Parnell Gallery

Call Directions Website Contact the establishment

Parnell Gallery Dealers & consultants in original New Zealand art.

It is always a privilege to share Peter Hackett's latest works, but today we have two - each one an invitation into his ...
05/10/2026

It is always a privilege to share Peter Hackett's latest works, but today we have two - each one an invitation into his vision of water, light, and the extraordinary materiality of oil that defines his practice

‘Senza Titolo’ draws us directly into the physicality of Hackett’s painting. At an intimate scale, the work encourages closer proximity, where we experience the density of pigment; oil applied in a way that feels sculptural. Stepping back, Hackett’s exquisite vision of the natural world comes into focus.

‘The Voice’ shifts the experience entirely. At nearly two metres wide, Hackett’s painting has the panoramic scale to unfold, moving between the recognisable and the abstract. Here, water becomes less a subject to be depicted than a space through which colour, light, and paint can move.

For Hackett, the flower is not an end in itself, but a point of departure; a means of setting the painting in motion. From there, he gives the paint its own agency, allowing it to become the subject, the gesture and, ultimately, the experience.

Peter Hackett
'Senza Titolo'
Oil on Canvas
950 x 640 mm

Peter Hackett
'The Voice'
Oil on Canvas
890 x 1840 mm

See further details about these works by using the link below, or email us at [email protected]

https://www.parnellgallery.co.nz/artists/peter-hackett/

Aotearoa has spoken. The karure, known to many as the black robin, has been crowned Bird of the Year 2026 - a remarkable...
02/10/2026

Aotearoa has spoken. The karure, known to many as the black robin, has been crowned Bird of the Year 2026 - a remarkable result for a bird that once teetered on the edge of extinction. By the 1970s just five remained, a single breeding pair among them. A pioneering conservation programme brought the species back, and today around 350 adult birds survive on Rēkohu Chatham Islands, 800km east of the mainland. Still threatened, still fighting, and now - finally - celebrated.

Pictured here by photographer Jae Frew is a stunning portrait of the karure, from his series 'Manu Kōingo – Birds of Yearning', capturing the bird with the solemn dignity of 19th century portraiture - bespoke frame, darkened ground, a stillness that asks you to look more carefully at what we still have left to lose.

https://www.parnellgallery.co.nz/artists/jae-frew/

Just through the gallery doors, 'The Rotunda' is the newest work to arrive from Wellington-based painter Zoë Marsden.The...
30/09/2026

Just through the gallery doors, 'The Rotunda' is the newest work to arrive from Wellington-based painter Zoë Marsden.

The subject is a heritage-listed structure in Wellington, empty for years and captured through Marsden's vision in the brief interval between its former life and its planned restoration. “I was drawn to the building in that state,” she says, “slightly faded and redundant. I knew it was due to be restored, so I was keen to capture it before that version of it disappeared.”

Working from the water’s edge, Marsden removes almost all sense of the building’s familiar urban surroundings, allowing the structure to take on the presence of a portrait subject. A storm-lit sky opens out behind it, while graffiti remains across the stonework and the landscape falls away. The vantage point itself was an undertaking, with Marsden’s partner Giles wading well above waist height into the water to capture the view she was after. Looking at the resulting painting, it was clearly worth it.

That interest in buildings caught between one life and the next is central to Marsden’s practice. She is drawn to structures in states of transition, and to the particular atmosphere that surrounds them. Yet while 'The Rotunda' began with a recognisable Pōneke landmark, Marsden was never interested in making a painting about the city itself. “I use real buildings as starting points,” she explains, “but I’m not trying to make faithful records of particular places. I alter and simplify their surroundings to recreate something of the feeling of encountering them, the thing that made me stop and look in the first place.”

Zoë Marsden
'The Rotunda'
Oil on Birch Panel
630 × 630mm

Find out more about this painting via the llink below or email us at [email protected] - https://www.parnellgallery.co.nz/artists/zoe-marsden/

Tomorrow Julie Battisti’s solo exhibition, ‘The More Things Change,’ closes, and with it, the gallery’s exhibition sched...
23/09/2026

Tomorrow Julie Battisti’s solo exhibition, ‘The More Things Change,’ closes, and with it, the gallery’s exhibition schedule for the year. While we’re already excitedly planning a number of special shows across 2027, we always find it important to take stock at a show’s closing, to reflect and sit with the feedback.

