Michelle McIver

Painter & Print Maker

From her earliest days, Michelle loved drawing & this love continued through her school & university years. While Michelle grew up in rural Otago & now lives in Auckland with her family, she spent 5 years living in Japan. It was here that her interest in the Japanese aesthetic was piqued.

When not working in the classroom, Michelle explored both pottery & printmaking, developing an appreciation of the traditional wabi-sabi philosophy of design. Some of the wabi-sabi aesthetic includes, acceptance of the imperfect & finding beauty in the simple & mundane. Michelle has applied these concepts to her practice of printmaking & painting.

Michelle’s paintings can at times have a printerly aesthetic to them. She deconstructs an image into simpler shapes & colours, masks up areas in which she wants to work on, then applies paint & a glaze, which overlay each other. In the fashion of a print, which has imperfect registration, she allows the viewer a sneak-peek at the different layers of colours which can sometimes be seen at the sides & edges of her paintings. 

Taking reference from New Zealand’s dramatic geographical features, Michelle paints in a simplified, semi-abstract manner. Her paintings can in places be gestural & energetic, but can also be butted up against areas of flatness & calm.

We have a selection of Michelle’s original work available at Turua Gallery & she also welcomes commissions.