The Good Oil – Details, episodes & analysis

For this episode, I visited Dame Robin White earlier this year at her home and studio in Masterton.

Robin is one of our most distinguished painters, holding, among other qualifications, a Diploma in Fine Arts from the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland. She has been appointed as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to painting and print making and has been the recipient of numerous awards including the New Zealand Arts Icon Award.

Her work is held in numerous public and private collections including Te Papa Tongarewa, The Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, The National Gallery of Victoria, The Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History, The National Gallery of Australia and The Dunedin Public Art Gallery. She is also the subject of several books, including the excellent ‘Something Is Happening Here - Robin White’ by Sarah Farrar, Jill Trevelyan and Nina Tonga, and has exhibited widely, including a major retrospective show in 2022 and 2023.

She is represented by McLeavey Gallery in Te Whanganui a Tara or Two Rooms gallery in Auckland.

There are images of the paintings and tapa cloth that we talk about on The Good Oil Dame Robin White Instagram Post for your reference.

You’ll hear Robin talk about the power of working collaboratively, her time living in Kiribati, her first encounter with Sam Hunt and their resulting friendship, how geometry and tone sit at the heart of some of her most famous paintings, the Gaylene Preston film about her that is currently in production, and you know that question I ask everyone about ‘what work or artist work they would love to live with? Well, Robin has a particularly insightful answer to that.

In this episode I visit Gavin Hurley at his home and studio in Grey Lynn, Auckland.

Gavin graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland. His works have been exhibited at, or are held in collections of, the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū and The Suter Te Aratoi o Whakatū, in Nelson. He is represented by Melanie Roger Gallery in Tāmaki Makaurau and Space Gallery in Napier.

There are images of the paintings and sculptures that we talk about on The Good Oil Gavin Hurley Instagram Post for your reference.

You’ll hear Gavin talk about his inability to paint portraits of any living subjects, a misguided aspiration to be more business like (that nevertheless lead to a great body of work), the close and useful relationship between collage and painting in his practice, his love of old books and their paper stocks as reference and material, how mutton chop sideburns and beards make for great shapes to paint, and how revisiting works in preparation for a show at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery makes him realise how different life was when he painted them.

In this episode I visit Hamish Coleman in his studio in Otepoti.

Hamish graduated from the Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honors in 2012, and has been the artist in residence at the Dunedin School of Art. He has exhibited throughout New Zealand, with his work held in public and private collections. Hamish's work walks a fascinating line of presenting what feels like a new, fresh approach to painting, while simultaneously capturing a sense of the somehow familiar New Zealand you’ve always known.

There are images of the paintings that we talk about on The Good Oil Hamish Coleman Instagram Post.

In this episode you’ll hear Hamish speak about finding unique, painterly source material in video stills, the presence of an Aotearoa Gothic aesthetic in his work, a want to include the equivalent of white noise into paintings, the use of interference paint pigments, how hard he works to make the work look effortless and the ongoing drive to paint motivated by not quite being able to put his finger on what he is trying to capture.

Links

Hamish Coleman Instagram Page

Season Gallery Hamish Coleman Artist Web Page

The Good Oil Instagram

In this episode I visit Gretchen Albrecht at her recent show at Two Rooms gallery in Auckland.

After graduating from the The Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland with an Honors Degree in Painting in 1963, Gretchen quickly established what has become one of the most enduring and impressive abstract practices in NZ, with her much celebrated West Coast paintings and Hemisphere works, and continues to evolve her practice 60 years later.

Her work is held in numerous public and private collections including Te Papa, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, The Fletcher Collection, The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, The University of Auckland Art Collection and the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Gretchen is a Francis Hodgkins Fellow and was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2000 for services to painting.

There are images of the paintings we talk about on The Good Oil Gretchen Albrecht Instagram post for your reference.

In this episode you'll hear Gretchen speak about the influence of her builder father and seamstress mother, being taught by Louise Henderson, the stored experiences of life that she draws on in her practice, her advice to young artists, the possibilities that different shaped stretchers offer and the secret figurative references she includes in her work for her to enjoy.

Links

Gretchen Albrecht Instagram

The Good Oil Instagram

Two Rooms Gretchen Albrecht Artist Web Page

Nadine Milne Gallery Gretchen Albrecht Artist Web Page

In this episode I visit Imogen Taylor in her studio in Henderson, West Auckland.

Imogen has a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Post Graduate Diploma of Fine Arts from the Elam School of Arts at the University of Auckland. Her work is held in numerous public and private collections including the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, The Fletcher Collection and The Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. In 2017 Imogen was the artist in residence at McCahon House, and in 2019 was the recipient of the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship.

There are images of the paintings we talk about on The Good Oil Imogen Taylor Instagram post for your reference.

In this episode you’ll hear Imogen talk about how she aspires to embody the same qualities that are reflected in the materials that she uses, her celebration of NZ regionalism in her practice by applying a drag sensibility to it, her clear appreciation for modernism, wanting to protect illegibility in painting, how heartbreaking she finds parting with work when it leaves the studio, she shamelessly reveals herself to be a colour nerd and not a very good painter.

