Indelible ~ A Mark You Won’t Forget
On 25 September, MGTO Gallery at 136 Hurndall Street, Maungaturoto, presents Indelible ~ sketched, etched and carved. The exhibition runs until 29 November, open Friday to Sunday, 11 am to 4 pm. Eleven artists, Tatjana Panyoczki, Stephen Davies, Rudy Van der Pol, Laura Worrell, Rebecca Barclay-Clist, Mike Hooton, Gunsmoke, Erika Hüsselmann, Catrin Frires, Geoff Ruthe amd Guest artist Daniel Tohill, have each responded to a single, powerful idea: the mark that cannot be washed away or erased.
This is not a show that shouts. It is quiet, contemplative and deeply inspiring. Ceramics sit beside prints, Indian ink beside paintings, drawings beside etched surfaces. Curators Stephen Davies and Laura Worrell have woven the different mediums and styles together with care, so that every work is given space to speak.
What makes Indelible especially compelling is the gallery itself. MGTO is a collective. On any given day the person behind the desk is likely to be one of the artists. Visitors do not simply look at the work, they can talk with the person who made it. That one on one encounter is rare in New Zealand galleries and it changes the experience completely.
The people behind the show are clear about what they want visitors to feel. They hope people leave with a beautiful artwork for their home, and with the unmistakable sense that they have discovered a jewel in the rural landscape, a high-class gallery that stands with the very best in the country.
For anyone driving the main highway north or south, the invitation is simple: turn off. Five minutes later you will be standing inside a carefully curated space where every mark has been made to last. You may meet the artist. You may find a work that stays with you long after you leave.
Indelible opens 25 September. The marks are already there. All that remains is for you to see them.
