SMART THINKING

Four different artists explore the power and beauty of plants and wildlife at Auckland’s Föenander Galleries.

Four artists explore the power and beauty of plants and wildlife at Föenander Galleries.

Each year, Föenander Galleries in Mt Eden hosts a curated group exhibition examining traditional genres. The 2020 show takes a different approach, exploring subject matter that artists have worked with for centuries – flora and fauna. “It’s something humans have long been fascinated with,” says exhibition curator James Brown. “And there are artists who are doing very interesting things and breathing new life into flora and fauna.”

Brown selected four artists for the show – two represented by Föenander Galleries, and two guest artists. “Neal Palmer and Samantha Lissette are artists I work with and were first in mind when I was putting the show together,” says Brown. Palmer is known for his hyper-realistic, largescale botanical paintings that look at the series of networks and patterns in nature while playing with depth and light. Lissette is a sculptor working in bronze, whose work is interested in ecosystems – contemplating the relationship between flora and fauna, and in turn considering how humans relate to their environment.

Brown then looked for artists who would complement Palmer and Lissette. “We always try and pair two people who we follow or think are interesting who don’t usually exhibit here, to expose them or give them a wider audience,” he says. Emma Bass sprang to Brown’s mind, with her floral arrangements that contemplate mortality and challenge the concept of beauty. “She’s interested in imperfection; in a very airbrushed culture she likes to celebrate, very subtly, the cycle of life,” says Brown.

Brown also selected the botanical paintings of MiNDFOOD’s own Michael McHugh, which explore colour and composition in connection to the natural world. Flora & Fauna will be the first showing of his work in New Zealand. “My work is based mainly around the memory of plant forms and the impact they had in the world at their very peak of existence,” says McHugh. “He was the perfect pairing,” says James Brown. “His work is colourful, slightly abstract and very different to the others.”

The myriad ways to interpret flora and fauna is at the core of the exhibition. “Each of the artists are looking at the same subject matter but aesthetically their work is entirely different,” says Brown. “Part of the idea behind the show is to just see how diverse people’s practices are.”

• Flora & Fauna, Föenander Galleries, Mt Eden, 16 April–5 May, foenandergalleries.co.nz

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