty in the world and the connections that bind us all.

..Milarky focuses within the realm of Nomadism and what can be aligned as ’the Return to Nomadity’ of our species due to the misled ability to care for the Earth. Nomadism being a response to the environment, an adaption through a generationally founded ability to attune to nature, as opposed to our societies current mind set to tune the land to our desired ways. Finishing a Masters based on the field between Nomadism and Sedentarization, to decipher the position of contemporary Nomad, and investigate borders and ‘mobility limitations’ on our species Nomadistic tendencies, along with the cause/resistance this has on environmental issues.

Morgan Paige Taitoko is a New Plymouth–based artist whose work explores light, colour, and distortion. Using photographs taken through retro or obscured glass as reference points, she transforms fleeting moments into abstract-realist paintings, resin works, and printed fabric hangings. Her practice blends photography and painting, celebrating the contrast between nature and the man-made.

Nick is a Bay of Plenty artist whose works are inspired by coastal life around New Zealand and the Pacific. Some of Nick’s works trace the history of 19th-century Polynesian surfboard making and the significance of the artworks incorporated into the boards.

Nicola Warner is known for her vibrant pastel landscapes full of exuberant marks and joyful, saturated colour. She invites people to share her delight in living near the beach and her love of a good road trip. “Like so many of us, beautiful places thrill me,” she says. “I feel them.” Dramatic light is another feature of Nicola’s work. She enjoys creating the illusion of sunlight and shadow using only “little sticks of colour.” Nicola is an Artist Member of Pastel Artists NZ, a national award winner, and has been recognised by the International Association of Pastel Societies.

Niki Pennington (b. 1971) is a British-born, award-winning New Zealand–based artist who holds an MFA from Schule für Gestaltung Basel and is a graduate in Visual Communications from Wellington Polytechnic School of Design. Her practice explores balance and duality—between analogue and digital, chaos and calm. Blending abstraction and representation, she distils visual narratives into evocative compositions that reflect the emotional and sensory dimensions of recollection. Through gestural mark-making and structured layers, her work transforms fleeting moments into lasting impressions, blurring the lines between reality and remembered experience and inviting viewers to reflect on the fluid nature of memory.

Joshua returned to New Zealand in 2023 after a six-year immersion as a composer in film music in Los Angeles, California. His reprieve from city life found him pen in hand, his therapeutic outlet inspired by his love for the complexity of New Zealand’s mountain ranges. His vessel: ink, instead of music. His acute attention to the feel of jagged peaks, glaciers, and lake shores surrounding his hometown of Queenstown has since been translated through his fountain pen and traditional India ink. This amalgamation of detail and grandeur can be felt in the harmony of his Indian ink line art.

Pam loves colour — big, bold, and vibrant. She paints with coloured resin. Paint. Cure. Repeat. Layers of luscious colour to bring happiness and joy.

Pete Cernis is interested in creating a sense of atmosphere in his work. To produce pieces which are seen but more importantly, felt. Pieces which give a sense of harmony and balance, and which enrich the atmosphere of the places they reside. Nature's light is his subject which he expresses through the use of charcoal, pencil, pastel, paint, clay, photography and ink. Ranging in style from the realistic to the abstract.

Three decades ago, Pierre, of Swiss descent, arrived in New Zealand and was captivated by its stunning landscapes, serene tranquillity, and the genuine warmth of its people. The land’s rugged beauty and peaceful spirit convinced him this was his home. Settling in the South Island, he embraced the grounded Kiwi lifestyle. The Wakatipu region, with its soaring mountains, vast valleys, and ever-changing shadows, ignited Pierre’s artistic passion. This wild yet serene landscape inspired a unique body of work defined by achromatic techniques. Through skilful use of black, white, and countless greys, Pierre captures Wakatipu’s essence, turning the absence of colour into a powerful expression of emotion and form. His work is represented by a number of art galleries in New Zealand.

