Estuarine: Tāmaki Makaurau

Estuarine: Tāmaki Makaurau is a new art exhibition by Auckland East Arts members Penny Otto and Marion Gordon-Flower who both have special connections to Tāmaki. The exhibition started with post-Covid optimism in the 2021 New Year and the need to reconnect with shared favourite nature environments, particularly the wonderous views from the Glendowie cliffs and sanctuary of Tāhuna Tōrea Nature Reserve. Sketching together in warm weather led to independent studio responses, arriving at two very distinctive new bodies of art. Although contrasting in style, both artists work with notions of liberty and constraint, and the underlying message from each is the need to tune in with the delicate balance that nature holds and to honour Papatūānuku.

Penny Otto is a graduate if Ilam School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury and has exhibited throughout New Zealand and also in Zug, Switzerland. She is well known for her colourful, well-crafted Expressionistic drawings and paintings, and her selected works play in a space of disparity between natural and man-made environments.

Marion Gordon-Flower graduated with a Bachelor of Media Arts from Waikato Polytechnic (1998) where she majored in painting and holds a Master of Arts in Art Therapy from Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design (2008). Marion has worked as a secondary school art teacher and now works with therapeutic arts. The events of Covid have brought about a strong shift in her established mixed-media processes, arriving at an unexpected form of Abstract Expressionism.

The Good The Bad Gallery is an Auckland-based, not-for-profit, artist-run, community arts initiative established in 2015. We provide opportunities for artists of all ages and experience to present their art publicly and engage our local community in Tāmaki with meaningful art experiences.