Greetings friends, artists, and newcomers –

We would like to take this opportunity to welcome onboard some new faces to the gallery. Rebecca Simpson has taken over as the Gallery Administrator meaning that we have said goodbye to Charlotte Anderson who is off with overseas travels. We would also like to welcome onboard Tim Melville who is our all round helper.

With Christmas creeping up we have new works in G2 including a fabulous range of brooches from Niki Hastings-McFall. Check out our featured works to learn more.

We are also greatly looking forward to our next exhibitions, with Ans Westra in FHE and Ann Robinson in G2, commencing mid November.

Artists News

Congratulations to Jason Hall who has just recently had a successful show ‘Stake’ at Crescent gallery, Otara, which has shown his move into larger scale sculptural installation.

‘Described by Hall as ‘Contemporary Urban Pakeha Wood Carvings’ Stake is a first for Hall - a move from the intimate and personal nature of the jewllery he is at home with to the unknown of installation.’ Crescent Gallery, Sept 05

Hall is also participating in a Pasifika Styles art Auction alongside fellow Fhe artists Chris Charteres and Niki Hastings-McFall.

A big congratulations to Kelcy Taratoa who has been featured in Kiwa Films’ Kete Aronui – series 3’.

Elizabeth McClure who’s currently exhibiting in G2, her show has been greatly received. The exhibition runs through to November 22nd so please if you haven’t been in yet come along, it is well worth the trip. Here is an explanation of the exhibition in Elizabeths’ words…

This series of work - ‘ishii’, began in Japan in 1986 when I lived and worked there. For some time, I have wanted to revisit the idea and decided to develop a new body of work around it for the current exhibition.
Here, I look anew at the idea with the distance of both time and place …………and from a new perspective in my life.

For me…. these ’stones’ represent in colour and form the experiences, memories, places and individual characters in my recent life. I am also interested in the way these ‘individuals’ relate to each other and within their larger collective groups.

They hold with the notion of ‘no two the same’ …each unique in its shape, colour and character.

They are however, not solid stones or forms…. rather, these are hollow - open forms reflecting the process of their making, each holding one or many of my interests.

And yet, they are inspired by the character of stones and pebbles we might find all over our world. Stones we pick up, hold for a moment, perhaps carry or place in a pocket to keep and later hold and observe… the stone holding the memory

Thank you Elizabeth and thank you readers.

Greetings friends, artists, and newcomers -

FHE Galleries is pleased to welcome you to our site and to share with you our latest news.

Congratulations to the organizers of ‘The Louise Perkins Foundation’ in the success of their inaugural Art Auction, which raised upwards of $300,000. All of our artists’ works in the auction well exceeded their reserves with Ann Robinson’s glass vessel fetching $32,000 and Emily Siddell’s glass lei $13,000.

Congratulations also to those involved in the smooth-running of the inaugural ‘Auckland Art Fair’ from 2-4 September. We were very pleased to have been involved in the event and hope to exhibit again in future years.

ARTIST NEWS

This years’ winner of the Acquisitive Award at the Rotorua Artists Awards is, we are proud to relay, our very own Valerie Parkes. Valerie’s skills were recognized for her delicate and intricate kete.

The current exhibition, Niki Hastings-McFall’s ‘Polynisation’ opened at the beginning of the month, and co-inciding with the first day of Spring Niki has re-created a furnished sitting room, complete with armchair, TV, table, phone and lamp, in her trademark faux floral multi-coloured palette.

Niki is also currently showing, along with Jason Hall, in the group exhibition at Corbans Estate Arts Centre. The artists have created works in response to a poem by Paula Green titled ‘The North Western Line’; also the name given to the exhibition which runs until 2 October.

Jason Hall will also be showing in Masterton’s Aratoi gallery this month, the last exhibition of the show ‘Ornament’.

NIKI HASTINGS-MCFALL ‘POLYNISATION’

The concept behind FHE, G2’s current exhibition ‘Polynisation’ is explained to us by its artist Niki Hastings-McFall:

A while ago I heard an interview on National radio with a Samoan social worker. She was called in to a Polynesian family in South Auckland to assess their situation. The Pakeha social worker who had requested her help felt the children were not cared for adequately. This opinion was founded on the basis that there was very little furniture in the house and they appeared to be living in poverty. The Samoan social worker investigated and found that the children were well cared for. They were well-fed, clothed sent to school regularly and above all they were loved and treasured. They were only poor in the material sense.

On my last trip to Samoa whilst travelling through Upolu and especially Savai’i I frequently noted fales (homes without walls )that were clear of furnishings. Save for maybe a wooden pillow or (in one case) a tv on a beer crate the fales were clear of clutter or any Western notion of furniture.

I am a Pakeha- Samoan or Afakasi (Samoan transliteration of ‘half-caste’ with derisory implications). I was born here in Aotearoa and raised by my maternal Pakeha grandparents. Through my work I investigate the similarities and differences between the two cultures that constitute my make-up. I make work which speaks of the liminal spaces occupied by people of mixed heritage such as myself.

