Art with local ties

With the weather teasing us by one minute behaving like summer, and the next rain and cold winds, I feel it is time to take a stand.

The artwork I chose for the month – marking the transition into the time of sun, holiday and plenty – is Apple Tray, by Dannevirke-based ceramicist Ann Verdcourt, who has had a long standing association with the Manawatu Art Gallery.

The artwork’s aesthetic is based on simplicity, seven apples in those cardboard formed trays, unglazed and evenly coloured. One texture unifying the work and focusing us on the shapes before us.

It elevates the humble to permanence, making an artwork that seems fresh and simple, but is actually quite sophisticated.

But to lengthen the story, although Verdcourt’s ceramic apples were chosen on a whim, looking at works from the collection there is the luxury of also discovering the back stories.

Interestingly, it was donated by the artist in memory of Dianne Owens, who lived for some time in Palmerston North and was instrumental in fundraising for the gallery building.

There is a portrait of Owens in the collection, by family friend Rita Angus, on loan from the family.

It’s titled with her maiden name, Portrait of Diana Grieves, c. 1953.

It is an interesting portrait as, in true Angus style, it does not depict the classic settled young woman that you would expect, but rather is a more perceptive vision of someone who looks somewhat strained and under pressure.

Diana was the eldest daughter of the family with many household responsibilities.

She had a sister who never fully recovered from polio.

The household she came from was filled with art and when she moved to Palmerston North, where she had much happier times, she was a valuable member of the Manawatu Arts Society.

So here are two artworks on show, both with local ties and stories leading to other stories, part of that great web of art that makes it so fascinating.