Rebecca’s work explores quiet, contemplative moments inspired by symbolism and folklore, weaving stories of nature that range from whimsical to painterly and botanical—each created with the intent to reveal beauty. A fine art photographer based in Auckland, New Zealand, she photographs and constructs every element herself, transforming textures and light into layered compositions. Beginning as a painter before discovering photography in 2018, she now paints with light instead of pigment. Her practice blends intuition and experimentation, existing between photography and painting, seeking to evoke serenity and wonder while celebrating nature’s timeless and boundless inspiration.

Rebellious Ruby wasn’t a career change — it was a shift in identity. It began when the artist realised, after decades in high-performance roles, that the artwork being created in spare moments wasn’t just creative — it had power. Working in digital mixed media, Rebellious Ruby’s work carries a raw, unapologetic energy, expressing attitude, individuality, and a kind of beauty broken down through distortion and reinvention. It rejects conformity and traditional expectations. Beneath the layers, the work reflects a personal philosophy that values difference, edge, confidence — and yes, rule-breaking. There is something distinctive in the way Rebellious Ruby creates. It’s not about perfection — it’s about expression, capturing a feeling, an attitude that sits outside the expected. The process is intuitive and instinctive, driven by an urge to translate what is seen and felt into work with undeniable visual impact. Once released, the works stand on their own — ready to be recognised, chosen, and owned. Rebellious Ruby isn’t created to sit quietly or simply be observed. It’s designed to be worn, placed, and lived with — becoming part of your world and an extension of your identity. Welcome to the World of Rebellious Ruby.

Reuben has a background in architecture, which inspires his art practice. Working primarily with pen and ink, Reuben creates highly technical and expressive artworks that weave intricate patterns and geometry into dynamic compositions. Reuben is drawn to the simplicity of line and to how proximity, density, repetition, and orientation allow complex, rhythmic patterns to emerge. Reuben’s architectural training has shaped his design approach to balance, restraint, and precision, which is reflected in a resolute attention to detail. Reuben employs a systematic method of making, incorporating algorithms and 3D modelling to generate iterative yet organic results. Influenced by both landscape and abstraction, Reuben’s work explores the tension between structure and emergence. The artworks are intended to be experienced at two scales: from a distance, where the overall composition comes into focus, and up close, where individual lines and geometries reveal their intricacy. This dual mode of viewing encourages slow looking and sustained engagement. Audience response has highlighted a strong connection to both the visual language of the work and the processes behind it. Alongside exhibitions, Reuben’s practice has reached a wide audience through social media, where interest in his methods—particularly the use of robotic technologies—reflects a growing fascination with new forms of creative expression.

Richard’s signature style lays down dense topographical backdrops, bold, colourful and joyful, often on a grand scale. He describes his working method as one where each painting has been generated by the narratives of the one before it; in this way the works constitute something like the screengrabs of a constantly mutating, recombinant project. His work expresses how our currencies, which so often include the pop cultural material that we’ve all assimilated and loved in its various forms, are in some sense tribal and reach beyond mere product or commodity to become shared symbols, a lingua franca.

Originally from Central Otago, award-winning bronze sculptor Richard Wells now lives between Tindalls Beach and Queenstown, working out of his studio and casting all his work himself. Using traditional techniques and the ancient medium of bronze, Richard’s beautiful sculptures tell human stories in a contemporary context. He is especially known for his beautiful bronze dogs of all sizes, which Richard says are “a reflection of ourselves”. Represented by galleries throughout the country, including Parnell Gallery in Auckland and Giraffe in Arrowtown, Richard’s sought-after, collectable works are held in collections both here and overseas, including in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa’s permanent collection. Public sculptures include Kuri, a 3.6 metre bronze dog diving into the pond in Queenstown Gardens, Queenstown; The Dio Girl, Diocesan School for Girls; and Soldier at Rest in the SAS Memorial Garden, Papakura.

Richard Wood is a fine art and commercial photographer working across film and digital media. His work blends carefully composed imagery with subtle surreal elements, creating scenes that are visually engaging and thoughtfully considered. With a background in visual communication design, Wood brings a strong sense of narrative and precision to his photography. He is a five-time NZIPP New Zealand Professional Photographer of the Year and a two-time overall winner of the Asia Pacific Photography Awards. His photographs are presented as collectible works for discerning viewers.

