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Max Thomson: The Walk
April 29, 2023 @ 10:00 am – May 30, 2023 @ 4:00 pm
Max Thomson: The Walk
29 April – 30 May 2023
Opening: Saturday 29 April, 2 – 4pm
Max Thomson’s paintings evoke tranquillity, a feeling we are looking into an area of the garden we have not noticed before.
Moody, painterly landscapes of shrubs, trees, and grassy pathways around Te Hau Kapua Devonport are captured at intimate scale in this exhibition by local artist Max Thomson. The format or structure of each painting can be suggestive of ominous, hidden things that may be lurking around the corner. A resident of the area for almost ten years, these paintings are a collection of places which caught Thomson’s imagination on account of the lighting at a particular moment—or lack of it—while walking in the neighbourhood.
Thomson uses heavily applied textural brush marks and rich finishes, reinforcing each scene’s strongly defined shadow with deep violets and contrasting ochres. An eye for mystery and narrative sees Thomson drawn to the surreal trees, bulbous shrubs and winding pathways that can be found around each corner when exploring the parks and gardens of Te Hau Kapua Devonport.
About Max Thomson
Max Thomson’s arts background began at Whanganui Technical College where he excelled in painting. After moving to Tāmaki Makaurau he was a professional musician for four years, before moving into a photographic career spanning another twenty-four. Throughout this time, Thomson produced a varied portfolio of photographic subjects: flowers, trees and landscapes, and their relationship to light—perspectives which have become integral elements of his paintings.
The Walk is Thomson’s first exhibition in Devonport. Previous shows have been held at Letham Gallery, Black Asterisk and Tessuti, and at Whitespace, a retrospective exhibition of Thomson’s earlier photographic career. His paintings have always been focused on his surroundings and this show is no different.
The New Zealand Herald art critic T J McNamara has described Thomson’s paintings as being ‘concerned with the effects of light across grass and the shadows thrown by specimen trees, hedges and thick foliage…the trees are isolated or in avenues…’ (October 3rd, 2015).
