Katikati’s Katipo Creative: Fine art printing brings artwork back to life

Aidan Heaven with his favourite print in the exhibition, Jane by Louis Rhead. Photo / Rebecca Mauger

The art of enhancing fine art is on display at Katikati’s Carlton Gallery.

Katipo Creative specialise in fine art printing where images are printed from a digital file but are upscaled, repaired, added to, made vibrant and manipulated, creating a new brand piece of fine art.

Timeless Impression is the first exhibition by the local design and print studio being held at The Arts Junction gallery in Katikati.

Graphic design specialist Aidan Heaven searched thousands of images for the exhibition. The images were from the vast selection of royalty-free, public domain images of the Smithsonian Museum archives.

War by artist Henry Schile, circa 1870, in the foreground.

Aidan selected a dozen images he admired and tried to stay away from mass produced iconic artworks.

In the mix are visuals from the 19th and early 20th centuries, including vintage Charlie Chaplin posters and other artefacts. Different genres include Romanticism, Impressionism, Art Nouveau and pop art.

The exhibition showcases the historic images but also looks at the techniques behind their restoration and presentation, highlighting the art of photo manipulation, custom framing and canvas stretching. A complementary exhibition guidebook is available.

The Combat by George Thomas Doo/after William Etty 1825.

Katipo Creative is a print and design studio offering fine art printing, custom framing, graphic design and corporate printing. The family-owned business has been in Katikati for three years.

The Details

What: Timeless Impression by Katipo Creative

Where: Carlton Gallery, The Arts Junction, Katikati

When: Now until October 20