Bartley & Company Art

Walking the Line explores the act of drawing in its many and varied forms, and its current place in contemporary art discourse. As Paul Klee famously said, "A drawing is simply a line going for a walk." Where the journey of drawing leads, however is an enduring question. Art writer Sue Gardiner has commented that the medium of drawing has lately enjoyed resurgence: "never before has this art form been more dynamic than in recent years as it enjoys increased attention from a younger generation of artists." Gardiner suggests that renewed interest drawing comes at a time when artists are questioning and pushing the boundaries of this medium, discovering "where to draw the line."

Curator Emma Dexter makes the observation that we all leave marks, traces that indicate our passing through space and life, "footprints in the snow, breath on the window, vapour trails of a plane across the sky, lines traced by a finger in the sand-we literally draw in and on the material world. Drawing is what it means to be human..." In this sense, drawing is an ancient and fundamental act of communication.

Marian Maguire's work references drawing in one of its ancient mediums, that of Greek vase painting. Maguire uses patterning from ancient amphora in her practice to produce "invented naturalism". Through the intermingling of real and imaginary, Maguire presents her own response to history. Maguire is a graduate of Ilam School of Fine Art and has exhibited widely throughout New Zealand.

Also addressing the historical and cultural is Reweti Arapere. His work is committed to presenting customary Maori stories in a contemporary light. Arapere blends traditional Maori art forms with a graffiti style influence, representing young Urban Maori who identify with both Maori and metropolitan culture. Arapere is a graduate of Massey University's School of Maori Visual Arts.

A drawn image evokes the sense of an intense physical process, the relationship between the hand, drawing material and surface. This is sentiment that holds true for Tim Thatcher; in a discussion of his work he comments: "drawing is a conversation between my hand and my mind." While he enjoys collecting found images, Thatcher prefers to work from memory, creating images that, as Warwick brown notes, "look as if the artist tried, and failed, to communicate a vision." Thatcher has an MFA from the Elam School of Fine Arts and currently lives in Wellington.

Writer Mike Brennan suggests that drawing signifies a personal engagement between the artist and their craft. "Painstaking detail and labour-intensive mark-making represent artistic endeavour for which the artist alone is responsible... Such art is about making in the purist sense." Intensive mark making is an evident feature in the work of Nicola Kurton. Her highly detailed and intricate process evokes the meditative, daydream state that goes hand in hand with such fine penmanship. The highly apparent time intensive aspect of this work depicts a strong relationship between the artist and her drawing. Kurton is young artist based in Wellington.

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