Wellington Fringe 2003

Artists from Pablos Art Studio have been creating and selling art for 10 years.  In that time a wealth of amazing art has been produced, and some fervent collectors of ‘Pablos Art’ borne.  This exhibition, curated by Siren Maclean, exposes some of these collectors and how they became hooked.

Art is long, Life is short

To me this painting looks like an old fresco; at the time [I bought it] I was studying Byzantine Art… it reminds me of Roman Catacomb paintings. Gabrielle Evans

GABRIELLE EVANS   the collector

An artist’s house is somehow different from other houses, and their collections have a different feel about them. Gabrielle Evans’ home is brimming with art work, and the various pieces don’t fight for attention, instead together they form a sort of personal portrait of the collector. Perhaps it is the fact that Gabrielle knows personally many of the artists, or that she appreciates each piece not just aesthetically or thematically, but technically as well.  Gabrielle is ‘aiming to be a full time artist’ herself, and is studying Art History at Massey University.

GEORGINA JONES   the artist

Georgina is currently studying art at WellTec in Petone, and although she had done a short creative course at the Learning Connexion before coming to Pablos studios, she claims it was Pablos that made her “realise how important art was to my life.”

She fondly remembers Janne Thompson, one of the tutors at Pablos, as an inspiration and a source of her confidence as a painter.  They now share a similar creative philosophy which is – I do it because “it makes me feel good.”

Uncle Henri

Aunt Agatha

 Uncle Henri is the name of my grandfather.  Judith Tizard

JUDITH TIZARD   the collector

 “Technically I am the Assistant Minister for Arts, Culture, and Heritage, but I am also a New Zealander who sees New Zealanders as having something very special to say about ourselves and to each other.” Judith Tizard is a politician and after 15mins talking in her office I was filled with optimism and hope for creative New Zealanders.  Judith Tizard is one of the rare breed of individuals who buys art, not only because she likes it, but also because she believes in financially supporting working artists. “Artists need to make a living. They actively and passively enhance the way we live our lives as New Zealanders.”

Judith describes how for Anneke Cottle’s painting she entered into an ‘intense bidding war’ at one of the Pablos Auctions. She failed to secure the original piece she was bidding for, but bought a similar one. She then commissioned Anneke to paint its counterpart so that she could hang them as a pair in her office.

ANNEKE COTTLE   the artist

“Stylist surreal, with anxious overtones” is how Anneke Cottle describes her work.  Anneke delights in the energy of colour; indeed it is one of the first things you notice about her. She joined Pablos four years ago, and finds art a comfort and distraction when working through depression.  Just as we, the viewers, enjoy being transported out of our every day circumstances by the whimsy of Anneke’s creations, she also benefits from escaping into another world - a world where ungainly creatures glide effortlessly through the sky, surveying a land fertile with fruit of the imagination.

Honkey Tonk Donkey Bonk

I go to the auction each year thinking the next piece might be part of the jigsaw revealing the way he sees the world.  I’d like to have more of them…I’d like to have a whole room full of them.  Katie Chalmers

KATIE CHALMERS   the collector

Katie Chalmers is a highly trained ‘creator’ with an education bridging Musical Composition and Graphic Design; she is also a mother of two young children.   Having just moved houses, lots of her stuff is still in boxes.  Her paintings haven’t been hung on the wall yet, and with an impending family holiday to pack for, she’s feeling like the pivot around which chaos swirls.

 “I like funny things” is her response to her collection of six Jim Holthouse’s paintings, which she has purchased from four of Pablos’ Art Auctions.

JIM HOLTHOUSE   the artist

 “As an artist I care about a good future – the beginning of the Golden Age.”

Jim Holthouse’s thoughts move at a million miles a minute. When asked what inspires his art work he sites 70’s music, dramatic literature from the 1800’s, Edgar Allan Poe, Clint Eastwood in his cowboy role, and the cartoons ‘Tintin’ and ‘Lucky Luke’.   Jim joined Pablos in 1994, and in conjunction with developing his painting, he has also created a ‘horror detective mystery novel in comic form.’

