ARTIST FOCUS | EMILE WILMAR
Emile's bespoke furniture is the foundation of our Material Echoes | Contemporary Adornment installation on view until 23 May.
Part tree/part antler, his incredible jewellery display took inspiration from a ceramic form that mimics the branching effect of a tree and another from a Xianbei headdress. It is made from weathered macrocarpa, where two semi trunks grew into one form.
Emile Wilmar, born in London, raised in Wellington.Emile Wilmar, born in London, raised in Wellington.Emile’s practise is currently based around making works that critically present the reified constellation of normative associations between/around sculpture, ornament & furniture.
All works are made with windfall wood or wood that is sourced through arborist mates from around the Wellington region, with the advantage that the wind gives very tortured textures to the grain. For more organic forms the works will be sculpted with a mixture of chainsaw, dremil, & chisel, for more formal works the wood is worked more conventionally with thicknessers, planes & routers; metals welded etc. Often the material will be burnt & sanded to raise the grain to bring out the only advantage of using timbers from wellington (its windswept character).
ARTIST FOCUS | AMELIA PASCOE
RISE | These hollow beeswax forms are called Aithērs. In Greek mythology Aithēr (αἰθήρ) is the personification of the bright upper sky and the pure air breathed only by the Gods. The word shares its root with αἴθω, meaning to shine, to burn, to incinerate.
They are all unique shapes, smell like heaven and approximately L:130mm D: 80mm each
Born in Ōtautahi, Amelia studied at Canterbury, then Otago Universities, graduating in 1995 with a Master of Science (Zoology). In 2000, Amelia moved to Wellington for work, formalising her developing arts practice through study and exhibition. In 2012, she graduated from Whitireia New Zealand with a Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design (contemporary jewellery), receiving the inaugural Masterworks Gallery Supreme Graduate Award. In 2013, (with support from Creative New Zealand) Amelia completed a six-week residency in Italy, with contemporary jewellery Fabrizio Tridenti. Between 2014 – 2017, she participated in Handshake (a professional development and exhibition programme) with mentoring from Ruudt Peters, a pioneering Dutch jeweller. In 2018, Amelia was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts First Class Honours in sculpture at Canterbury University. She has exhibited in numerous shows in New Zealand and overseas. Her work is held in public (Te Papa, The Dowse Art Museum) and private collections,
ARTIST FOCUS: MACY COOK Macy Cook (b 2003) is a jeweller and painter based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), whose practice is shaped by her background as a professional dancer with the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Movement, discipline, and form continue to inform her work, translating into organic, sculptural pieces that explore the tension between fluidity and structure. Drawing on the natural cycles of erosion and growth in Aotearoa, Macy reflects on how landscapes—and people—accumulate layers over time. Her handcrafted, one-off works embrace imperfection and irregularity, highlighting individuality and the quiet complexity of lived experience.
ARTIST FOCUS: BEAU COTTON
Slightly OBSESSED with Beau's recycled wearable works of art.
One of my favourites is 'Lower Back' composed of poly twine rope, dyed bamboo coral, scorched wood, gardener's wire & embroidery thread.
'Bamboo coral is a deep-sea coral commonly sold as chunky jewellery beads, often dyed a saturated lipstick red. In its natural state, it is typically creamy white with subtle tones of pink, peach, or orange. This vivid colouring was used to meet demand for affordable coral jewellery aimed at the tourist market—cheap, accessible, and visually striking. This style of jewellery was especially popular from the 1970s through to the mid-1990s.
Though still coral, the material has undergone an irreversible dyeing process that reduces its value. Over the past few years I have intentionally amassed this specifically dyed bamboo coral, finding it in second-hand bracelets and necklaces. I am both repulsed by and deeply curious about it as a material. In Lower Back, I recompose the coral chunks into what they most reminds me of: blood and bones.' BC May 2026
Beau Cotton (Ngāi Te Rangi) is a maker based in Koputai whose practice explores found-object assemblage and the elevation of both discarded and precious materials. Jewellery making and sculptural practice are fused to activate narrative, inviting objects to be perceived outside their usual context and function.
Heavily influenced by DIY punk ethics and the natural world, Beau’s work seeks new ways to wear the unconventional, questioning ideas of adornment, value, and wearability. Through material experimentation and intuitive construction, the work disrupts distinctions between what is considered precious and what is overlooked, allowing meaning to emerge through reuse, transformation, and close attention.
Our latest exhibition, Material Echoes: Contemporary Adornment features 10 makers. Each day we will feature one of the these talented artists. First up Te-Whanganui-a-Tara artist:
LISA VAN HULST
Lisa has produced a series of broochs, entitled 'Spoils' which linger between what is found and what remains, where value shifts and surfaces hold their quiet histories.
Shell forms return as brooches, recast in ocean-bound plastic.
Familiar shapes carry unfamiliar weight — gathered, altered, and worn again @vanhulstlisa
OPENING TOMORROW: Material Echoes | Contemporary Adornment including rings by Eleanor Diaz Ritson. Join us from 5.30pm
Eleanor's work contemplates the unplanned and unrepeatable qualities of rock and earth, where texture, fold, and fracture emerge through processes of pressure and time. These eroded surfaces of weathered stone and rugged bark are shaped by transformation and accumulation. Working primarily in sterling silver, Diaz Ritson’s work becomes a site of material change, held between geological process and constructed object.
Illustrated: SHALE FOLD Oxidised sterling silver and natural 0.25ct diamond. I really battled sharing this one as it really is made for my hand...but too beautiful NOT to share on the gram @eleanordiazritson
NEW WORK by Anya Sinclair in stock from her 'Walled Garden' 2026 series.
@anya__sinclair
Visit us for a rummage (the artist's terminology!) or DM us for details.
Note the colour is sublime, and my iphone at dusk is not up to scratch
Congratulations to NICHOLAS BURRY, the first artist to exhibited with CoCA One Wall programme supporting emerging Otautahi creatives.
'Memory Form. Landfall in Canterbury' 2022 is about memories of Christchurch. It was painted at a time when Nicholas was living away from the city and reflecting on growing up there; and the tension between us as subjects, our memories and the world itself.
Nicholas' next solo exhibition with Bowen is in December @nickburryism@bowengalleries
HIGHLIGHT | Chris O'Doherty aka Reg Mombassa, McCahonno set with rusty roof and kengarewe 2025
charcoal, coloured pencil on paper
385 x 455 mm (framed)
ON VIEW FROM TODAY| Chris O'Doherty aka Reg Mombassa, Further influences in Hyperrealism - new works on paper.
DM us for further details. Full catalogue online
ON VIEW TODAY | Jeff Thomson Rocket Racer is now on view in the gallery.
Pop in & meet Jeff who will in the gallery today
Illustrated: Selected highlights from over 80 vintage tinplate corrugated creations.
DM us for a full PDF of the exhibition