This series ‘Polynisation’ (with acknowledgement to Jim Vivieaere and Ella Henry for their wording) utilises furniture similar to that which I grew up with in the 60’s and 70’s in Titirangi, West Auckland. Life in the ‘burbs’! The synthetic lei blooms smother the furniture, inexorably creeping, covering and colonising the Western objects of everyday domestic life. The lei is a symbol of welcome and honour. Here I have returned to the Pakeha upbringing of my childhood and created a fantasy environment in which the disparate parts of myself have come together in acknowledgement and celebration of both my cultures. Through this work I revisit the past and redress some of the fundamental imbalances that coloured it.

In a wider sense this work also becomes a metaphor for the indomitable spirit of my father’s birthplace. The colonised have in turn colonised the colonisers! The Samoan people have generally welcomed the European settlers and their ways (eg; Christianity). Rather than become overwhelmed or destroyed they have assimilated some Western ways into their own culture and re-fashioned them until they have become an integral part of the fa’a Samoa. While not denying in any way many of the negative results of colonialism’s impact upon Samoa, this work celebrates the Samoan culture’s vibrancy, its ability and capacity to adapt, evolve and survive within increasingly complex local and global contexts.

This series of work first exhibited at Bartley-Nees gallery, Wellington in June. After FheG2 it will travel to Melbourne, then Paris and onto UK (in different formats).

Thank you for taking the time to catch up on FHE Galleries news and we look forward to your next visit to our galleries. If you want to be included in our mail-out or emailed about upcoming shows please contact us:

FHE Galleries:
P: 302 4108
F: 302 4109
E: fhe_galleries@xtra.co.nz

G2 FHE Galleries:
P: 302 4110
F: 302 4109
E: fheg2@xtra.co.nz

Greetings friends, artists, and newcomers -

G2 FHE Galleries is pleased to welcome you to our site and to share with you our latest news. We wish to promote two upcoming events – an Art Auction for ‘The Louise Perkins Foundation’ and the inaugural ‘Auckland Art Fair’.

The Louise Perkins Foundation is a recently formed charitable trust inspired by breast cancer patient Louise Perkins. The auction’s proceeds will go towards improving the wellbeing of breast cancer patients. Included in the auction from the FHE Galleries collection are works by Emily Siddell, Stephen Bradbourne, Valerie Parkes, Elizabeth McClure, Chris Charteris, Marti Friedlander, and Russell Moses. All works will be available for viewing from 13-19 August at the Union Fish Company Building, 118 Quay Street, Auckland. Bidding in the auction is to occur online, also from 13-19 August. All bids must be registered online at www.sweetlouise.co.nz

G2 FHE Galleries is proud to be associated with the Auckland Art Fair this September 2005. This is the first event of its kind – showcasing the work of New Zealand artists to a local and international audience. Dealer galleries from around the Country have been selected to exhibit inside the Events Pavilion marquee in the Britomart precinct of downtown Auckland. The event will be open to the public from 10am - 6pm Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd, and from 10am – 4pm Sunday 4th. We warmly invite you to join us at the event where we will be highlighting new works by Chris Charteris, Emily Siddell, Niki Hastings-McFall, Russell Moses, Harry Watson, and Elizabeth McClure. All works are for sale and tickets will be $15 each, available at the door.

On a final note, G2 FHE Galleries has had a change in staff. Charlotte Anderson has replaced Samantha Mitchell as the Galleries Administrator and interviews are currently underway for a permanent replacement.

ARTIST NEWS

Congratulations to sculptor Juliette Milne whose first solo exhibition ‘Simulacrum’ was greatly received, two thirds of which sold on the opening night. The exhibition runs 2-31 August and for those of you missed out on the opening night, the artist is accepting commissions. Here is an explanation of the exhibition in Juliette’s words:

For several years I have researched the achievements of women. In their traditional domestic role, particularly in New Zealand society, their achievements were often only recorded in their personal diaries. To pursue my research I took a more personal journey and looked at the lives of my own women forebears. In doing so I came to inherit a collection of antique laces from my Mother’s family. These laces were imbued with their presence from the fact they had worn, washed, treasured, cared for, and some of, slept with them.

Working in resin and using the inherited laces I created what I interpreted as medals to those women. My works took the form of hollow spheres, containers of memories. Some were strung like pearls, elegant and delicate just as I felt an award to those women should be.

Wanting to make a shift in my work I looked at the linen threads of the lace and they led me to the flax plants then to the pods of the flax which I metaphorically referenced to those women. Carrying and nurturing the seeds of the future.

The resultant body of work, SIMULACRUM, has a strong aesthetic relationship to the flax pods. Each pod also carries the embossed pattern of the lace like a finger print or a genetic code. While the seeds reference the future the lace talks of the past.

Each work is totally unique, just as the women of my research. Created individually and cast in bronze by the lost wax method, they are one-off pieces. Most are wall mounted at ‘head height’ or stand tall as do the stems of pods on the flax plant.

