Various Artists with Sofia & Maya

Clay Eaters is the latest poetry collection by Gregory Kan, out now via Auckland University Press.

Clay Eaters traverses a network of fault lines diverging and converging at unexpected angles: a mysterious jungle island, military reconnaissance training, the spirits in the trees and abandoned temples, old family homes, the echoes across rooms, the dining table set for the archetypal feast. The author asks what it means to write the self, and what it is the living must carry.

Beth caught up with Greg about Clay Eaters and the fragmentary nature of the collection. He also performed a couple of poems.

Artists on Artists is a group portraiture showing at Studio One Toi Tū as part of Te Ahurei Auckland Arts Festival 2025.

Each artist is the subject of another artist’s work, like links in a chain. The audience follows the artworks around the exhibition to see how each artist has painted, photographed and created work of another artist.

Artists on Artists is in its fourth year and in 2025 is solely featuring artists based in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Beth had a kōrero with artist and curator Lindsey Horne about Artists on Artists.

Having it All, All, All is a new group exhibition at Gus Fisher Gallery composed of nine international artists whose work has been pivotal in the reimagination of female subjectivity in art.

The exhibition is showing select video and performance art by the likes of Ana Mendieta (Cuba/USA), Yoko Ono (Japan/USA), Howardena Pindell (USA), Pipilotti Rist (Switzerland), Martha Rosler (USA), Christa Schadt (Canada), Janice Tanaka (USA), Hannah Wilke (USA), and Nil Yalter (Turkey/France). 

Spanning the 1960s to 1990s, Having it All, All, All delves into the activism and identity politics associated with Second Wave Feminism and its critics.

Sofia spoke to curator of contemporary art at Gus Fisher Gallery, Lisa Beauchamp, about the exhibition, her curation process, and the impact of these works on feminist politics as seen through a contemporary perspective.

Soft Spot is a new group exhibition showing Claudia Kogachi, Erica Van Zon, and Ming Ranginui at Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery. 

Through their respective practices, Kogachi, Van Zon, and Ranginui engage with the home conceptually and formally, depicting household items and activities while working with craft modes often associated with domestic furnishings such as rug making, carpentry, and needlework.

Sofia spoke with curator of Soft Spot, Hester Rowan, about the exhibition, her curation process, and the themes of Soft Spot.