Gisborne artist Cat Brown has a new exhibition called Mixed Messages which was created in Amsterdam, where she now lives, and in Gisborne.
Gisborne artist Cat Brown has a new exhibition called Mixed Messages which was created in Amsterdam, where she now lives, and in Gisborne.
Gisborne artist Cat Brown has called the vibrant city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands home for the past seven years and her latest exhibition at Verve Café combines her work from there with art created in Gisborne when she came back for a visit earlier this year.
Mixed Messages captures the essence of two distinct worlds in a single exhibition.
Brown was captivated by the duality of the two contrasting locations working with each other to create a harmonious blend of themes and styles.
She has a very fluid style that is about capturing the essence of emotion and movement through vibrant colours and forms.
Evening Flows by Cat Brown. Her style is characterised by bold colours and abstract design.
“Last summer I spent a couple of months back in Gisborne and painted in the garden of my mum’s house,” Brown says.
“I was very heartened by the warm weather and beautiful garden which was a wonderful inspiration for the colours and positivity of my works. I was also inspired by our dramatic Gisborne coastline.”
After making about seven pieces she talked to Ray Teutenberg at Verve about having an exhibition mid-year and then went back to Amsterdam to create Mixed Messages - the concept where half of the artworks were crafted in the Netherlands and half were created in Gisborne.
In the Netherlands she works in a studio about an hour out of Amsterdam in an amazing forest setting. This is where she paints on the weekends creating her larger pieces. During the week she works on digital or smaller watercolours at the apartment where she lives with her partner Maartje and her son.
“Amsterdam is a buzzing, vibrant city with a massive arts community and so many galleries, museums and exhibitions, so for an artist it’s a wonderful place to live and be inspired,” she says.
Keeping Balance by Cat Brown.
Brown was born in Napier to parents who were both artists and the family moved to Gisborne when she was 3.
She did all of her schooling at Central School, Gisborne Intermediate and Gisborne Girls’ High School.
“In our family, our life revolved around art in a big way and everyone was always creating or designing, making, or talking about art,” she says.
“It was a part of everything. I’ve never had any formal art education.”
Her dad Peter had been a fine arts lecturer at Elam, Auckland University’s art school, and often commented and gave tips to Cat and her brother Romilly about anything they were working on. With his input, she learned about composition and colour theory.
Half of the works in the Mixed Messages exhibition were digitally painted and printed in the Netherlands and the other half are traditional painted works created in New Zealand.
“I tend to get very homesick for New Zealand so it was great to have a project that married my two homes together.”
Brown left Gisborne to go to university in the 1990s where she studied communications/journalism. She later worked in communications in New Zealand and Australia, and later as a photographer back in Gisborne, but was always creating artworks, exhibiting and selling her work as she went along.
She had a piece showing in the Mt Eden Young Artists exhibition in Auckland when she was a teenager. But her first real exhibition with all of her own work was when she was in her mid-20s and living in Sydney.
“I had endured what they called the Black Christmas in NSW in 2001, staying in a house that was in the middle of one of the huge fire-fronts that hit the Stanwell Tops area - and was trapped for a few days unable to get out.”
This inspired her to create a number of paintings of the emotions, colours and experiences of this time. Her then-dentist was very interested in art and when she saw a photo of one of her pieces, arranged with a friend of hers to have an exhibition at her gallery in Woollahra, Sydney.
“I remember on the day of the exhibition being so nervous to have my pieces on show that I really nearly didn’t go to the opening. It was so different to showing art as a child. These were my feelings and skills on show, and once your work is on the wall it’s given to the audience fully. You need to let go and let the experience just happen, which is not as easy as I thought it would be.”
Her most memorable exhibition was called Relativity, at Gisborne’s Tairāwhiti Museum and Art Gallery. It included work from all her immediate family members and showcased their varying styles and interests.
“My father had passed away at this stage, so to have some of his works on display in the same place with me, my mother and brother together was very special.”
Meow by Cat Brown.
Art and creativity has always been an essential part of who she is. It is a way to express and enjoy herself.
“I honestly can’t imagine not creating things - from making octopus shapes out of pancakes to arranging the froth in my coffee to look like a rabbit, I’m always making - I can’t help it.
“I enjoyed working as a communication specialist and a photographer, as these are also both very creative industries. There are many cross-overs with art in the sensitivity and open-mindedness, and most of all curiosity needed to make things.”
In 2016 she fell in love with a Dutch woman and moved to the other side of the world, turning her life upside down in the process.
“With that move to Amsterdam I turned to art more deeply because I had more time to focus on it. Through my artistic process I began experimenting more, becoming more abstract at times, more design focused, looser - and also started to create works digitally, which was fun.”
Brown admires many other artists, in particular David Hockney for his longevity, everyday topics and colourful style; Maryclare Foá who creates slightly surreal childlike colourful illustrations; and Robyn Kahukiwa for her strong portrayal of women.
“I also love how Instagram can put you directly in touch with artists you admire and is an endless source of inspiration.”
Her style is very varied and depends on how she is feeling, as to how traditional or abstract she represents objects on the canvas - or if she uses a canvas at all.
“I think if someone is looking at my work the thing they will always take away is that they will see I enjoy playing with colour as my main focus. "
She is currently working on a couple of new pieces for her collection, continuing her abstract style where she tries to capture the essence of emotion and movement through vibrant colours and fluid forms.
These will soon be available to see on her Instagram and Facebook once completed. In the meantime, people can get along to Verve Café and see her current exhibition which is both colourful and uplifting – the perfect tonic on a dull winter’s day.
The Tiger by Cat Brown.
Home by Cat Brown.
Cat Brown's art studio where she works on the weekends is an hour out of Amsterdam.
