Natural Phenomenon
Solo Exhibition
29 April - 16 May
Opening Wednesday 29 April, 5-7pm

Melanie is an abstract painter based between Auckland and Wānaka, Aotearoa, New Zealand.

A deeply creative child, she spent hours drawing and playing music, but struggled with perfectionism and moved away from painting in her teens, pursuing a career in graphic design instead. She went on to work in publishing in both the UK and New Zealand, including roles at Fashion Quarterly, Creative Director for ACP’s home titles, and was awarded Art Director of the Year at the Magazine Publishing Awards.

After stepping away to raise her children, Melanie spent several years studying counselling and family therapy, during which time she discovered art therapy and process-based art practices. She later trained as a Process Arts tutor, teaching from her own studio, and now sees this period of time as her own ‘creative rehabilitation’ working through perfectionism and finding her way back to an intuitive approach to making.

In her mid-forties, Melanie returned to painting, studying at Browne School of Art in Auckland, where she spent five years immersed in a painting education grounded in abstraction. Her work was first noticed by Frame Gallery during her second exhibition with Browne and Natural Phenomena is her second solo exhibition with the gallery. Her work explores intuition, energy, and the space between the seen and unseen.

COMING SOON
Pocket Exhibition
Opening 28 May

Laurette Looker is a self-taught artist working primarily in acrylics. Her intuitive paintings explore contemporary female figures in a naïve style that embraces bold colour, softness, and quiet strength, balancing playfulness with emotional depth.

Motherhood deeply informs her practice, reflecting a search for solitude, identity, and connection within the fullness of daily life. Her figures often sit between presence and reflection, expressing both vulnerability and resilience.

Inspired by natural surroundings and everyday objects, her portraits unfold like whispered daydreams, favouring atmosphere over narrative and inviting viewers to connect in their own way.