Painting from memory
Photos by Brijana Cato + Olivia Courtney
As the owner of Matakana shop, Neighbourhood Recycle, Olivia Courtney may be familar to some. But her real passion lies in painting.
Olivia has always drawn and painted, her parents have all of her kindy and primary artworks saved in their family home. She left Warkworth after finishing at Mahurangi College in 2013 and then graduated from Massey (Wellington) in 2018 with a post-grad in Fine Arts. In this time, she was able to develop her painting process and was fortunate to be mentored by NZ contemporary painter, Simon Morris. Now residing back at home, she works selling preloved clothing day-to-day, and any other minute she can be found painting in her studio in Matakana. It's hard for Olivia to hone down on what truly makes her return to the practice time and time again, but she recognises that it “demands for you to be very present and this is perhaps my form of meditation. With screens dominating our visual experiences and our desire for instant information,” says Olivia, “I am interested in paint as a slower medium. This process-based work is an inquiry into what painting can offer that screen-based media cannot.”
Mediating through feeling and process, Olivia combines a vocabulary that remains open to interpretation. “The act of painting reflects aliveness; the exchange with paint physically means the visual experience of the spaces are contemplative and emotional.” Olivia challenges the viewer to apprehend and embody the information presented. Memory is a theme coming up in her work more and this is often the catalyst for the direction of the work.
Recently moving into oil paints has been transformational for Olivia's works. “The colour is so vibrant and there is so much room for play with the materiality. The end result is punchy and rich in tactile spaces.”
Olivia uses local carpenters Jackson Balzat, Jake Meek and Brent Courtney for framing. “The pine or cedar finishes of the frames help enhance the work for an interior setting.”
Railway Gallery and Studio in Newmarket has recently been taken over by Erin O'Malley. Olivia was lucky to be picked up by Erin to exhibit with the gallery over the year. This July, Olivia will be exhibiting a new body of work with Railway, which will explore the memories surrounding the relationship with her Nana. The documenting of this process will be happening on her Instagram stories.