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Franklin Emerging Artists

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Young Artists to Display Art of the Future

 
Skateboards, lollies, a tea set with a twist, and a butterfly made of Coke packaging it's just the kind of daring, mixed-up interests one might expect from young people. Next week a group of Franklin artists just starting their careers won't disappoint as they display their work in a new exhibition at the New Zealand Steel Gallery in Franklin: The Centre. Franklin Emerging Artists opens with a 6pm public reception on Friday 22 February.
 
Franklin Arts & Cultural Trust have organised the show, seeing it as an important service for local artists. We understand that finding a venue to display artwork can be difficult when young artists are still developing their styles and their names, said General Manager Aliah Jan.
 
The exhibition provides that opening for five youth who attended secondary schools in Franklin District and are now pursuing Bachelor's degrees in Auckland. Their work will illustrate a variety of artistic styles, media, and themes with freshness and enthusiasm.
 
If viewers look at Anna Tokareva's work and ask 'why?' she will be happy. Concerned with the contrasts of world wealth and poverty, good and evil, war and peace, her paintings and sculpture challenge viewers to look anew at the issues by mixing images from popular culture in unexpected ways. Her mixed media 'Tea Set' will invite viewers to look, and look again.
 
Sally Mountfort studies at Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design. She looks at everyday domestic objects as words in a visual language, and seeks to translate them in her artworks. Strong geometric forms dominate her installations, photographs and paintings, providing a structure on which she writes her visual stories.
 
Kristy Wilson's focus is painting and wearable art and sculpture, often taking inspiration from natural forms. Among her works in the exhibition will be 'Kahukura,' a cloak inspired by the Red Admiral butterfly, made of nearly 4000 scales cut from Coca-Cola packaging. The piece recently won 3rd prize in the Manukau City Council OBJECTive Art Awards.
  
Thomas Bailey has long been attracted to the skill of Hyper-Realist artists and the ideas of the Pop Art movement. His own highly detailed paintings explore the concept of identity, making use of popular images from the media, invented personalities, and unusual surfaces several of his works in the exhibition use skateboards rather than canvases as the painting platform.
 
Samantha Tilyard's paintings and sculpture relate to memory, imagination and other worlds. Faces and places drift in and out of her work, suggesting the blurred reality of dreams and childhood musings. Another featured work will be her artist's book, whose pages challenge the way we see and believe media images against different connotations.
 
Who knows? Visitors to this show may be lucky and see the work of a future super-star or two, Jan said. It's going be an exciting beginning to FACT's plans for an annual showcase of young visual arts talent from across Franklin.