The exhibition is significant for the artist as it represents a return to her roots and renewal of her connections with Petone and the Hutt Valley.
Kym Burke?s first exhibition of paintings at the Oyster Gallery is the result of a fascination with our urban lives and a renewal of her links with Petone. By Chrys Ayley Kym Burke has dabbled with quirky, crafty things most of her life but only recently discovered it was the painter in her trying to emerge. The ardent traveller, anthropologist cum corporate planner and now a painter is excited about her first exhibition. Sixteen of her paintings featuring landscapes and buildings in Petone are on display at the Oyster gallery in Jackson Street. The exhibition is significant for the artist as it represents a return to her roots and renewal of her connections with Petone and the Hutt Valley. Her empathy with Petone is evident in all her paintings which were completed over eight months. With a small child and a job as a contract corporate planner she does not have much time to paint, she says. As a child her father, a Petone resident and staunch member of the Petone Working Men?s Club would tell her stories about the long, hot summers with his cousins in Eastbourne. He grew up in Waiwhetu, worked as a draftsman for Hutt City Council and was ?A crazy Golfer?. The stories stuck in her mind and she returned to Petone to paint what she saw and prepare for her first exhibition. ?It is moments in our urban lives that I find most interesting - the places that hold the rich memories and connections of our humanity, she said. Her work as a community planner also heightened her interest in the future of communities, she said. An avid reader and traveller Ms Burke finds her work is constantly evolving. She sketches on-site then puts Indian ink on canvas and builds the painting in acrylics. Extensive overseas travel heightened her visual awareness and a trip to Tonga made her appreciate Maori and Pacific influences in New Zealand. Her work has matured over the years but her greatest influence, she says, is Van Gogh with Rita Angus not far behind. Ms Burke has graduated from the realism of a camera to produce art that is quirky and nostalgic that will leave the viewer feeling good if feedback from the first week is anything to go by. Next year Ms Burke says she will devote all her time to painting. ?I?m really looking forward to fully immersing myself.? Blob The exhibition runs until December 14 at The Oyster Gift Shop and Gallery 252 Jackson Street, Petone.
