Exhibitions On Now
|
Jaine Rubine
CONVERSATIONS (a fusion of spirit ) Creating a dialogue between the fibres of my two countries Fiji (Masi) and New Zealand (Muka) Pod Gallery 29th July – 22nd August Opening event: Friday 31st July In this body of work I explore the relationship between these two fibres, Masi and Muka, learning to understand the language they create together. Sometimes poetry, sometimes song, always story. Each holds strong spirit. Each has a voice. Each allows the other to be heard. These works are conversations between countries, cultures, materials and memory - a fusion of spirit woven through fibre, place and time. I invite you to listen with your eyes. |
|
|
Leigh Munro
Basalt and Breakers Main Gallery and Pip Gallery 29th July – 22nd August Opening event: Friday 31st July Living in rural North Auckland, I have a close connection to the land, surrounded by native bush, fertile pasture, wildlife, livestock, and ever-changing weather systems that continually inform my painting practice. The biodiverse local environment, dramatic skies, and elemental forces command close attention; all is fluid, nothing stands still, yet a kind of stillness can also be found here, with body and mind close to the land. My work attempts to interpret the landscape and communicate the depth of feeling I experience through expressive line, gestural abstraction, layered form, and colour. The paintings explore vibrant local ecology, natural patterns of energy, and the emotional resonance triggered by observing the intersection of nature and human presence within a particular place. Over many years I have repeatedly journeyed to the nearby West Coast, Muriwai. This wild and weathered environment evokes both awe and wonder, and has become the driving force behind this new body of work, Basalt and Breakers. The title speaks to the basalt rock formations, surging rough seas, and the elemental nature of Muriwai and its surrounding geological landscape. Within this etched and shifting environment, tensions exist between transience and timelessness, erosion and endurance, human activity and natural force. Successive layers of paint are placed in tension through processes of erasure, breakdown, and reconstruction, creating surfaces that unfold through dynamic push and pull. https://www.instagram.com/munro.leigh/ |
|
Coming up...
|
‘GET FIRED’ Ceramic Exhibition
A Kumeū Arts Members Exhibition 26th August - 26th September 2026 Main Gallery Opening Friday 28th August 5-7pm Our annual Get Fired ceramics exhibition celebrates the creativity and craftsmanship of our local ceramic artists, showcasing a diverse range of functional and decorative work. Whether you're looking for a unique handmade piece or simply want to admire the talent on display, there's something for everyone – with many works available at affordable prices. This year's exhibition is complemented by a stunning collection of landscape paintings by Rod Upchurch, creating a beautiful dialogue between clay and canvas. WORK & ENTRY FORMS DELIVERED: by Saturday, 22 August OPENING NIGHT: Friday 28th of August - 5pm-7pm UNSOLD WORK COLLECTED: Saturday, 26th of September (or the week following) Download and entry form |
|
|
Rod Upchurch
Paintings to Accompany Ceramics 26th August - 26th September 2026 Opening Friday 28th August 5-7pm Rod’s creative journey spans over 50 years. Beginning in the 1970s in Wellington as a commercial artist, he built a successful career in advertising - working as an Art Director, and later as a Creative Director for multinational agencies in Auckland, eventually joint founding his own brand agency. Rod’s artistic foundation was built under the mentorship of Ted Lewis, former Royal College of Art scholar and official WWII artist for General Freyberg. From the age of 15 he acquired a rigorous grounding in realism techniques, figurative drawing, plein air sketching, perspective and life drawing. Now painting full-time from his dedicated studio on a rural lifestyle block, Rod works primarily in oils on canvas. His landscapes draw inspiration from his extensive travels across New Zealand and around the globe, complemented by a passion for portraiture and commission projects. |
Rod Upchurch - Local Stream
|
|
Words in the Window
In Celebration of National Poetry Day 2026 Display of poems - 26th August - 26th September Readings - Friday 28th of August. 6pm Pip Galleries and KA windows Join us in turning Kumeū Arts into a living, breathing poem! For National Poetry Day 2026, we’re inviting our community to fill the Pip Window Gallery—and windows throughout the building—with words, wonder, and a splash of creativity. Write a poem in any language, on paper and watch it become part of a colourful installation. Poetry Pop‑Up Workshop for Everyone Thursday 13 Aug 2026 - 10:30am - 1:00pm - Adults Cost: a small koha is appreciated Need some inspiration? Join AUT University Creative Writing Programme Leader Richard Pamatatau in this free workshop. Pick themes for some writing exercises, play with words and help us make something beautiful together. |
|
|
Fang Art Studio 元芳画室
Line, Light and Belonging III 25th August - 26th September 2026 Pod Gallery Fang Art Studio is a small, community-based drawing school based in New Lynn, Auckland. For over seven years, the studio has quietly nurtured a group of dedicated young learners — most of them Kiwi-born Chinese between the ages of 9 and 16 — in the discipline of classical pencil drawing. The third in a series exhibitions by students of Fang Art Studio, following the previous Line, Light and Belonging exhibitions. The exhibition continues to explore how young artists from migrant backgrounds experience identity, memory, culture, and belonging through drawing, with a focus on observation, line, light, and form. Each artwork is a quiet reflection of how young people see and connect with the world around them. |
|
|
Jia Rui Sun
Quiet Distance 29th September - 24th October 2026 Opening 2nd October 5-7pm Main Gallery These landscapes are not records but remnants of stillness — the moment light passes through a place and lingers. Figures appear now and then, not as subjects observed but simply as part of what is here. Painted in watercolour and gouache, form yields to feeling as much as to fact: between realism and post-impressionism, what is seen gives way to what is felt. |
Street scene - Jia Rui Sun
|
|
Diane Scott
New beginnings 29th September - 24th October 2026 Opening 2nd October 5-7pm Pip Gallery (Window) New beginnings is a showcase of 2 recent artworks that show a new direction for myself and my artwork. These artworks focus less on single points of “inspiration” and more on the creative process itself. I start each layer with whatever is relevant for that day - showing through in texture, colour, glazing, bold marks and areas of imperfection. This approach is filling my creative self with curiosity, lightness and expression - something I hope the artworks display too. Instagram: @Diane_Scott_Art_NZ Website: www.dianescottartnz.mypixieset.com |
|
2026 MEMBER EXHIBITIONS
February: Our Aotearoa - NZ inspired artworks
May: Music Month - Music + Merch themed artworks
June: Kumeū in Focus | Photography
July: Matariki | Themed
August: Get Fired | Ceramics
December: Affordable Arts, under $400
*Please note these dates may change. Read about having a solo/group show with Kumeū Arts HERE
