There were plenty of Ponsonby faces at the Sydney opening of Evan Woodruffe’s exhibition at Gallery9, where he showed alongside two other Uptown Auckland artists Reece King and Grace Wright.
Evan’s partner, Jeanne Clayton of Ray White Ponsonby, attended the opening, along with fellow Ray White agent Maxine Lees, holidaying in Bondi with husband John. Architect Kara Moeller and Gervais Laird, who recently moved from Ponsonby to Sydney for Gervais to take
a position with Studio Canal, couldn’t help adding a Woodruffe work to their collection. Also moving from our ‘hood to Sydney for film work, Elizabeth Topping turned up with an art group in tow.
Work wasn’t the only thing attracting Aucklanders to Sydney - Mardi Gras opened that week, bringing a horde of tight shorts to the area! Some of Ponsonby’s most handsome made it to the show, including Peter Macky and Yuri Best, and LJ Hooker agent Jason Trowbridge.
Gallery9 Director Allan Cooley is a fan of New Zealand painting, representing Auckland artist Julian Hooper and Wellington’s Jake Walker, and he’s keen to introduce Australians to our particular visual language. His gallery focuses on abstract painting, and with this triple-header of Aucklanders, he presents three different approaches to the genre over the gallery’s three rooms. In contrast with Evan’s intricate compositions, Reece King’s Silver features simplified shapes and softer tones, while Grace Wright’s Heartfelt paintings of constantly moving gestures seem to occupy a space somewhere in between.
Gallery9 will be showing at the Auckland Art Fair at The Cloud on Auckland’s waterfront in May, while Evan’s exhibition, Until Science Finds A Cure For Our Condition, Remain Medicated, opens 5 April at PAULNACHE, Gisborne. (STUDIO ART SUPPLIES)