The Good Oil

Graeme Douglas
The Good Oil

The Good Oil is dedicated to long form conversations with Aotearoa / New Zealand painters about their lives and practices.

  1. Ep 33 Jacqueline Fahey

    11 MAY

    Ep 33 Jacqueline Fahey

    In this episode, I visit Jacqueline Fahey at her home and studio in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Jacqueline was educated at the Canterbury College School of Art, that would later become the Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury. She is now into her 8th decade of what remains a remarkable painting practice. She has work held in numerous public and private collections, including The Fletcher Collection, The Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, The Aigantighe Gallery in Te Tihi-o-Maru, The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, The University of Auckland Art Collection and the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetū. Jacqueline is represented in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland by Gow Langsford Gallery There are images of the paintings that we talk about on The Good Oil Jacqueline Fahey Instagram Post for your reference. You’ll hear Jacqueline speak about how her practice is born out of hard work rather than talent (although we might beg to differ), of being willing to risk not being ‘acceptable’ in a societal sense to ensure she could pursue making paintings she wanted to, hiding in plain view with her painting trolley to capture domestic moments in the family home, what she sees in Goya paintings that are still painfully relevant today, and the necessity for her to keep painting at the age of 95, but talks about what might be, heaven forbid, her last painting. A couple of quick corrections before we get into the conversation. I refer to Jacqueline's cat as Elvis, their name is Alvin. Sorry Alvin. By the way you might also Alvin in the background in the episode. When discussing the painting ‘Look Mum They Killed Her’ about the killing of the American Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, I mistakenly refer to that event happening in Israel, it happened in The West Bank. Also please note, if you’re listening with any sensitive ears, Jacqueline and I refer to the title of a painting that includes an expletive. We started by talking about her friendship with, and valuable life lessons learnt from, Rita Angus.

    55 min
  2. EP 31 Andrew McLeod

    13 APR

    EP 31 Andrew McLeod

    In this episode, I visit Andrew McLeod at his home and studio in Whanganui. Andrews holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland. He is now over 27 years into his practice, and his work is held in numerous public and private collections, including The Fletcher Collection, The Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, The Chartwell Collection, The National Gallery of Victoria, The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and The Arts House Trust. He has been the recipient of art prizes and residencies, including the Tylee Cottage residency in Whanganui. Andrew is represented by Robert Heald Gallery in Wellington Te Whanganui a Tara and Ivan Anthony Gallery in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. There are images of the paintings that we talk about on The Good Oil Andrew McLeod Instagram Post for your reference. This episode turns out to be, for me at least and I hope you, an excellent lesson in art history and how to look at paintings, both of which are Andrew actually talking about his practice. Although you’ll also hear him talk about being Gen X, and as a result what he’s not afraid of in painting, a want for his next painting to always be his best, how he views paintings as an arrangement of attention and a frozen choreography of brush strokes and how a key aspect of his job is to work in the visual subconscious world we all populate. Please note, if your’re listening with children or a priest present, Andrews enthusiasm in the interview leads to some occasional colourful language.

    1h 9m
  3. EP 29 Darryn George

    16 MAR

    EP 29 Darryn George

    In this episode, I visit Darryn George at his home and studio in Ōtautahi. Darryn is of Ngāpuhi descent. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury and a Master of Fine Art from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. His work is held in numerous public and private collections, including The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, The Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and The New Zealand High Commission. He has been exhibiting consistently for over 30 years, with work in over 40 group or solo shows, including in major public gallery exhibitions. He is represented by McLeavey Gallery in Te Whanganui A Tara, PG Gallery 192 in Christchurch and Milford Galleries in Queenstown. There are images of the paintings that we talk about on The Good Oil Darryn George Instagram Post for your reference. In the episode you’ll hear Darryn speak about reconnecting with Maoridom and marae, developing his language through a combination of American minimalist abstract painters, kowhaiwhai patterns and Maori carvers, his willingness to work collaboratively across industries to achieve the best outcome in large scale painting, how his practice is influenced by and explores the intersection of Maori oral, and European written history and some advice from his gallerist Peter McLeavey that he’s never forgotten and still applies.

    1h 6m
  4. EP 27 Dame Robin White

    01/09/2024

    EP 27 Dame Robin White

    For this episode, I visited Dame Robin White earlier this year at her home and studio in Masterton. Robin is one of our most distinguished painters, holding, among other qualifications, a Diploma in Fine Arts from the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland. She has been appointed as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to painting and print making and has been the recipient of numerous awards including the New Zealand Arts Icon Award. Her work is held in numerous public and private collections including Te Papa Tongarewa, The Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, The National Gallery of Victoria, The Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History, The National Gallery of Australia and The Dunedin Public Art Gallery. She is also the subject of several books, including the excellent ‘Something Is Happening Here - Robin White’ by Sarah Farrar, Jill Trevelyan and Nina Tonga, and has exhibited widely, including a major retrospective show in 2022 and 2023. She is represented by McLeavey Gallery in Te Whanganui a Tara or Two Rooms gallery in Auckland. There are images of the paintings and tapa cloth that we talk about on The Good Oil Dame Robin White Instagram Post for your reference. You’ll hear Robin talk about the power of working collaboratively, her time living in Kiribati, her first encounter with Sam Hunt and their resulting friendship, how geometry and tone sit at the heart of some of her most famous paintings, the Gaylene Preston film about her that is currently in production, and you know that question I ask everyone about ‘what work or artist work they would love to live with? Well, Robin has a particularly insightful answer to that.

    1h 21m
5
out of 5
28 Ratings

About

The Good Oil is dedicated to long form conversations with Aotearoa / New Zealand painters about their lives and practices.

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