All the sculptures in Fiona Garlick’s Arrowtown studio have a story to tell.

And there is nothing she enjoys more than sharing those stories with art enthusiasts.

She opened her idyllic art gallery in Buckingham Street  after purchasing the former architect’s studio and original crib style home behind late in 2022.

“I like to think of my gallery as a working studio where people can find me and talk to me about the predominantly bronze pieces I produce and even watch some of the process.”

Her work is influenced by the surrounding environment – “it’s very much about Arrowtown and its native species and what I call the ‘charming invaders’ which are the introduced flora and fauna.”

Fiona studied at the Falmouth College of Arts in Cornwall after leaving a career in television in the U.K. working on documentary production. as a researcher before becoming involved in producing and directing.

While at Falmouth she designed and won a prize for a bronze medallion now held at the British Museum, before returning to New Zealand and graduating from Auckland’s Elam School of Fine Arts.

Fourteen years ago she moved to Arrowtown permanently where she is now recognised for her signature smaller works and is attracting a following for her large outdoor garden sculptures.

“I have only been working fulltime as a sculptor for the past two years but in that time I have upscaled and gone bigger. I have been lucky to have members of Medal Art of New Zealand (MANZ) as my mentors and through my collaboration with them I have developed my skills in the art of bronze.”

 “I love to make work for the outdoor environment which everyone can experience and have pieces all around the country – a Waiheke Island vineyard, Auckland, Northland and Christchurch private gardens and even a couple in Australia with my largest bronze to date known as Scattered  which is a giant beech seed, installed locally on a Lake Hayes property.”

Fiona exhibits in many group sculpture shows around New Zealand and later this year she will have   her first solo exhibition in Auckland.

“This will be an important milestone for me which hopefully will give me further recognition nationally. But, my overriding ambition along with establishing a sculpture garden at my gallery is to create a significant public sculpture for the Queenstown Lakes area if the opportunity ever arose.”