Multi-media artist Robin Ranga considers herself an observer striving to capture expressions that have the potential to resonate and relate to universal compassion, utilising her visual voice to connect with others. In awe of nature’s precision, resilience, and fragility, she believes these characteristics are aligned with all people; they inform and inspire her strong interest in organic form and design. Figurative compositions are conversations raising questions she asks herself: “What matters most?” From this perspective, she pays homage to others and to the environment, raising an awareness that the prospect of possibilities, probabilities, and potential resides within each person’s landscape.

Hailing from the tropical island of Sri Lanka, Ruby immigrated to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2008. As she navigated life in a new country, art became a way for her to remain connected to her cultural identity while embracing her new home. Ruby is deeply inspired by the rich traditions of South Asian folk art, continually exploring its diverse forms and histories. She incorporates its vibrant colours, intricate patterns, and symbolic motifs into her work, weaving these influences into each piece as a celebration of heritage, memory, and belonging.

Sam Gilmour is an oil painter based in Auckland, New Zealand, who brings a lifetime of mainly self-taught practice to her compelling canvases. Initially working with water-mixable oils, she recently transitioned to traditional oil painting to achieve a richer depth of colour and luminosity in her work. Her deep connection to her craft extends beyond the brush: she also practises the tactile art of building her own panels and frames, lending a handcrafted quality to her pieces. Drawing inspiration from the beauty of nature, home, and the evocative haze of nostalgia, her paintings capture scenes that resonate with personal significance.

Sam Leitch is a contemporary artist known for his surreal approach to painting and hand-separated screen printing. His work reimagines everyday objects and symbols, placing them in unexpected contexts that spark curiosity and invite viewers into layered visual narratives. At the heart of Sam’s practice is a fascination with the evolving relationship between artist, artwork, and viewer. Using bold colour and scale, he explores personal experiences and observations, crafting pieces that feel both familiar and disorienting.

Sarah Albisser’s background as a contemporary dancer and choreographer influences her art, blending movement with self-expression. Over the past decade, she has created striking black-and-white portraits of women and recently incorporated metallic tones, adding depth to her visual language. Her work captures fleeting emotions, often leaving elements unfinished to invite viewer interpretation. Embracing a minimalist, surreal style, Albisser balances space and simplicity to evoke nuanced stories. Her works have been exhibited internationally in Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, and Los Angeles and are part of private collections worldwide.

Sara Moana (she/her) is currently based in Auckland | Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa | New Zealand. She is of Welsh and Māori descent (Ngāti Tamaoho, Tainui) and works in illustration, creating art full-time since graduating with her Master’s degree in May 2022. She holds a Master of Fine Arts with First Class Honours from Elam School of Fine Arts | The University of Auckland (2022) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) with First Class Honours (2020). Sara’s practice explores identity, mental health, queerness, body image, existentialism, and feminism, using a subversive yet witty approach to create light-hearted, approachable work that fosters safe spaces and open, everyday conversations.

Shannon Turuwhenua is an award-winning wood sculptor based in North Waikato, Aotearoa (New Zealand). Drawing deeply from his Māori (Tūhoe), Scottish, and Irish descent, his work is a powerful exploration of heritage and identity. His process is intrinsically linked to the land, beginning with the mindful sourcing of native and exotic timbers from across the country. Whenever possible, Shannon uses reclaimed and recycled wood, ensuring every handcrafted piece carries an added layer of history and is truly unique. His work consistently explores themes of cultural transmission and sustainability.

Shawnee Tekii is a contemporary artist whose bold, colour-rich works bridge worlds of classic and contemporary culture. Blending street aesthetics with painterly precision, her art transforms everyday scenes into cinematic moments that radiate energy and emotion. Tekii’s layered compositions draw influence from global urban life, creating pieces that invite both awe and reflection. Through her distinctive fusion of style, narrative, and attitude, she captures the rhythm of modern life — vivid, fearless, and endlessly evolving.

Shirley Cresswell is a full-time artist based in Taupiri. She also spends much of her time in beautiful Matarangi, gaining much inspiration for her always popular beach walkway paintings. “Our beautiful beaches inspire many of my paintings. To feel like you can walk into a painting, feel the sand, the light breeze, and see the waves crashing in. I like to think that the painting is like looking out the window at somewhere you would love to be. It hopefully makes people remember special days they have had enjoying the beach with their families.”