Jewellery

 I bought them thinking they’d be good to give to someone as a present one day, and that was about six years ago. I’ve tried, but I just can’t part with them!  Larry McCormack

LARRY McCORMACK   the collector

A ‘Civil Service Bureaucrat in the Tax Department’ is how Larry McCormack describes his occupation, but such a description forms a subterfuge to the charisma of his humour and personality.  Larry and his partner Marge have been collecting artwork for many years.  They were collecting artwork before they met each other, and have continued to add to their collection to this present day.  This vibrant couple are aptly reflected by their art collection.  In anticipation of my visit the hall way was lined with art works, which the walls simply were not vast enough to display.

Larry bought these four pendants from Pablos when the studio and gallery were on Taranaki Street.  Larry keeps these pendants ‘in a secret box in a secret location’ and occasionally takes them out to admire them.

PAULINE JOHNS   the artist

“When I carve a piece I ask myself, would a person feel proud wearing this?’”

Pauline Johns was carving intricate inlaid pendants before she joined Pablos.  She taught herself how to carve and was influenced by other carvers who preached the importance of quality and finish.  With the encouragement and technical guidance of Pablos, Pauline is now focusing her talents on the discipline of painting.  She draws her inspiration from nature, the people around her and the things that she is passionate about.

Pool Winners Win A Beer

It’s one of those paintings you could sit a group of kids in front of, and ask them to tell the story.  Tim Walker

TIM WALKER   the collector
Tim Walker is extending his house so that he will have more walls to hang his art collection on.  At the moment artwork fills every nook and cranny, making it a more intriguing space than any gallery I have ever visited.

Tim Walker is the Director of The Dowse Art Gallery in Lower Hutt, and is also a fan of visionary and outsider art.  He bought this piece by Mathew Squire entitled ‘Pool winners win a beer’, at a Pablos auction, and he appreciates it as a scene that captures ‘the ordinary lives of ordinary people.’ He exudes enthusiasm for his diverse art collection and describes his outsider art as particularly “intriguing, open-ended and open hearted”. 

MATTHEW SQUIRE   the artist

Before joining Pablos, Mathew Squire made carvings and tapestries, he now paints in a distinctive style, which he describes as the way “it really is, not as it appears in a photograh”.  This particular painting is of a scene in a Hataitai Bar; he painted it because one of the pool players suggested he’d make a good subject.

When I asked Mathew how he usually gets an idea for a painting he replied, “I just do what I want and I can do it anytime…on the bus or train, or watching a boring TV programme… I can just do it anytime!”

Antedilurian Travelling Barometer

I saw it and immediately I had to have it. Some time later I saw him and he said ‘I’ve done a painting of it as well’… and then I brought that too.  Penny Eames

PENNY EAMES   the collector

Penny Eames is contagiously excited about Outsider Art.  She is the founding director of Arts Access in Wellington, which oversees the instigation of programmes offering creative workshops for people whom artistic expression has never really been encouraged.  The entrance to her offices welcomes the visitor with a brightly painted floor mural and a spectacular wizened sculpture over head.  The office workroom itself is alive with art; indeed, the art works outnumber the staff at least five to one.

CRAIG COWPER   the artist

“Many years ago as I was browsing through a library in Hamilton, I came upon a book on Box Sculpture.  The concept of the book was based on the fact that we live in boxes, our whole lives from cradle to the grave revolve around boxes.  People see a box and think, now what’s in that box?  We are curious creatures and must look inside the box.  The idea of making box sculptures appealed to me.  The sculptures I make are based on this concept.  By collecting discarded objects and creating works that people enjoy I feel that I have contributed to their curiosity and sense of humour.   I hope many people will be able to see and enjoy my art as much as I enjoy making them.”  label from Dowse exhibition

EXHIBITION ARCHIVES

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