Tagged: Natalie Tozer
Abstract Art Exhibits At Lot 23
I recently attended ‘subject to change’ art extravaganza showcasing at Lot 23. What a feast of work by Philippa Blair & Natalie Tozer: both New Zealand-born abstract painters who collaborated with their bold, experimental & ambiguous paintings – that provoke and excite. All the guests celebrated the 1st birthday of Lot 23 surrounded by frisky, vibrant & intoxicating art: (also) for sale. The exhibition continues until mid-December. Definitely worth a visit; the Brazilian coffee is magical too.
Interview With Artist & Curator: Natalie Tozer
1. How long have you been an artist? Since a dress-up day at primary
school – we had to dress-up ‘to be ‘ what we wanted, when we grew up.
Mum, Dad and I sat down and threw some ideas around, and came up with
‘artist’. A very formative exercise! I wore one of dads work shirts
(super oversize for an 8 year old), a red beanie my nana knitted
(positioned a la beret), found an old brush and made a palette out of card
board.
2. Where do you get your inspiration? Body memory. Repetition and
habit. Daily experiences.
3. Tell me about your exhibitions?
You know when you have a super
twisted dream which you wake up from and just have to tell someone about – for me exhibiting is like that. The world informs you, you mirror your experiences, then you share them. For me the work of an artist is like telling the dream – it’s just one way to describe the experience of living.
4. How do you define your style – as an artist?
I like to provide escapism for people. In contrast to blunt force media and the daily assault of our urban landscape, my style is organic and cellular. The shapes and vibrancy of my work matches what is happening in my life at the time.
5. Favourite colour?
The ‘mother colour’. Where a colour is made from combining all the other colours. Often a complex hue which speaks to all the other colours on the page.
6. Who would you (really) like to meet? Charles Saatchi maybe?
I’d love to meet Patricia Piccinini. Check out her work online and see why! She has incredible vision as an artist. Her works remind me of the
characters in one of my favorite novels by Margaret Atwood ‘Oryx and
Crake’. In fact these two powerhouse woman should meet each other as well. Although incredibly different from my work, the organic forms imagined in both these artists worlds are deeply inspiring to me and what I think about and try to convey in an abstract way.
7. Any influences?
People and experiences. Life is the same.
8. Do you believe in serendipity? Absolutely. In my work I chase
‘happy accidents’. The forms are fluid and design can only contribute to
50% of the outcome. Life is the same.
9. When it comes to chocolate -Cadbury or Whittakers?
If I’m at the supermarket I’d reach for Whittakers first, every time. But my Dad always has a stash of Cadbury, which I raid with glee.
10. What makes you smile?
Smiling!
Hippest Cafe in Auckland: Lot 23
Lot 23 is a place that you may read about in ‘Viva’; then make the (conscious) decision to visit, before it’s everyone’s hang-out.
Located in Minnie Street, Eden Terrace which happens to be where TVNZ ‘Step Dave’s’ (blue) house is situated!
As you enter the space: walls are filled with the latest art curated by Natalie Tozer, concrete floor, wooden old-school chairs, complimented with a super-slick white interior that acts as a great canvas for everything art!
The menu is delectable: ‘Ugly bagels’ topped with lashings of cream cheese, capers and fresh salmon, daily soup choice/s, croissant filled with Camembert, tomato and ham off the bone, ‘Baghdad eggs’ and coconut ice!
Every mouthful is ‘gastronomy’ and flavoursome. I particularly love the ‘Brazilian coffee’ that stimulates the senses – like coffee should.
I can’t get enough of Lot 23.
Helen Clegg exhibits at Lot23
Auckland based, UK born artist, Helen Clegg (b. 1988), recipient of the NZAAT Emerging Artist Award in early 2013, is set to open her second solo exhibition The Bridge Gathers, (2014) as part of the Auckland Festival of Photography.
Alongside Helen’s exhibition in the gallery which runs from May 29th – June 20th, we have a unique experience to offer for our visitors and fringe festival goers for one night only – 3rd June 2014. The box throughout Helen’s series will be situated in the LOT23 Studio, and the audience invited to explore the set and participate in the scene. They’ll be able to interact with the box and take their own photograph, as Helen does. These images will be broadcast into the gallery via live feed and available online to download, tag and share. It will undoubtedly be a very fun and engaging evening.
About Helen Clegg’s work.
Helen’s art practice both draws on and challenges the traditional parameters of performance, self-portraiture, and landscape photography. Her work displays a consistent signature of using her own body in a way that blends with the environment though very consciously posed. Keeping the black cable release deliberately visible engages the viewer, and connects her as both internally and externally in control of the image, although she never engages the camera with her face. Landscape in Clegg’s work takes on an element of theatre, not only a stage for her to explore human sensibility by acting and reacting with the surrounds, but also a counterpart and aide within the photograph.
Working with analogue film slows her process. This slowing down between the performed momentary gesture and the photographic print, further distils an anti-immediacy into each image.This anti immediacy complements the deliberate and intuitive manner with which she composes each frame.
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