Shortydubs pushes the boundaries of multi-layered stencil painting, blending pop art, street art, and narrative energy. Working on raw wood panels and textured surfaces, he builds deep layers that reveal damaged beauty and vulnerable human experiences beneath the surface. Drawing on his background in music production and songwriting, he samples, slices, and remixes the world around him, creating works that are meant to be both seen and felt.

Mike Paora (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) is passionate about upcycling and sustainability and dedicates his craft to breathing new life into donated and salvaged timbers, with a special focus on native timbers that would otherwise end up in landfill. As a seasoned carpenter, Mike embraces the challenge of working with these unique timbers, many of which are no longer readily available. With meticulous care, he invests time in tasks like de-nailing and removing paint or varnish, aiming to restore and highlight the inherent beauty within each piece of timber. Drawing inspiration from his culture, nature, and architecture, he skilfully transforms these timbers into stunning creations that showcase their individual charm and characteristics. What sets Mike’s work apart is his resourcefulness. Each piece he creates is influenced by the timbers he has recently acquired, allowing him to maximise their potential and minimise waste. Even offcuts from previous projects find purpose in new designs, embodying his unwavering commitment to sustainability throughout his artistic journey. Mike Paora is of Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Tūwharetoa descent and resides in Whangārei.

Wellington-based artist Stacey Fraser-Allen creates vibrant, playful, and nostalgic works inspired by New Zealand’s culture and architecture. Her art celebrates the memories tied to homes, places, and communities — the spaces that shape who we are. Alongside her well-loved illustrations, she creates acrylic sculptures that bring her drawings to life in a new way. These layered sculptures play with light and shadow, their reflections casting drawings onto the wall behind and inviting viewers to experience her stories from a fresh perspective. Stacey also takes on bespoke commissions and commercial collaborations, working with clients to turn their meaningful spaces and memories into lasting works of art.

Susan works from her studio in Waipu , Northland. Her recent works celebrate a fluid landscape occupied by a small but significant life force. Susan works with mixed media to bring shimmer, light and changing perspective to the scene . She enjoys collage. Susan has had several solo exhibitions ,displayed work in group shows , and enjoys commissions.

Susan’s approach is a vibrant one, where colour serves as an essential element in expressing the energy within her artworks. When working on paper, Susan pushes the boundaries of fluid paint tolerance, resulting in an explosion of vivid colours, intricate patterns, and captivating shapes. Susan’s artistic style has evolved to encompass various mediums and genres. Drawing inspiration from a stormy sky, the world of fashion, and the mesmerising beauty of autumn landscapes, Susan is based in the vibrant Wellington region and has had the privilege of being represented in numerous galleries and events across New Zealand, Australia, and Singapore.

Bold and primal, SWEATS creates expressive work that’s rooted in feeling over formula. His pieces begin in abstraction—colour, rhythm, and motion—before faces, figures, and features like eyes, lips, and teeth emerge. The process is instinctive, driven by emotion and energy, aiming to strike the senses first and let meaning follow. At times, the effect edges into synaesthesia—where colour feels like sound and texture carries mood—inviting viewers to connect with the layered, unfiltered experience of being human in their own way. What comes through is a mix of off-beat energy, unusual details, and pure experimentation. Collisions and impulsive imperfections come together to form faces that don’t quite conform but feel raw, alive, and full of character. There’s beauty in the unrefined—a kind of truth that’s as much about what’s left open as what’s intentional. Working across studio, street, and screen, SWEATS plays with high-contrast colour, gestural mark-making, sharp stencils, and fractured typography to keep things pulsing and untamed. Music is a constant driver, shaping the rhythm and movement of each piece and bringing physicality into the process. Textures echo the grit of photocopiers, faxes, and lo-fi print culture, with a playful undercurrent that keeps it all loose and energetic. With a background in painting, illustration, and design, SWEATS works across a variety of media—from fine art and murals to print, sculpture, and collectables. Over the past two decades, he’s shaped a creative life across Aotearoa, Australia, the UK, and Asia. Now based in Grey Lynn, Tāmaki Makaurau, he works from a shared studio and co-runs Eyes On Fire Gallery—an artist-led space centred on collaboration, community, and making things happen.

