A hot summer evening saw the opening of the PEAKS exhibition, Welcome Swallow Gallery’s 40th rendition of original art. The evening began with gallery curator, Clive Gilson expressing the importance of sponsorship support of the arts in difficult times. He noted that the sponsors of the PEAKS exhibition, by MACPAC, a national organization, had been especially generous and a major reason why the exhibition was able to come to life. Gilson also referred to the gallery’s intention to make an ongoing contribution to New Zealand art history and in particular whether there is a defined form of New Zealand art (see editorial comment pdf below).

On behalf of the exhibition artists and to the many artists throughout history who have sought to capture nature’s behemoths, Michael Barker addressed the audience, sharing the origin of his own art interests that has led him to be strong on conservation and preservation of New Zealand mountains and landscapes. He vigorously urged politicians to take this topic seriously, concluding that climate change is the greatest threat to nature and the ability of artists to capture the grandeur that belongs to all. 

For all the details of the exhibition, download the Catalogue, below.