Séraphine Pick: White Noise

The Dowse is pleased to present White Noise, a major exhibition of new and recent work by New Zealand painter Séraphine Pick.

The works featured in White Noise have often begun as images sourced from the internet. By transforming these almost random search engine results into emotive paintings, Pick explores both the value of the painted image and the sociological and psychological impact of the internet.

Pick’s new work mines the distortions of reality produced by the web. Drawing from her own life experience as a teenager of the 1970s and a mother at the beginning of the twenty-first century, Pick uses the internet as a starting place to explore ideas and areas such as the collective conscious, popular culture, belonging and misrepresentation.

A Wellington based painter of national significance, Pick is one of the most successful artists of her generation. Over the last two decades Pick has become well known for her lyrical painting, in which she explores subject matter such as dreams, memory and psychology that dip in and out of everyday life. While addressing contemporary issues, her painting comments on the act of painting itself—not only its relevance today—but also its place in art history through movements such as late nineteenth century Symbolism and early twentieth century Surrealism and Post-Impressionism.

This exhibition reflects The Dowse’s mission to support local artists to flourish, providing a platform for Pick to make a new and important statement about her work, building on the recognition she has received through exhibitions and publications in the first 20 years of her career. Visitors to the exhibition will experience the familiar euphoria of Pick’s lushly painted works, whilst also discovering a new edge to her practice.

Available now! White Noise a new book published by The Dowse to accompany this exhibition, featuring all the works in White Noise and essays by exhibition curator Sian van Dyk and art writer Megan Dunn.