At the heart of Tessa’s work is the dynamic interaction of sliced panels in her approach to composition. Using her “paint, slice and re-create” technique, she paints full panels, slices them into segments, and then rearranges them, revealing fresh perspectives and unexpected depth. Her aptly named “slat painting” style, inspired by nature, her bush surroundings, and the places she visits, blends abstraction with harmony. Each piece invites viewers to experience familiar forms in new and engaging ways.

Tim is a New Zealand-based, internationally represented artist exploring the interplay between geometric design and figurative form, inviting viewers to experience the fuzzy boundaries between abstraction and representation. Described as a modern synthesis of Op Art (optical), Pop Art, geometric abstraction, and new media art, Tim's work fuses traditional techniques with modern-day fabrication processes. His multidisciplinary practice includes paintings, lightworks, weavings, digital, and immersive art. Tim has enjoyed success in New Zealand and abroad, participating in group shows, fairs, solo exhibitions, collaborations, and residencies in a number of destinations including Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Los Angeles. He works out of his own studio and gallery in central Wellington, New Zealand.

With over three decades of experience behind the lens, Tracy Stamatakos creates works that blur the boundaries between photography, drawing, and painting. Using single-capture long-exposure techniques, she paints with light, colour, and contrast directly in camera, crafting atmospheric images that feel more like memories or emotions than literal landscapes. Her work is not just a visual record of Aotearoa’s dramatic beauty; it is an emotional response to it. Each piece becomes a deconstructed expression of presence and place, balancing mood, movement, and form. “Each piece is both a reflection and a response, an invitation for the viewer not only to observe, but to feel.”

Tyla Bow is a New Zealand–based multidisciplinary artist specialising in sculpture and photography. She holds a Fine Arts degree from Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland, along with diplomas in Marine Biology and Scuba Instruction. An avid diving instructor, Tyla teaches others how to explore and sustainably interact with New Zealand’s marine ecosystems. Guided by her passions, her work is shaped by ongoing learning, discovery, and curiosity. Her practice explores the fragility and dynamic nature of the environment, creating one-of-a-kind pieces that embrace materiality, using recycled materials in her processes of transformation.

Valentina was born in the Soviet Union, in a place that eventually became independent Ukraine. The beautiful port city of Odessa shaped her formative years during school and college. There, exceptional mentors helped mould the young artist’s worldview and defined her signature style—one that leans toward symbolism and theatricality.

Based in her Hamilton studio, Finnish ceramic artist Wilhelmiina Drummond crafts sculptures that inhabit the space between the ethereal and the whimsical. Since 2016, her practice has centred on Raku, an ancient Japanese firing technique defined by its volatile nature and striking, temperamental finishes. For Wilhelmiina, the peril of the process is a vital collaborator; it adds a raw, elemental depth to her explorations of cultural myths and histories while providing a grounding contrast to her more playful, light-hearted forms.

Xavier Hart is an award-winning Auckland-based contemporary artist working between painting and sculpture. He builds textured, layered surfaces that blur the line between two and three dimensions, using colour to create immersive, emotive works. His practice explores movement and materiality, with each piece shaped through a process of carving, layering, and refining to reveal depth and energy within the surface. Inspired by his travels, his titles reference landscapes, cultures, and lived experiences that subtly guide interpretation while leaving space for the viewer’s own response.

Zoey Singh is a self-taught contemporary artist and architectural designer from Auckland, New Zealand, with Samoan, Mongolian, and Fijian-Indian heritage. Raised in a culturally diverse household, she found clarity and self-expression through art. Inspired by her ancestry, modern cubism, and artists such as Picasso, Kahlo, Van Gogh, and Basquiat, her work blends abstract and contemporary forms. Music deeply influences her creative process, reflected in her artist moniker “Feel the Vibe.” Drawing from vivid dreams and recurring eye motifs, Zoey’s symbolic, emotive artworks explore identity, emotion, and human connection.