Let’s Talk Art: Women’s Hour

WOMEN’S HOUR

Let’s Talk Art, Viaduct Events Centre
Friday 19 April, 3PM – 3:45PM

Delve into the intricate landscape of being a woman artist in Aotearoa New Zealand today. Join curator Julia Waite in conversation with artists Gretchen Albrecht, Julia Morison, and Luise Fong as they reflect on their experiences spanning art school in the 60s, 70s, and 80s to present-day life. Explore their journey from art school to securing representation in dealer galleries and their quest for inclusion in exhibitions. Don’t miss this insightful discussion on past challenges and current realities for three of our visionary and pioneering woman artists.

This talk is presented as part of Let’s Talk Art, the talks programme at the 2024 Aotearoa Art Fair, held from 18 – 21 April at the Viaduct Events Centre. To attend this talk, purchase a ticket to the Fair.

SPEAKERS

Julia Waite

JULIE WAITE

Julie is curator of New Zealand Art at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. Julia’s research interests are focused on the development of modern art in New Zealand, global modernisms and documentary photography. She has a Masters in Art History from the University of Auckland (First Class Honours), a Masters of Museum and Heritage Studies from Victoria University, and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours: First Class) in Art History from the University of Otago.

GRETCHEN ALBRECHT

Gretchen Albrecht has achieved wide recognition as one of New Zealand’s preeminent abstract painters. Over the course of her distinguished career she has continued to pursue the depths of the medium, focusing on an experiential intersection of colour, movement and form. After graduating with Honours from Elam School of Fine Arts in 1963, Albrecht quickly established herself as a leading artist in New Zealand. Albrecht has exhibited extensively in New Zealand and internationally for five decades. Gretchen is showing at the 2024 Aotearoa Art Fair with Two Rooms Gallery.

Julia Morison

JULIA MORISON

Julia Morison’s diverse practice spans a variety of media including painting, photography, sculpture and installation. In each of these modes of expression, Morison investigates the possibilities of dense logic systems to create geometric structures, worlds full of symbols bursting with organic life, or both at the same time. She began her studies at the Wellington Polytechnic School of Design, completing a Diploma in Graphic Design in 1972, and then an Honours degree in Fine Art from the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts in 1975. Julia Morison is showing at the 2024 Aotearoa Art Fair with Jonathan Smart Gallery / Emily Gardener Projects  to present Four Worlds Tarot.

LUISE FONG

Luise Fong, born in Sandakan, Malaysia, was raised in Auckland in one of its first Eurasian families. She graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts with a BFA in 1991. Fong developed a unique post-modern style in the 1990s, creating abstract paintings that hint at both the micro and macro worlds with a focus on aesthetic formalism. She worked as a junior lecturer at Elam from 1993 to 1994 and was the artist-in-residence at the Victorian College of the Arts in 1994. Fong moved to Melbourne in 1995 and returned to Auckland in 2001 as a lecturer at Elam, where she taught until 2005. Luise is showing at the 2024 Aotearoa Art Fair with Bergman Gallery.