Join Kenny Pittock at the MARS Gallery booth to discover how his fascination with discarded shopping lists evolved into a series of intimate ceramic sculptures. These delicate lists were found as Kenny travelled from Auckland to Wellington—most shopping lists are written quickly, unlike ceramics which is a very slow medium, and it’s through this act of slowly recreating the objects that Kenny allows himself the time and space to reflect on them. With humour and warmth, Kenny will talk about how he transforms everyday moments into timeless pieces, offering a lighthearted look into his creative process and the stories behind his work!
Booth 12
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Join acclaimed New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based artist Richard Lewer for a first hand insight into his latest body of work, a compendium of fifty paintings. Offering a snapshot – and social commentary – of our world in 2026, this deeply personal yet collectively resonant body of work, captures the good, the bad and the ugly.
Booth 31 This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Fatu Feu’u ONZM and Alison Leauanae will be present at the Bergman Gallery booth, discussing new works created especially for Aotearoa Art Fair 2026.
A pioneering figure in Pacific contemporary art, Fatu Feu’u has spent more than five decades developing a distinctive visual language grounded in fa’a Sāmoa. Drawing on motifs associated with tatau (tattoo), siapo (barkcloth), ufimata (masks), lalaga (weaving), the gogo (frigate bird), and references to Lapita pottery, his paintings transform traditional Samoan iconography into powerful contemporary compositions rich in symbolism and cultural narrative.
Alison Leauanae’s hand-stitched works examine soʻotaga—connection—through carefully structured fields of thread and textile. Her practice engages lived experience, fragmented memory, identity, and purpose, translating these themes into layered visual systems that interlace her Scottish and Samoan heritage.
Visit the Bergman Gallery booth to meet the artists and experience the works in person.
Booth 16
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Alcaston Gallery are delighted to present an artist talk by exhibiting artist Sean Hill. Sean Hill will speak to his presentation at Aotearoa Art Fair 2026, as well as his broader art practice, which draws from his Samoan heritage, reimagining the geometric motifs of siopo (tapa cloth) and tradition Samoan tatau (tattoo) in glitch-like forms that evoke environmental motifs, flowers, refracted light, and patterns in water.
Artist Portrait by Vinesh Kumaran. Courtesy of the artist and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne.
Booth 4
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Beverly Knight is honoured to have represented and nurtured the entire career of the incomparable Sally Gabori. Since the artist’s passing in 2015, Knight was appointed the Agent for the Estate of Sally Gabori Art by the Executor of her Estate.
At this insightful talk, Beverly Knight lends her intimate knowledge of the life and art of one of Australia’s most nationally and internationally significant First Nations artists. Sally Gabori was a remarkable artist and Kaiadilt woman who began her artistic career in her 80s, her inspiration to paint was recalling from her mind’s eye her home Country of Bentinck Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland. Any artist developing a non-derivative style of painting in any century internationally is special; however, Sally Gabori, in doing so, reshaped the landscape of First Nations art worldwide. Gabori continues to captivate collectors and art lovers, globally renowned as one of the most important artists in Australian history.
Booth 4 This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Aotearoa New Zealand representative for the 2022 Venice Biennale, artist Yuki Kihara talks about the impetus behind her sculpture series ‘Dresstories’, featured at the Aotearoa Art Fair. ‘Dresstories’ references photographs of unknown Sāmoan women taken by the late 19th century NZ colonial photographer Thomas Andrew.
Portrait of Artist Yuki Khara photographed by Ralph Brown.
Booth 30 This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Joan Ross is one of the most respected artists working in Australia today. Across painting, video, installation, VR, and sculpture, her practice examines the visual language of early settlement imagery, reworking historical narratives through sharp wit and her trademark hi-vis fluro yellow to reveal how the past continues to shape contemporary culture.
Booth 15 This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Joan Ross is one of the most respected artists working in Australia today. Across painting, video, installation, VR, and sculpture, her practice examines the visual language of early settlement imagery, reworking historical narratives through sharp wit and her trademark hi-vis fluro yellow to reveal how the past continues to shape contemporary culture.
Booth 15 This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Tracey Jones employs precise brushwork rooted in the techniques of European realist painters, creating work that bridges the traditions of representational painting with a distinctly contemporary lens. Her multidisciplinary practice spans across the genres of still life, portraiture, and landscape. In her oil paintings, Jones renders glossy surfaces and saturated hues with meticulous detail. Luxury packaging, crushed paper, shopping bags and delicate objects deceive the viewer’s eye with her command of shadow and light. Her realism reaches its most captivating moments in the delicate folds and the tactile imperfections of everyday opulence.
Booth 62 This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Joan Ross is one of the most respected artists working in Australia today. Across painting, video, installation, VR, and sculpture, her practice examines the visual language of early settlement imagery, reworking historical narratives through sharp wit and her trademark hi-vis fluro yellow to reveal how the past continues to shape contemporary culture.
Booth 15 This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Join artist Kauri Hawkins in conversation at the CHALK HORSE booth, who will be discussing his practice, the body of works on show at the Fair and his specially commissioned staircase work for Aotearoa Art Fair.
Booth 10
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Join Ruby Wilkinson in conversation with Graeme Douglas, host of The Good Oil podcast and avid collector, to discuss Ruby’s solo exhibition Belle Plaine. The discussion will explore the development of the new works and the themes shaping this latest body of paintings.
Booth 8
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Emily Parker, Director of PARKER Contemporary (Brisbane), introduces a group of artists whose practices are shaped by material engagement and respond to our contemporary world. Through carving, layering, pulping, spraying and casting, the artists explore how images emerge through touch, pressure and time. The talk considers how contemporary practitioners are revitalising print and paper based techniques, offering tactile, material driven, analogue alternatives to digital imagery while fostering dialogue between artists from Australia and New Zealand.
Booth 57
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
In this talk Nicholas plans to dissect a few paintings and the “language” of found game pieces- to explore how rules, colour, and placement create meaning in the work. Moving from personal diaristic encounters in the op-shop to broader art-historical and political “games”, hoping to reveal how small, humble offerings can articulate large, complex ideas about identity and what we choose to create.
Booth 45 This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
FreshGallery Ōtara presents a collection that brings together recently created works and earlier foundational pieces, offering insight into the evolution of A’aifou Potemani’s practice.
Join us for an Artist Walk and Talk at the FreshGallery Ōtara booth and hear directly from one of South Auckland’s most exciting emerging artists. We’ll begin at the booth before heading outside to experience A’aifou’s large-scale outdoor flag works, which extend his practice into the surrounding public space.
A’aifou Potemani is a visual artist of Samoan (Falease’ela Lefaga) and Tongan (Tokomololo, Tongatapu) descent, born and raised in Ōtara, South Auckland. His practice is grounded in screen printing, printmaking, and painting, drawing on cultural heritage and urban life. Potemani holds a Master of Visual Arts from AUT.
Come along, hear his insights, and experience the stories embedded in his work.
Booth 53
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
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Be the first to hear about exhibiting galleries, artist highlights, and what's on at the Fair.
Stay Connected
Be the first to hear about exhibiting galleries, artist highlights, and what's on at the Fair.
