UPDATE JULY 2024 AND INVITATION TO VIEW CURRENT WORK AT THE PENGUIN
STUDIO AUGUST 3-4
Well, the last year has been a busy and productive time for me.
I was introduced to Lynn Lawton and Linda Blincko through Jason Burgess about a year ago.
They invited me to exhibit at Parnell One in Rawene at relatively short notice which I was very pleased
to do and that resulted in a flurry of enthusiasm and work on my part to put a good-looking show on.
I think the show was a successful one for all concerned.
Just before Xmas last year Lynn and Linda opened another gallery (Satellite2) in Devonport and I have
been privileged to be able to show there on a regular basis since then.
Jason made Lynn and Linda aware of my Rua Panels which were commissioned by Manukau City Council
in the 1980s and which have been hanging since then in the Council Chambers until the early 2000s.
They were put into storage when Manukau was amalgamated with Auckland.
Negotiations were started with Auckland Council to get the works out of storage and shown to a new
audience. This happened in March this year when a large enough space was kindly donated by a
Devonport Businessman and a very successful show of the work was held with local Devonport
participation and assistance.
A booklet was produced showing the works and incorporating text by Roderick Finlayson who I was
privileged to work with on the project. Another feature of the show was preliminary work being
displayed on a separate wall kindly curated by Linda. I received very good feedback about this and have
decided to make the creative process much more part of the final work than I have done in the past
hence I am going to have Studio open days where people can come and check out how it all goes down.
At Xmas I had also negotiated a deal where my good friends and patrons Kai and Sally Thomas- Cooper
who agreed to assist me in producing a large triple diptych on Donald Trump and the current American
elections. This work will be completed and shown at the Ellerton Gallery in late December courtesy of
Warwick Brown and then will probably be going to the USA.
I am currently working on this project as well as getting ready for another show in Rawene in September
and would like to invite people who are interested to view progress on the Trump project, some
preliminary work for the Rawene show, and enjoy a better organized studio this coming weekend.
The web site is being used as a resource now so if you are interested in a visit, I would appreciate you
making arrangements through Satellite2 gallery. Click on their logo below to visit the satellite2 website.
I am looking forward to catching up with you on this weekend if you are available for a visit. There will
be another open weekend September 7-8 to show further progress on all the projects.
Cheers Tony Johnston
