Artist showcases her first exhibition in hometown
Local artist Elisa Hyde-Hills has launched her first exhibition “Thoughtful Places and Familiar Places” at the Morrinsville Gallery.
The Thoughtful Places and Familiar Places exhibition features 28 acrylic paintings and is a combination of the emerging artist’s love of portraitures and landscapes. “I enjoy painting the quiet moments, the faces that showed subtle expressions rather than extreme emotions”.
This reflection is a feature of her work. Hyde-Hills said that when a face is relaxed, they’re thinking and there’s a beauty in the stillness – much like the stillness in landscape paintings.
“The one with me in the mirror and my dad drinking his coffee, all feel like slices of life. We’re in own reflective thoughts- in our own world”.
Hyde-Hills, who has been interning at the gallery for the past 9 months, said that art runs in her family. Her older siblings are are also artists, linking back to her great-grandfather David Watkins-Barlow, who worked on Hallmark Cards and was involved in designing the well-known Edmonds sunrise logo.
In her early years she started drawing mermaids, fairies, and “anything a girl would like to draw” and would often be drawing instead of playing. At high school she started to practice painting in art classes, then decided to pursue art by choosing to study a Bachelor of Contemporary Art at the Waikato Institute of Technology.
Hyde-Hills credits her mother as being a big help in her art journey and leading up to her exhibition, saying that when she “hit a wall” with a painting she’d call her mother for advice. She was worried that she wouldn’t have enough paintings to fill the gallery space, and her mother agreed. Elisa worked hard to come up with “a few more paintings” to have ready for the exhibition.
On the day of the exhibition, Hyde-hills practiced her speech with her mum, which was an emotional moment for both of them. When the event took off, Hyde-Hills was incredibly “stoked” with the turnout, which included Liz Borrows, Exhibition Manager of Morrinsville Gallery and Gina Burretto, Art Director. She was also cheered on by her family and friends including her sister, her four young niece and nephews.
Burrows spoke and said that when Hyde-hills first started volunteering at the gallery, she was blown away that Hyde-Hills was doing art tutoring at the same time and was impressed with her running a small business.
A close friend of Hyde-Hills, Sarah Mccoard, said that her exhibition offers a personal insight into how she perceives her family, friends and places that shape her sense of belonging.
“Her art becomes a both a mirror and a memory, a way of honouring people the people and places that have quietly influenced her journey.”
Hyde-Hills is looking forward to her future in the art industry and is hoping to one day use her work experience from Morrinsville Gallery to work for the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. Part of her interning role has been giving school-aged children tours of the gallery, something she has enjoyed sharing.
The exhibition runs until November 16th You can follow the artists Instagram @Eelisa_art. For more information about Hyde-hills exhibition and other artists, click here:
