‘‘The Review 2018’’
(Milford Galleries, Queenstown)
THE annual review at Milford Galleries in Queenstown is always a highlight on the Central Otago arts calendar, offering a sample box selection of some of the country’s most talented artists. The exhibition is curated to include different media, with as much emphasis on sculpture as painting, and styles that range from abstraction to photographic realism.
Among the highlights, Yukari Kaihori’s watercolour and oil Sweet Dreams are abstracted compositions, rich in texture and tones of lilac, mauve and blue, conveying a feeling of melancholy and inspiration. Israel Birch’s Kura Pounamu and E Kau Ki Te Tai E are equally beautiful and arresting. Birch masterfully uses repeated shape and pattern, shadow and light, texture and reflection, and creates a sense of infinite space and depth that goes beyond the traditional use of perspective and the illusion of threedimensionality. E Kau
Ki Te Tai E seems almost alive with movement, like the glow of bioluminescence in water or uncurling ribbons of blue flame.
One of the most striking pieces is a new work by Neil Dawson, the spherical Atmosphere, which hangs suspended and changes in appearance and tone from every angle. Created from stainless steel and painted silver on the outside and gold within, in direct light it glows like a jewel, while in the shadow the silver darkens and takes on the mystery and eeriness of of a moonlit night.