Details of the artwork for sale in the Houses during the 2024 Art House Tour can be viewed below. Art will be uploaded as artists have it ready, so be sure to check back regularly to see what is available.
All funds raised from the Art House Tour will go towards the Academic Endowment Fund, which was established in 2002. This allows the School to recruit, reward and retain the best possible teachers for the classroom. It also assists through the provision of physical resources and infrastructure.
Only registered ticket holders can buy art in the homes on the day of the Art House Tour. These will not be available to purchase online unless they remain unsold at the end of the Tour. All unsold works will be available for purchase on the website until midnight on Tuesday 26 November 2024.
Depicted in Sara’s signature clear light and colour palette, this detailed painting of Browns Island and Motutapu captures a careful dance of light and shadow across the slopes of these much loved islands in the Waitemata. The effect is both dramatic and tranquil.
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas, framed
‘Chanel Bouquet’ is a mixed media original painting which resulted from The Chanel Project, a weekly challenge I set myself at the beginning of 2023 to create a total of 52 different 210 x 210mm square works of art each featuring a Chanel No.5 perfume bottle. My aim with the project was to discover new techniques and styles, one of which was working on Perspex.
This is an oil painting on Perspex with several layers behind which include various painted films, colour correction gel and fake flowers to produce the illusion of the glass bottle.
A closely cropped composition of Auckland’s Mt Eden/Mangawhau in soft dusk light, featuring Sara’s signature detailed brushwork and dance of light and shadow. This piece can be hung on its own or as a diptych with ‘Eden I’.
Acrylic on Board, framed.
Acrylic and resin on board.
Grace celebrates the free spirit in us all. Capturing the unrestrained expression of emotion and creativity in both its creation and movement. It serves as a reminder of the beauty found in embracing life’s rhythms with grace and openness.
Juxtaposing the fine art of bronze smelting with a street and urban art aesthetic has created an object that’s both whimsical but also striking.
“Creating this first ever bronze as the signature work for my solo show in the USA at Chicago’s Vertical Gallery was 2.5 years in the making. The patina is a wonderful blue green honouring the native NZ blue duck.”
This object further builds on one of Brad’s central themes… his self-titled ‘Hybrids’, within which he explores ‘identity’ through charismatic animals fusing with humans to create engaging hybrid figures. Many of the central subjects are birds, which have a special place in both the history and modern-day life of Aotearoa, New Zealand. And the warrior aspect of several pieces reflects the fight that we all must undertake to break our own self-limiting beliefs. These works are a metaphor, mirroring Brad’s career and life journey.
“I believe there’s this flawed human tendency for us to label (and thereby limit) not only ourselves but also others. I’m rejecting this through combining both visual art and medical careers. The primary question being, how do we honour our authentic inner self?”
Novak considers himself a true ‘hybrid’ – geek first, artist second, and (part-time) doctor third. Begun in 2009, this series rose out of an attempt to be defined by more than his first career. Through uncanny juxtaposition, he wants to convey the complexity of our identities. Are we just one ‘thing’? A Mother, a father, an accountant, a businesswoman? Defined by something that we do? Why do we put others (and ourselves) in restrictive little boxes?
“I am grateful for this opportunity to challenge stereotypes. Learning about the ‘golden handcuff’ phenomenon, and sunk-cost bias, helped me take risks career-wise and accept who I am. Both my artwork and practice reflect this…”
-Brad Novak
Medium: Limited edition bronze sculpture with blue/green patina. 300mm high. 7.3 kg. Edition of only 8 – stamped with the new blood pop symbol and inscribed with the number verso. Displayed unmounted (as intended) but has mounting holes underneath for optionality.
Powder coated marine aluminium
A flexible sculptural artwork consisting of loosely knotted long strips woven from harakeke (NZ flax – phormium tenax) grown in Anne’s garden. It can placed on a horizontal surface or hung on a wall in different configurations and orientations. Note: the dimensions will vary depending on how it is placed or hung.
Bronze on bluestone plinth
Ed 4/7
plinth dimensions 19 x 100cm
Parson Bird is part of a series of works taking a wry look at the nicknames given to New Zealand birds by the early European settlers. The tuft of feathers at the tūī’s throat reminded settlers of the white collar of a minister or parson. Its raucous, sometimes pompous demeanour evoking an enthusiastic sermon. Here the tūī’ delivers his sermon from a giant bible on a precarious lectern.
An orb created from randomly-woven narrow strips of harakeke (NZ flax – phormium tenax) grown in Anne’s garden, and delicately balanced on a piece of driftwood.
Acrylic and resin on board
My abstracts are a visual representation of energy. They are a testament to unfiltered expression, where the canvas becomes a medium for untamed emotions and impulses. Drawing inspiration from my background in movement choreography and psychology, these abstracts mirror the dance of thoughts and feelings, revealing a visual map of the inner mind’s intricate steps.
A picturesque landscape on the banks of a calm river presents a vision of promises and worlds yet to explore. Yet, as the river reflects this scene, the colors dissolve and the shapes blur, gradually fading like a rainbow into the water’s gentle flow. What was once vibrant and full of promise becomes unattainable, slipping away entirely.
This artwork meditates on the ephemeral nature of ideals and the elusive pursuit of perfection, reminding us that some visions, though beautiful, are meant to remain just out of reach—sometimes better celebrated from afar in their potential form, rather than being diminished by the reality of their workings.
A closely cropped composition of Auckland’s Mt Eden/Mangawhau in soft dusk light, featuring Sara’s signature detailed brushwork and dance of light and shadow. This piece can be hung on its own or as a diptych with ‘Eden II’.
“Glass Blaze” is the first of its kind. It is a part of a collection of blooming and blazing thermoplastic sculptures. Reaching the maximal limit of size, “Glass Blaze” depicts a mastery of cast acrylic manipulation through pushing and pulling. This challenging piece exemplifies density through the glass-coloured folds and crevices throughout the form.
2024 marks the fifth biennial Art House Tour, comprising seven homes in and around the Grammar Zone, as well as the Gallery situated on the School grounds, featuring the work of over 70 local artists.
