Septet Opens
Artist committee members (from Left to Right) Ian Bowell, Liam Kumar, Audrey Anderson, Tom Brooker, Peter Gibbs, Akky Leurink and Prue Wilson. Photograph: Cathie Lindsey
Article by Peter Gibbs (posted in The Press / Nelson Mail)
Seven artists and makers are featured in the current exhibition at the McKee Gallery.
The gallery is nestled at the back of Nelson’s Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū.
The small room is home to the Nelson Suter Art Society, an organisation whose origins go back further than those of the Suter itself.
For more than 100 years, members of the society have been active in the affairs of the Suter, acting as custodians, tending the front desk and doing most of the work of Nelson’s main public art gallery in the days before there were paid staff.
From the days of its first full-time director, Austin Davies, in the mid-1970s, the Suter has expanded and so has its staff, yet the links between the gallery itself and the art society remain.
Under an agreement that is reviewed every few years, the society retains the use of the McKee Gallery for its exhibitions, expanding into the adjacent Potton Gallery for a show every spring and autumn.
The current exhibition, Septet, features the work of seven of the art society’s committee members.
Members of the committee have all followed different paths in their various art journeys.
Ian Bowell has been involved in art for more than 40 years as an educator and practitioner in the UK, West Indies and now New Zealand. He works in both two and three dimensions, mostly using a figurative motif. He’ll be exhibiting dry point drawings and small sculptures.
Septet - The McKee Gallery, situated inside The Suter Gallery, Nelson. Photograph: Tom Brooker
Audrey Anderson was educated in South Africa, obtaining a fine arts degree at Pretoria University. She has a string of exhibitions and successes behind her and was the winner of the People’s Choice Award at the Tasman National Art Awards in 2024.
Tom Brooker is another Englishman. His BFA came from Essex University. He’s currently pursuing connections between the digital world and art. On a practical level, he’s been working on a new website for the art society. His works in the exhibition explore themes of AI and technology in modern society.
Liam Kumar has wide interests. Raised in Canterbury, Singapore and Tauranga, he studied philosophy and law. A multidisciplinary artist, he’s worked as a DJ, visual artist and spoken word poet. Photographic and digital works presented in this exhibit are predominately landscapes in monochrome, from locations around the country.
Akky Leurink has wide interests, including the operation of cooking and catering business Akky’s Kitchen, volunteering at Nelson’s Theatre Royal and creating three dimensional artworks using natural materials. She’ll be showing work using gourds woven with pine needles.
Prue Wilson has followed a somewhat winding, lifelong creative path, including contemporary jewellery and ceramic sculpture. As a mature student she enrolled at NMIT, graduating at diploma level. Her current focus is on abstract painting.
As the sole potter in the show, I’ll be exhibiting some new work hot from the kiln.
Septet, in the McKee Gallery, opened on September 22 and continues until October 4.
Peter Gibbs has been a teacher, potter and journalist. Retired for more than 10 years, he’s resumed life as a potter and writes occasionally for the Nelson Mail.
Paintings by Audrey Anderson and Prue Wilson. Photograph: Tom Brooker
