Last month I stopped in at the Hastings City Art Gallery, where I saw a superb show ‘Secret Garden’ (on until 10 March). There was a buzz of recognition as I picked out one of Peter Quest’s distinctive black and white script paintings. Peter is a regular at King Street Artworks in Masterton, and since his solo show at Aratoi in 2011, he has been gaining a national profile, as evidenced by his inclusion in this show. He was one of 21 other “highly regarded outsider artists” chosen by curator Ruth McLean.
'Outsider art’, which includes self taught artists, and those working in creative spaces and prison settings, has gained prominence in New Zealand over the past decade, and is now becoming sought after by overseas collectors, and included in international exhibitions.
Those wishing to start collecting in – or simply experience - this fascinating field of art would do well to visit King Street Artworks which, since August last year, has been located in new premises at the top end of Queen St. Co-ordinator Ian Chapman says these are a big improvement on the old premises: “It’s a lot warmer, and it’s more connected to the community. We are seeing a lot more people coming into the gallery space to see shows, and new faces coming in to work on their art.
” With a direct line of sight to QEII Park, and proximity to Aratoi, the venue has 45-65 people attending daily. Funding for the creative space comes mainly from Wairarapa DHB, the Thomas George Macarthy Trust, and Masterton Trust House, with other community funding groups involved too.
I step into the bright new gallery space and am confronted by UFOs, rock music icons, and words and images that wrestle with the "issues of living / of life". I must be in a Stephen Duncan exhibition: sure enough, this is Stephen’s new show called ‘Obsessions’. Some of the imagery, like flying saucers, is familiar from his solo Aratoi show last year. He talks of "spaceship King Street", indicating the special place and special people there. Other themes are new like the portraits of rock icon Patti Smith and German heavy metal front woman Doro Pesch. "My obsessions include doing art at King Street, and reflect a fascination with gutsy rock music path-seekers and non-conformists, and historical risk-takers / social change-agents, like Karl Marx," says Stephen.
He first encountering Patti Smith's music as a university student in the 1970s: “I see her and Doro Pesch as women who have gone against the grain,” he says, pointing out that Smith was the first woman to front a rock group, the Patti Smith Group. “It was a challenge to see if I could do portraits. I was associated with the National Portrait Gallery at one time, and I found the process really engaged me.”
His portrait of her is suitably intense for a woman described as the ‘godmother of punk’ - an artist who moved fluidly through the mediums of music, poetry, art and photography. Commenting on the cross on her forehead, Stephen says she had a Christian upbringing but later rejected organized religion and formed her own concept of spirituality, a freedom that resonates with him. He likes the combination of strength, vulnerability and melancholy in photographs of her.
Another King Street artist, Chris Carew, has an exhibition at Aratoi’s Wesley Wing, called ‘Something different’. Chris has worked on paper in a variety of media but with the common thread of highly detailed science fiction imagery. Chris has a great technical command, and is able to produce work that is vivid and menacing in some cases, and delicate and ethereal in others. Throughoutl, he has managed to capture a strong sense of flow and dynamic movement, making his works surge with energy.
King Street Artworks is open to the public from Monday to Thursday, 10am to 3pm, and at the same times just for women on Fridays. On Saturday, it is open 10am-2pm. Obsession – Stephen Duncan, at King Street Artworks until 27 February. On show at Aratoi: Something different – Chris Carew, until 24 March; Across the Ditch - Maelyn Charlton, until 10 March; The Crystal Chain Gang - Fancy Fools Flight, until 17 March; Additions - recent acquisitions to the Collection, until 10 March; Catherine Manchester, until 24 March.
