In the mid-1970s, Stanley Palmer visited our house to collect the sheaves from the large bamboo stand in our garden, which he would then fashion into unique printing plates.
Now in his late 80s, Stanley is one of New Zealand’s preeminent landscape artists and an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and shows little sign of slowing down. His latest exhibition ‘Chart of Aotearoa V’ at Melanie Roger Gallery is a beautiful presentation of recent paintings.
With his palette of warm skies and toasted grass, Stanley shows us his favourite viewpoints from up and down the motu. These still landscapes have a dreamlike quality, emptied of the noise of humanity so the light and textures of the land become meditative.
Each location has been visited by this peregrine artist many times, from the Tamaki region, down to his favourite, surreal vistas of Karamea and Punakaiki on the West Coast. Each location has been distilled into his extremely clear and particular way of seeing Aotearoa, and through nearly 70 years of painting and printmaking he has managed to make us recognise it too.
What I love about our neighbourhood is being able to see a wonderfully experienced artist like Stanley, then just a couple of minutes’ walk away I can view work by artists at the start of their journey. At Studio One Toi Tu, a delicate watercolour by recent AUT graduate Li Si Rong hung like a map of watery constellations. On a nearby windowsill, Rong’s bulbous, shiny ceramics balanced their parts precariously, reaching for the light.
With around 20 public and dealer galleries in our ‘hood, we are surrounded by treasure! Break your routine to wander through some with a friend (and a coffee in between to discuss) before the galleries close for January. It is invigorating to see that during a difficult year for many, artists have been doing what they do best – making great art.
EVAN WOODRUFFE, Studio Art Supplies www.studioart.co.nz
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Published: November 2023