Current Exhibition
For the month of August 2017, ZIMMERMAN is featuring 10 new paintings by 20 year old Paige Williams.
Paige Williams is fascinated by “the weird and interesting”.
Working from a home studio in Auckland, the artist paints “all sorts of animals, in strange or unusual situations.”
In this month’s show, the featured creatures are an eclectic collection of the furry, feathered, six-legged and amphibian.
A bunny shyly peeks out from behind a stylised Japanese mask; the innocent young rabbit who really wants to be a fox.
In a counterpoised work, a keen-eyed fox has donned the face of a rabbit. Does the fox really wish to be a bunny … or is this a clever confidence trick, to charm an unsuspecting prey?
While the rabbit and fox wear masks, in another painting it is the mask that wears the creatures. An ancient Balinese mask, lost or abandoned by its human actors, provides a gathering place for a congregation of praying mantises.
In A Pack of Mice, a mischief of mice have discovered their own curious place in which to play, a lively game of hide and seek taking place in an alpaca’s fur. The soft-eyed alpaca appears unperturbed by the flurry of activity around her head, or by the untamed flora sprouting from her dainty collar.
Another creature apparently at ease with his unusual circumstances is a bug-eyed green frog. His characteristic camouflage colours are dotted with bright patches of purple, red, orange and blue, topped off with a playful hat. Look more closely and you will see that this patchwork frog appears to already have found an appreciative audience for his quirky appearance - the transparent bubbles floating about his head are host to numerous small fish, perhaps transfixed by this unique character’s queer and colourful look.
Meanwhile, as if portraying some bizarre magician’s trick, Cat-tea features a cat’s face emerging from a cup and saucer.
A giant brown-eyed blue gecko makes a dramatic appearance; emerging larger-than-life from an imagined forest, she patiently bears an assortment of smaller lizards on her head.
In the midst of this cast of the cute, the creeping and the curious, a stoic white stag enters the frame, droplets of morning dew falling from his mossy antlers.
Droplets also feature in Fungi Frog, in which a plump green frog sits atop a toadstool. Glistening water drops adhere like limpets to his froggy skin, while an escargatoire of snails slide across his slippery surfaces.
More delicately poised, in Humming Berry, a hummingbird perches on a lush red strawberry, balancing a perfect water bubble on her beak.
This is the artist’s second solo exhibition at ZIMMERMAN.
Exhibition runs from 1 to 31 August 2017
