Julie Battisti

Julie Battisti grew up in Melbourne, Australia and graduated in 2006 with a Double Degree in Visual Arts (Painting) and Arts (International Relations & Italian) from the Australian National University School of Art. Since her relocation to New Zealand in 2016, she has committed to pursuing art full time, cultivating a distinctive style embodied in two subjects: clouds and flowers.  

These subjects are connected by the idea of capturing a moment of time. As she paints, life continues to move forward—her children grow, days pass, and everything around her changes. Even the painting itself transforms until it reaches completion, becoming a fixed moment in an ever-shifting world. The clouds and flowers she once photographed have since dispersed and wilted, yet their image remains preserved on the canvas, a reflection of the delicate balance between permanence and impermanence.

Beyond her art practice Julie Battisti hosts The Creative Kind podcast, where she interviews artists and creative professionals to have conversations around their experiences, and insights and challenges.

Brendan McGorry

Brendan McGorry (b.1966 Aotearoa, New Zealand) is a contemporary painter who lives and works in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. The artist is known for his distinctive painting style: with bold, striking arrangements of colour and distinct use of line.

McGorry combines different art historical references in his work, both in the stylistic elements he employs and specific artworks he alludes to, while his subjects are often unlikely protagonists for portraits. The blending of these elements consequently presents something intrinsically unique.

McGorry studied drawing with the New York Studio School in Italy. He has been the winner of the Estuary Art and Ecology Award in Aotearoa, as well as being a finalist in the Molly Morpeth Canaday Art Award, New Zealand Painting and Printmaking Award, the National Drawing Award of New Zealand, the North Shore City Art Award, the Walker and Hall Waiheke Art Award, Anthony Harper Contemporary Art Award and Adam Portraiture Award.

McGorry’s artworks are held in the permanent collection of Te Papa Museum of New Zealand Tongarewa and the Auckland City Council, as well as private collections worldwide.

Rebekah Codlin

Born Dec. 1993, Rebekah Codlin is a self-taught artist based in the Marlborough Sounds. Having painted full time since she was 17, she is recognized for her large scale, distinctive and emotive portraiture in oils. Rebekah has exhibited across New Zealand and in Santa Fe USA, and her art can be found in collectors homes in over 10 different countries. 

Rebekah has been selected as a finalist in several competitions and awarded a number of residencies, including a 4 year residency from age 18 with Brancott Estate Winery and Highfield Estate where she painted live.

Rebekah enjoys art that is both gripping and uplifting. She likes when the artwork speaks for itself, has a pleasing balance, a place to rest the eye and ultimately impacts the viewer in a positive way, drawing them back to soak up more of what the artwork has to say.