Wānaka’s contemporary gallery, Gallery Thirty Three, is offering a diverse and rich exhibition programme during autumn. Director Vanessa George says the gallery’s Easter Exhibition is a showstopper featuring new works from celebrated artists Bing Dawe, Sean Belson, Tessa Barringer, Stephen Howard, Katherine Throne and Peter Miller.

“Our exhibition programme is just heating up. Following on from our dynamic Summer Series exhibition we are excited to present these major new works during autumn.”

Sean Beldon is a New Zealand landscape artist whose style leans towards painterly with a modernist feel, swinging between representative and abstract. His compositions always originate in the photography of the landscape and Sean uses the viewfinder as a primary canvas deciding if the emphasis will be on emotionality, light, form or colour.

Tessa Barringer’s early interest was in life drawing and portraiture. As her art practice has developed she has progressed through landscape, skyscape and very detailed observational drawing before finally settling on birds.

Vanessa says May offers something a little different at Gallery 33 with an initiative to give back to the local community. 

“Nearly all our renowned artists will be producing a selection of A4 works on paper, covering our walls in unframed works, creating a unique opportunity to secure an original artwork,” says Vanessa. “ A percentage of the proceeds from these works will go towards a workshop at Mt Aspiring College inspiring the next generation of artists.”

Sitting alongside this exhibition the gallery will have new works by emerging local artist Isabella Robins whose love of ceramics and painting collides in fresh, well-executed creations.

During June Ben Reid, Clair Beynon and Richard Adams will come together with a curated suite of exhibitions at the gallery.

“This will be a very strong exhibition showcasing Ben Reid’s new collection in its entirety,” says Vanessa. Specialising in drypoint and relief printmaking Vanessa says Ben’s prints are often political, related to New Zealand’s flora, fauna and native species. His critique of the vulnerability of existing ecosystems in the 21^st century is impossible to dismiss, his prints depicting the predicament of native species and their circumstances and possibilities of their resolution back at us.”