Botanicals and beyond _{by Alessia Belsito-Riera}

Spring has sprung, and like the leaves on the trees and flowers in the grass, artworks of all kinds and colours have blossomed in Wellington Cathedral of St Paul. The New Zealand Academy of Fine Art’s (NZAFA) Spring Exhibition is a joyous celebration of the season and a riot of colour and distinctly Kiwi character.

“This marks a return of this popular seasonal exhibition after several years,” NZAFA president Wayne Newman says. “The exhibition looks stunning and is a fitting testament both to the talent and skills of the selected artists and to the hard work of our curatorial team”.

Blooming until the 9^th of November, member and non-member artists have “responded to the seasonal theme with lots of flowers,” the curatorial and exhibition team say. “There is a real mix of styles showing how wide the range is for contemporary artists. The art is a mixture of established artists delivering very accomplished works in their chosen styles and emerging artists still exploring their medium and style”.

Ranging from photorealism to vibrant modernism to still life botanicals and beyond, Newman says that flowers “in every shape and hue, exultant and welcoming after so many months of greyness, rain, and cold” are ubiquitous throughout the Spring Exhibition.

The team hope viewers will “discover an artist whose style they like” and appreciate the work on display. “Curating this type of exhibition is always more challenging, but the mix of subjects, media, and style makes it a more vibrant and exciting exhibition”.