Tuesday 1 July 2008

Kapiti artist's London show a sellout

Kapiti artist Shona Moller has cracked the lucrative British market, selling 19 out of 19 works at a London exhibition for a $116,000 payday.

However, it's not time to pack away the easel just yet. The show is expected to break even after costs.

The It's Not All Black show at Gallery 47 in central London was flooded by expat New Zealanders and British art-lovers.

"There were people waiting outside for the doors to open, tapping on the glass," Moller said.

The 19 works sold for an average of $6100 each. Among them was Wellington at Night with van Gogh Lights, pictured, which sold for $7300.

Also sold was a take on the London Tube map, in which English station names were replaced with Maori placenames.

Waterloo became Tirau, Leicester Square, Taupo, and Bond St, Taihape.

The work was a tongue-in-cheek take on colonisation.

Though the exhibition raised about $116,000, Moller said that by the time transport costs, travel and accommodation were taken into account, she would break even.

"But it's definitely raised my profile over here."

Art-lovers who missed out on the buying frenzy have also commissioned 10 further works from her.

The exhibition continues till Thursday.

 





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