The Arts House Trust holds a collection of over 9500 works, covering a century of New Zealand art - from Francis Hodgkins to the contemporary.

Tracing Our Art History

4 March – 11 May, 2025

The Arts House Trust Gallery at the Morrinsville Gallery

The Arts House Trust holds a collection of over 9500 works, covering a century of New Zealand art – from Francis Hodgkins to the contemporary. This exhibition presents mostly mid-century works from the Collection; featuring artists from a generation of New Zealand painters that emerged in the 1930s, whose main preoccupation was with place and local identity. They developed a New Zealand regionalism, with realist depictions of small town and rural life. The portraits on display acknowledge people of the period, with several by Toss Woollaston. Also included are small works by Ralph Hotere and Selwyn Muru, in reference to the blossoming of Māori art during this period.

Doris Lusk’s Benmore I (1974) represents a detail of the Benmore Earth Dam and spillway. One of three hydro stations on the Waitaki River, the Benmore Dam formed the largest artificial lake in New Zealand when it opened in 1965. Lusk formed a new practice in the early 1970s which evolved out of her watercolours, applying acrylic paint in a wash technique on wet canvas. It enabled her to work on a larger scale and to be more experimental. This is evident in this painting where sections are produced by different means. Lusk drew the dam structure with pencil and coloured pencil. By contrast, the surrounding landscape is depicted with acrylic washes. There is one area on the lower right where Lusk attached a piece of canvas as a late alteration.

In Toss Woollaston’s Portrait Of A Seated Character (1970), the curious little figure in the strange hat is perched in a large Victorian armchair that inhabited Woollaston’s studio for many years. The chair has a personality of its own that makes its presence felt in many of Woollaston’s portraits. While he was a dedicated and prolific portrait painter, Woollaston’s concerns in depicting people were often more formal than psychological. The subject of this intimate and intriguing painting is unclear, and the identity of the sitter is unknown. Much more evident in the work are the compositional and chromatic techniques that Woollaston derived from Cézanne and other pioneering artists of early European modernism.

Artists Included:

A Lois White

Alan Gilderdale

Charles Tole

Desmond Wood

Doris Lusk

Garth Tapper

Helen Stewart

John Weeks

Louise Henderson

Peter Beadle

Ralph Hotere

Rita Angus

Rudolf Gopas

Ruth Browne

Selwyn Muru

Toss Woollaston

Admission is free, and your generous contributions are appreciated.

Come and experience a blend of art and imagination! We look forward to seeing you there!

❤️Visit us, follow us, support us❤️

-Subscribe to our newsletter and check all our late-night updates via Facebook, Instagram, and our website, www.morrinsvillegallery.org.nz

-Make a difference with your shopping: check out our exhibitions and the gorgeous selection of hand-made, mostly locally made gifts from our shop!

-Did you enjoy your visit to the Morrinsville Gallery? We would love for you to share your experience on Facebook, Google Reviews, or Instagram.

The Morrinsville Art Gallery Charitable Trust celebrates its 15th Anniversary this year as the proud heart of community art in the Matamata-Piako District!

We work passionately to create a welcoming and vibrant space for both locals and visitors in Morrinsville and throughout the beautiful Waikato Region.

As a charitable trust, our small team includes a director and a curator-gallery assistant, supported by approximately 35 amazing volunteers, many of whom have been with us for over 10 years. Our dedicated board of directors provides invaluable guidance as we plan for the future. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment that celebrates local and national artists from various multicultural backgrounds. With a diverse array of exhibitions and events, we aim to inspire and connect with our community through the magic of art, creativity, and culture.

Our mission is to inspire everyone who visits our continuously evolving exhibitions. We proudly support the creative community, organizations, and schools with whom we collaborate.

We are continually seeking new ways to engage and grow together. Please contact us at info@morrinsvillegallery.org.nz.

Morrinsville is such a lively and creative hub for art and culture in our district and the Waikato Region, and we’re truly excited to be part of it all! Visit us and experience the wonderful power of celebrating our creative community!

Thank you so much for your support during the last 15 years. We could not have made it without your generous contribution.