Paintings by Nicholas, Art or Vandalism | Jayde McDonald, Analog Decay | Nicholas Males: Refinery ArtSpace
Jayde McDonald presents a body of work that confronts the tensions around graffiti. Painted in oil and acrylic, these gritty urban scenes argue for graffiti as a legitimate art form rather than mere vandalism, while remaining honest about the street environments in which it emerges.
While Nelson does not match the scale of larger New Zealand cities, it has its own graffiti history and culture. This exhibition reflects that local lineage through artists based in or connected to the Tasman region — including writers such as PAES, ZESK, DTOK, and others at different stages of their practice.
Image: Jeds | Jayde McDonald
#graffittiart #nelsonartist @nmit_creative @nelsoncitycouncil @uniquely.nelson @nelsontasmannz #jayde #paes #zesk #dtok
Paintings by Nicholas
A collection of new works by Nicholas Clark.
“I have always looked to create something fresh in the context of formal painting. Grounded in existentialism, Clark sees himself as an eternal student of painting, and like all great painters, he avoids easy certainty. He is less interested in finished answers than in testing what painting can do and how far it can go.
In these new works, landscapes become places to experiment. Biomorphic shapes float across the surface, wax pools trap bits of string, and stencils, drips, and boxed forms turn the painting into something physical as well as visual. Each element is intentional, but nothing feels final.
Art or Vandalism | Jayde McDonald
Inviting current graffiti artists into the gallery, Jayde McDonald curates a body of work that confronts the tensions around graffiti. Painted in oil and acrylic, these gritty urban scenes argue for graffiti as a legitimate art form rather than mere vandalism, while remaining honest about the street environments in which it was born.
While Nelson does not have the scale of larger New Zealand cities, it has its own graffiti history and culture, reflected here through the work of artists based in or connected to the Tasman region at different stages of their practice.
Analog Decay | Nicholas Males
In Analog Decay, Males juxtaposes forgotten technologies with the systems emerging to replace them, working across object, print, and video. His prints abstract 1980s telephony advertising, pairing it with video stills and scans of obsolete devices. His Arduino-powered LCD phones appear both ominous and divine: small, devotional machines whose endlessly scrolling text delivers warnings like a religious digital town crier announcing the end times.
Nicholas Males is a multidisciplinary artist from Te Waiharakeke, now based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. He completed a Master of Fine Arts at the Elam School of Fine Arts in 2021. His early installations merged domestic and corporate aesthetics, creating familiar yet functionless environments that question how individuals navigate designed spaces under contemporary capitalism.
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