Photographs of the ceiling of an artist’s Lockwood holiday home have been selected for exhibition in one of New Zealand’s leading contemporary art awards.
Waikanae artist Fiona Richter’s work, titled Knot Dogs, was one of just 69 works selected for the Norsewear Art Award exhibition from 466 entries. Hers is an unusual and arguably humorous piece from her Knot Art series.
She had been trying for more than six years to have a piece selected for the prestigious exhibition and was surprised to have got in with an art work she put together quickly.
“Over the years I’ve sweated blood, tears, ego — everything to try and get into the Norsewear,” she says.
The three photographs are of the bedroom ceiling of her Taupo bach. In the mornings her children join her in bed and spotlight shapes on the ceiling with a torch. The “knot dogs” are some of the shapes they’ve found.
The winner of the $20,000 supreme prize in the 2007 Norsewear Art Award was Seraphine Pick of Wellington. Her oil on linen painting, titled Phantom Limb, sold for $30,000.
Winners of $4000 merit awards were painters Peata Larkin of Auckland, John McLean of Taranaki and Wellington artist and jeweller Emily Valentine Bullock.
