Category: Art

  • Conversation and Cloth

    This coming Friday is the next instalment of our monthly series of textile talks. Conversation and Cloth is a series that explores the textile collection that is housed upstairs at the Regent Theatre in Māwhera Greymouth. This time we are going to be looking at how art and artists are represented in the collection. It…

  • Murals at Pompeii

    Nearly 2000 years ago, the Italian city of Pompeii was obliterated by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The blast covered the settlement with ash and pumice that preserved, sometimes in remarkable detail, the details of everyday life in this Roman city. Over decades the site has been the focus of archaeology with astonishing finds showing…

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Each blog is accompanied by a Spotify playlist, a curated selection of audio that relates in some way to the blog and, occasionally, to current events, such as this week’s eclipse. Paid subscribers to Spotify will hear all the songs in the playlist on the player above or in your own app while free subscriptions…

  • Textiles from the Indian Subcontinent

    If you have ever fancied learning something about the fascinating textiles from India check out a free online course. Run by the MAP Academy the course is just one of the variety on offer that include art history, sculpture, archeology and architecture. This course looks at textiles, through videos, illustrations and texts, in their broad…

  • Yarn at Reefton

    On Tuesday the 21st May Reefton is holding its annual fibre day. This year the theme is “Journeys in Yarn” and the speakers will be talking about their experiences as crafters and artists, or about trips they have taken because of their love of yarn. The event is on from 10m until 3pm and there…

  • The Waistcoat

    The Waistcoat

    William “Bill” Sutton was a painter from Christchurch Ōtautahi, who studied and worked in New Zealand and in the UK. Currently on show in the Suter Gallery is one of his pieces “Still life with Waistcoat”. This painting is of a tweed outfit against a moody blue background. The brushstrokes give the impression of woven…

  • Chromite

    Chromite is an ore that contains the mineral “chrome”, used to make colourfast dyes and paints. In the 19th Century chrome was recognised as a useful mordant for wool dyeing and for leather tanning. It was widely used to make the colour “Chrome Green” for artists and is still in use today. Chromite was mined…

  • Wool Day 2024 – Hokitika

    This weekend the Cool Little Town of Hokitika held its Wool Day. The event is held in the Heritage Park near the airport in town. Here there are collections of vintage and antique machinery ranging from steam engines to fire trucks. There is also a big collection of sewing machines and looms, a private collection…

  • Jacquelyn Fang Greenbank

    Jacquelyn Fang Greenbank is a New Zealand artist who uses materials to explore the complexities of identity and heritage. Jacquelyn is of Chinese and European heritage, and her work often uses food as a way to convey subtle and witty messages. Last night, Saturday 23rd March, the Left Bank Art Gallery hosted a “Show-and-Tell” of…

  • Tapestry – but not as you know it

    The Dovecot Studio in Edinburgh is currently showing a tapestry at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London’s South Kensington for International Women’s Day. The piece is designed by Christine Borland and was woven at the Dovecot from cotton, linen and nylon. It is based on the Edinburgh Seven, women who matriculated in 1869 as…