Links

Imogen Taylor Instagram Page

Micheal Lett Imogen Taylor Artist Web Page

The Good Oil Instagram Page

In this episode I visit Kirstin Carlin in her studio in Mt Roskill, Auckland.

Kirstin has a Master of Fine Arts from the Glasgow School of Art.Her work is held in numerous public and private collections, and she has exhibited widely locally and internationally, including at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki and the Dunedin Public Art Gallery.

She is represented in NZ by Melanie Roger Gallery in Auckland, and regularly exhibits with The Central Art Gallery in Christchurch.

There are images of the works we talk about on The Good Oil Kirstin Carlin Instagram post for your to reference.

In this episode you’ll hear Kirstin speak about how she is influenced by slightly obscure Scottish painters, how much work never makes it out of the studio, how a throw away exercise in problem solving opened up unexpected new approaches to painting, a constant awareness of colour combinations the world presents, obsessing over Matisse… and some of her unlikely reference material.

Links

Kirstin Carlin Instagram Page

Melanie Roger Gallery Kirstin Carlin Artist Web Page

The Central Art Gallery Kirstin Carlin Artist Web Page

The Good Oil Instagram Page

In this episode I speak with an honorary NZ painter that holds an Australian passport, Jude Rae.

Jude has a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from the University of Sydney, a Graduate Diploma in Professional Art Studies from the University of NSW and a Master of Arts in Painting from the University of Canterbury.

Her work is held in numerous NZ and International public and private collections, including The Fletcher Collection, The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhtu, The Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Taimaki and Te Papa. She is represented in NZ by Two Rooms gallery in Auckland.

In this episode you’ll hear Jude speak about her formative and influential time spent in Christchurch, how doubt in her painting is a baseline state for her, her exploration of the complexities of vision mixed with our other senses and trying to capture that in her work and the unforgettable experience of driving through a Colin McCahon landscape for the first time.

Links

Jude Rae Instagram

Two Rooms Jude Rae Artist Page

The Good Oil Instagram Page

In this episode I visit Dick Frizzell in his home and studio in Mt Eden, Auckland.

Dick is some six decades into a practice that is as diverse in output as it is long. He is responsible for some of the most iconic contemporary images of NZ art that reflect a drive of restless creativity that embraces artistic impression and applied art.

Dick holds a Diploma of Fine Art from the Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury. He has had countless exhibitions in the last 50 years and has also authored or illustrated several books. His work is held in numerous public and private collections including The Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, Te Papa, The Fletcher Collection, The Ballin Collection and at your cousins house.

Dick is represented by Gow Langsford in Auckland, Page Galleries in Wellington, The Central Art Gallery in Ototahi and Milford Galleries in Dunedin and Queenstown.

In this episode you’ll hear Dick talk about how landscape painting offered a new subject and important salvation at a critical point in his life and practice, how his time at Ilam in the early 1960’s intersected with some of Aotearoa’s most influential painters… the steady flow of cease and desist letters arriving in his letterbox, the presence of Colin McCahon in his paintings… his fear of professionalism and how dumb the word ‘cauli’ is.

Links

Dick Frizzell Instagram

Gow Langsford Dick Frizzell Artist Web

PageMilford Galleries Dick Frizzell Artist Web Page

The Central Art Gallery Dick Frizzell Artist Web Page

It’s All About The Image book

The Good Oil Instagram Page

In this episode I visit Arie Hellendoorn in his home and studio in Lower Hutt, Wellington.

Arie holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Massey University. He has exhibited in galleries in Australia and NZ for over 15 years and is held in several public and private collections including the Chris Parkin Collection and the Wellington City Council Collection. He is represented by Suite Gallery in Wellington and Auckland.

You’ll hear Arie talk about how he came to his hybrid approach that mixes representation, abstraction and portraiture, his interest in the microscopic and human anatomy informing his practice, the careful optical considerations of colour and colour mixing to create the effects he wants, the diverse range of unlikely tools he uses for applying paint and sourcing his favourite brushes by stealing them from his daughters watercolour set.

Links

Arie Hellendoorn Instagram Page

Suite Gallery Arie Hellendoorn Artist Page

The Good Oil Instagram Page

In this episode I visit Stanley Palmer in his home and studio in Mt Eden, Auckland.

Stanley has established one of the most enduring practices in NZ, now into his 7th decade of painting and print making. He has been exhibiting regularly since 1958 including in NZ, Australia, Italy, Japan and India. In 2002 he was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to fine art.

His work is held in countless public and private collections including Te Papa, The University of Auckland art collection, the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu and the The Govett Brewster Art GalleryStanley is represented by Melanie Roger Gallery in Auckland, Solander Gallery in Wellington and The Central Gallery in Christchurch

In this episode you’ll hear Stanley talk about the influence of writing in his practice, the inspiration of encountering tapa cloths at the Auckland Museum early in his career, his distrust of commercially manufactured paints and painting water colours for his aunts to get out of having to instead mow their lawns.

Stanley Palmer Wikipedia WebPage

Melanie Roger Gallery Stanley Palmer Artist Web Page

Solander Gallery Stanley Palmer Artist Web Page

The Central Gallery Stanley Palmer Artist Web Page

The Good Oil Instagram Page