Thank you Juliette, and thank you readers. If you want to be included in our mail-out or emailed about upcoming shows please contact us:

FHE Galleries:
P: 302 4108
F: 302 4109
E: fhe_galleries@xtra.co.nz

G2 FHE Galleries:
P: 302 4110
F: 302 4109
E: fheg2@xtra.co.nz

Winter has arrived and the umbrella is our new best friend and the heater replaces the dog/cat at our feet. Changes, both seasonally and within FHE galleries. The G2 FHE galleries sees the departure of
Melanie Hogg who takes up a position with ENJOY Public Art Gallery in Wellington.
Samantha Mitchell joins the FHE Galleries as the new G2 Gallery administrator.
Samantha is an Elam Graduate, who as worked for many Auckland based dealer galleries.

FHE Galleries have launched this website www.fhegalleries.com.
The website provides information and images on contemporary artists exhibited in both FHE/G2 galleries. This will continually be updated with exhibition dates, Gallery News and archives of past shows.

G2 FHE Galleries is proud to be associated with The Auckland Art Fair 1- 4 September 2005 . We will be taking a selection of FHE/G2 Galleries Artist to showcase at this prestigious four day International event.

Darryn George’s solo exhibition titled Maui Ki Mohi (from Maui to Moses) was a highly successful sell -out show. A catalogue with an essay by Gregory O’Brien delves into the George’s practice taking us on a journey through his geometric abstractions of modernist paintings, to more traditional use of Maori symbolism. The catalogue is available from the FHE Galleries / Parsons Books.

Congratulations to sculptor Chris Charteris, who’s solo show at FHE Galleries was a
Sell - out. The exhibition titled “beyond the clouds of red” has a moving poem inspired by Chris
Sculpture’s by Niuean Poet/Artist John Pule. The New Zealand Herald reviewed the show and a
catalogue with Chris Charteris in conversation with Kathryn Webster, is also available.

The Art Market appears buoyant and vibrant as ever, even in this cool climate. Gallery goers are flocking to shows making them the sell – out successes we have experienced. It is always great to meet our clients and have them share in the FHE Galleries Artist’s opening night.

ARTIST NEWS
Harry Watson’s new solo exhibition titled “Shelf Life” opens 1-30 June at G2Fhe Galleries.
“Shelf Life” features ten new works from the talented Harry Watson that are based on historical New Zealand figures with malevolent pasts. These hand carved caricatures harkens back to renaissance patronage altar pieces, with there delicate detailing and personalized colouration. These remarkable comical figurines encapsulate the raw beginnings of our earlier fore fathers.
Henry Williams- Translated the English version of the Treaty of Waitangi into Maori. He was also a pivotal character in gaining signatures of noted Maori Chiefs.
Williams William’s- An English missionary who spoke fluent Maori and made the first translation of the Bible in to Maori. Bringing religion to the indigenous people of New Zealand.

Congratulations to Gregory O’Brien for winning the best AIM Children’s Book Award for Non –Fiction, with “Welcome to the South sea’s: Contemporary New Zealand Art for Young People” The cover features “Terraphim” a work by Artist Harry Watson.

G2 FhE Galleries Welcomes Kelcy Tataroa (Ngaiterangi, Ngati Raukawa) for a solo exhibition.
Titled “The Urbanites PART 2” which opens 4-30 July 2005. Kelcy Tataroa was featured in the
ON SHOW exhibition held at the Dowse Museum in Lower Hutt, and is reviewed in this months Art New Zealand. His work explores popular culture, personal identity, and what it means to grow up Maori in the city. This graphic large scale works are samplers of popular culture with free floating images contained in an urban setting. Images that are readily recognizable by any T.V. watching child or adult. Larger than life comic hero’s leap over roof tops to nowhere.. investigating a grey
cityscape looking for the exit. Self portraits are also a focus of Kelcy’s mixed up world he can be seen listening to music.. or merely observing the events of his internal dialogue

Juliette Milnes joins the G2 FHE Galleries program for August with a solo exhibition of new work.

FHE GALLERIES-

Following the successful two sell out shows FHE Galleries has a group show for the Autumn exhibition 16- June- 30 July -This will feature Ethnological pieces, glass, work by Ralph Hotere, Colin McCahon, Chris Charteris, Darryn George and more….

If you want to be included in our mailout or emailed for shows comming up at G2/FHE Galleries email us
fheg2@xtra.co.nz or fhe_galleries@xtra.co.nz

I am proud to launch this site for FHE Galleries. It has been created using Wordpress, an award winning open source personal web publishing system mainly used for “blog” sites. This allows gallery staff to easily upload gallery news and current show information. The intention is that the site will develop into an online catalogue/archive of gallery activity.

Each artist represented by FHE and G2 has their own personal page that includes a selection of biographical information, images, and relevant excerpts from their C.V.

I hope this site will become a unique and useful source of information for researchers, members of the press, patrons of the arts, artists, and all others who share an interest in New Zealand and Pacific art.

Rowan Wernham