This show has been exceptional on that front, with an outpouring of positive feedback both online and in person from visitors who took the time to view all 8 paintings in the flesh.

Over the last two weeks, we welcomed a number of first time visitors to the gallery and, overwhelmingly, met people who’ve followed Julie on Instagram for years, many at the opening, alongside some of the artist’s cherished family and friends. Visitors have spoken about the pleasure of following these works from individual pieces in progress in Julie’s studio, right through to their final hanging together as a collection. Everyone who came remarked on the scale, the exceptional colour palettes, and the sheer mastery of detail and light in Julie’s work.

Thank you Julie Battisti . It’s been a genuine privilege to walk alongside you through this exhibition journey. Your commitment, your talent, your drive and your curiosity have made this exhibition such a pleasure to host, and a wonderful way to close out our exhibition schedule for 2026.

Thank you also to our visitors, clients and followers - new and seasoned - for your enthusiastic reception of this show.

And a last thank you to Julie’s husband, Chris, for capturing a number of these images from the opening.

We look forward to sharing more about our upcoming exhibitions in the coming months, but in the meantime, we have an abundance of diverse works and artists to keep your feed both inspiring and exciting.

A very special feature - thank you Sage Journal!
16/09/2026

A very special feature - thank you Sage Journal!

Last Thursday we formally opened Julie Battisti's solo exhibition, 'The More Things Change' - a truly wonderful evening ...
14/09/2026

Last Thursday we formally opened Julie Battisti's solo exhibition, 'The More Things Change' - a truly wonderful evening with guests joining the Ōtepoti / Dunedin-based artist from across the country to celebrate the many years of planning and painting behind this exceptional body of work.

Our thanks to everyone who came along, and to Sait at Artsdiary for capturing the evening so beautifully.

See all Artsdiary images here - https://www.artsdiary.co.nz/185/4516.html

New exhibition at Parnell Gallery: In ‘The More Things Change’, Julie Battisti presents a series of large-scale oil pain...
14/09/2026

New exhibition at Parnell Gallery: In ‘The More Things Change’, Julie Battisti presents a series of large-scale oil paintings centred on the flower as a subject of profound visual and emotional resonance. Familiar yet transformed through scale, these works invite a renewed encounter with the flower; the sublime intricacy of the painted surface reveals the depth held within a recognisable subject.

🔗 www.parnell.net.nz/exhibition-parnell-gallery-julie-battisti

Peonies have a way of asking something of us before we’ve consciously decided to respond. We lean towards them, reach to...
07/09/2026

Peonies have a way of asking something of us before we’ve consciously decided to respond. We lean towards them, reach to touch them, breathe them in; and somewhere in that physical response, a memory can surface: a garden, an afternoon, a person.

That instinctive connection sits at the heart of Julie Battisti’s ‘Markers of Time’. She has painted peonies many times, but this arrangement felt different to her, “more complicated, less controlled.” Several varieties come together at different stages of their lives, creating a sense of change within the stillness of the painting.

There is also a particular tension in the time involved. Peonies grow, bloom and fade within weeks; the painting takes months. Battisti is interested in that space between the brevity of the living flower and the slowness of making a record of it.

“These flowers carry so much,” she says. “Taste, care, status, memory, attention, neglect.” They become markers of time; holding connections that are chosen, inherited, remembered or simply given.

Julie Battisti
‘Markers of Time’
Oil on Linen
1400 x 1700 mm

We welcome you to join the artist and the gallery team for the preview of this exhibition on Thursday, 10 September, from 5.30-7 pm. DM to RSVP.

‘The More Things Change’ will be on view at Parnell Gallery from 10 - 24 September. View all exhibition works via the link in our bio. Please contact the gallery team at [email protected] with any queries.

Address

263 Parnell Road, Parnell
Auckland
1052

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 10am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 10am - 5:30pm
Thursday 10am - 5:30pm
Friday 10am - 5:30pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 11am - 4pm

Telephone

+6493773133

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Parnell Gallery posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Establishment

Send a message to Parnell Gallery:

Shortcuts

Share

Category