Gennie de Lange - A Survey Show

Gennie de Lange commenced art studies at the Wellington Polytechnic (1958-1960). Before heading to Scandinavia to study leading-edge design. She returned to London in 1963, spending a year at the Hammersmith School of Art, before working at Chelsea Pottery (1965-1967). When the family moved to Texas, de Lange borrowed a kiln and began creating unique tile artworks. Returning to Christchurch at the end of 1968, her art practice flourished. In 1980, she returned to London undertaking post-graduate studies at the Middlesex School of Art.

Since her first group show, at the 1967 New York World Fair, de Lange has continued to exhibit widely throughout New Zealand in both dealer and public art galleries, including The Suter (Nelson), The Sarjeant (Whanganui), The Dowse (Lower Hutt) and Govett-Brewster (New Plymouth). Her work has been exhibited in England, France and Switzerland, and is in both public and private art collections, including the Auckland Museum, The James Wallace Collection and the Waikato and Christchurch art galleries.

With a career in the arts spanning over 60 years, de Lange has been a potter, fashion designer, author, and photographer. She is, however, best known for her ceramic paintings created using a unique glazing technique. The tones and colours (matt pastels before firing) are completely transformed after three days in the kiln.

Through endless experimentation, de Lange has discovered how to handle these to their greatest advantage. There is a very painterly feel to the works and the glaze effects are rich, luminous and complex, with a jewel-like quality.

After a 5-year hiatus, de Lange is once again creating. This survey show includes 40 works representing each of the six decades of her career - from the early1970s through to the present day.