BIO
FACE FORWARD Group Portrait Show 14 - 30 August 2025
FACE FORWARD is a dynamic group exhibition that explores the evolving language of portraiture in contemporary art. Featuring a diverse selection of artists from around New Zealand, this exhibition brings together an eclectic mix of styles, techniques, and mediums to present fresh perspectives on the human face and figure.
From realist to abstract, each work on display reveals a distinct approach to capturing identity, emotion, and presence. Some portraits challenge traditional aesthetics through bold distortions or surreal compositions, while others delve into themes of memory, cultural identity, and self expression. The exhibition includes work on canvas, panel, paper, and textile.
FEATURING: ALICE FENNESY / HELENA SKERLJ-ROVERS / JAMES SWEETING / JOHN BOYD DUNLOP / KIRSTEN LOVELOCK / LAURETTE LOOKER / ROBYN FLEET / SHARON DUYMEL / TOM ARMSTRONG
Sharon Duymel (b.1971 Utrecht, The Netherlands) an Auckland-based artist, graduated with an MFA from Whitecliffe College of Arts, in 2022.
Sharon’s practice is concerned with exploring the problematic space of being unable to use her voice. Whilst reflecting the internalisation of her own identity, from a feminist perspective, Sharon attempts to translate the complexities of the interior mind by giving a psychological reading, through the physicality of the body. She often uses the female form to invoke her female perspective of lived experience.
Sharon seeks to carve out her own space to speak about female agency, in an effort to raise awareness of her experiences and challenges as a woman today.
Sharon Duymel's work has most recently been selected as finalist in Naked & Nude Art Prize 2023 at the Manning Regional Art Gallery in Australia. Just prior to that she was selected as a finalist in the Parkin Drawing Prize 2023 at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. She also was selected as a finalist in the Molly Morpeth Canaday Award for Painting and Drawing in 2023.
Public collections include the Parliamentary Collection, Wellington, and The New Zealand
Portrait Gallery, Wellington.
EXHIBITIONS & EVENTS
Emerging Women in Art | Artist Talk 2025
FACE FORWARD | Group Portrait Show | 14 - 30 August 2025
