In early 2020, up-and-coming New Zealand painter Grace Bader held a solo exhibition that showcased her unique métier of layered, textural paint, confident colours and experimentation with form, and set a precedent of success for the young talent. (It was a sell-out.)

Now, the artist is back with another solo exhibition in which she continues to play with perception, creating works that balance abstract ideas and shapes with simple figures, objects and tones. The female form, specifically, is explored, alongside a range of everyday objects, as Bader delves into the dichotomy between intimacy and separation, and how our internalised view of ‘self’ impacts our external presence and surrounding environment. As in her first exhibition, Bader has again employed colour in a bold, unapologetic way, giving substance, tension and depth to her tableaux via a clever use of contrasting and complementary tones.

Speaking to the simple beauty that can be found in everyday life, this body of work sees Bader seeking out moments of peace, which translates into a sense of overarching calm and stillness that reaches out from the canvas between the undulating, dynamic forms.

Opening tonight at Melanie Roger Gallery on Karagahape Road and running until the 12th of June, Bader’s new exhibition is (if her last one is anything to go by) set to be hugely popular, and we would advise anyone interested in picking up a piece for themselves to hasten along (lest you miss your chance).