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Artist Profile
about the artist
"Art has been my lifelong sanctuary, where I seek to create beauty as an antidote to suffering."
1974 - (Born in Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand)
Jonette's love of art began in childhood, where she sketched realism from an early age. Despite her love of art, she did not pursue it seriously for some time, however at the age of 27 she decided to invest fully in her practice and began teaching herself to paint with oils. Her early work was focused on portrait and figurative pieces, and she quickly began exhibiting and selling work in Christchurch, however life would pull her in a different direction when she moved to Upper Hutt, and later started a family.
Jonette picked up the brush again while her children were still young, often painting till the early hours to allow her precious time in the studio. Around this time she began painting still life, a style that would go on to become her primary focus for over a decade. Painting in the style of traditional realism, her well crafted still life paintings explored the fleeting beauty of life, endurance, and living in the moment. Themes that were ever present for Jonette who struggled with progressive and crippling disabilities.
Her work was quickly picked up by galleries in Christchurch, Upper Hutt , and Dunedin, as she expanded her practice and began exhibiting and selling regularly in both solo and group shows. She would go on to become a member of The New Zealand Academy of Fine Art in Wellington, where she also exhibited, as well as being selected as a finalist in several notable art awards throughout New Zealand.
Recently she held a deeply personal and educational solo exhibition “Glass Underfoot - Exploring violence against children in N.Z" at the regional art gallery Whirinaki Whare Taonga (Nov 2022-Feb 2023). In his powerful show Jonette used cleverly composed still life paintings to demonstrate the various types of violence children can face in their own homes, and the devastating effects this has on them in their adult lives.
Since then Jonette has continued to participate in group shows and has been developing still life through a more contemporary lens, where modernism, expressionism, and alla-prima styles have been her focus, alongside the continuation of her portrait and figurative works.
In her most recent (yet to be made public) work Jonette has leaned further into her love for deeply narrative paintings and has been creating thought provoking, symbolist works that demonstrate the maturity of an artist who has been exhibiting and selling for over two decades.
awards and merits
Jonette has been selected as a finalist in several art awards including:
- The (Upcoming) Craig's Aspiring Art Prize 2025
- The Taranaki National Art Awards 2024
- The Tasman National Art Awards 2024
- The Craig's Aspiring Art Prize 2024
- The Wellington Regional Arts Review 2022
- The Craig's Aspiring Art Prize 2022
- The Wellington Regional Arts Review 2021
- The Adam Portraiture Award 2020
- The Craig's Aspiring Art Prize 2020
- The Cleveland National Art Award 2019
- The Craig's Aspiring Art Prize 2019
- The Wellington Regional Art Review 2018
- Her finalist painting "The still life artist" was selected as part of The Adam Portraiture Award 2020 New Zealand tour
- Her painting was given a "Special mention" at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Art Group show in 2019
exhibitions
Upcoming Exhibitions
- 2024 - Toi i te Waru exhibition at Parliament Buildings, Te Papakura art gallery - Wellington. A group show for the New Zealand Academy of Fine Art. Running from 20 December 2024 - April 2025
- 2025 Craig's Aspiring Art Prize Finalist exhibition - Wanaka
Past Exhibitions
- 2024 - Taranaki National Art Awards exhibition - Opunkake
- 2024 - The Tasman National Art Awards - Finalist exhibition - Mapua Tasman
- 2024 - Group Show - The New Zealand Academy of Fine Art - Wellington
- 2024 - Craig's Aspiring Art Prize - Finalist exhibition - Wanaka
- 2023 - Group show - The Artists Room - Dunedin
- 2022-2023 - SOLO SHOW - Glass underfoot - Whirinaki Whare Taonga Regional Art Gallery - Upper Hutt
- 2022 - The Wellington Regional Arts Review - Finalist Exhibition
- 2022 - Craig's Aspiring Art Prize - Finalist exhibition - Wanaka
- 2021 - Group show - The Artists Room Fine Art Gallery - Dunedin
- 2021 - Group Show - The New Zealand Academy of Fine Art - Wellington
- 2021 - Group Show - The New Zealand Academy of Fine Art - Wellington
- 2020 - Wellington Regional Arts Review Finalist Exhibition - Upper Hutt
- 2020 - Upper Hutt Arts Trail - Chaplin's Picture Framing
- 2020 - Group show - The Artists Room - Dunedin
- 2020 - JOINT SHOW with Gemma Campbell - 'Still Restless' - The Artists Room Fine Art Gallery - Dunedin
- 2020 - Group show - The Artists Room - Dunedin
- 2020 - Selected for The Adam Portraiture Award N.Z Tour
- 2020 - The Adam Portraiture Award - Finalist Exhibition - Wellington
- 2019 - Group show - The New Zealand Academy of Fine Art - Wellington
- 2019 - Group show - The Artists Room - Dunedin
- 2019 - Group show - The Artists Room - Dunedin
- 2019 - Group show - The New Zealand Academy of Fine Art- Wellington
- 2019 - Group Show - The Artists Room - Dunedin
- 2019 - Group show - The New Zealand Academy of Fine Art - Wellington
- 2019 - Special mention at The New Zealand Academy of Fine Art group show - Wellington
- 2019 - The Cleveland National Art Award - Finalist Exhibition - Dunedin
- 2019 - SOLO SHOW- ‘Composed’ - The Artists Room - Dunedin
- 2019 - The Craig's Aspiring Art Award - Finalist Exhibition - Wanaka
- 2018 - Group show - The Artists Room Fine - Dunedin
- 2018 - Red Cross Charity Art Auction - Dunedin
- 2018 - Group show - The Artists Room - Dunedin
- 2018 - Wellington Regional Arts Review Finalist Exhibition - Upper Hutt
- 2018 - SOLO SHOW- The Artists Room - Dunedin
- 2017 - Group show - The Artists Room - Dunedin
- 2017 - JOINT SHOW “Four on the Floor’’ - Expressions Whirinaki Regional Art Gallery - Upper Hutt
- 2014-2017 - Group shows at Bryce Gallery - Christchurch
- 2005-2007 - Group shows - Van Helden Gallery - Wellington
- 2002 - JOINT SHOW - Article Gallery - Christchurch
- 2001-2003 - Group shows at Article Gallery - Christchurch
Public Speaking
- 2023 - Opening night speech (to 150 guests) at Whirinaki Whare Taonga for 'Glass Underfoot'.
- 2023 - 2 hour Artist talk for 'Glass Underfoot ' at Whirinaki Whare Taonga Regional Art Gallery
- 2017- Artist talk for 'Four on the floor' at Expressions Regional Art gallery Upper Hutt
Press and Publications
- 2022 - Glass underfoot catalog (Held at the National Library of N.Z)
- 2022 - Arts editorial - Wellington Regional News
- 2019 - Review Otago Daily Times
- 2018 - Review Otago Daily Times
Memberships and representation
- Jonette is a member of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts
- Represented by The Artists Room Fine Art Gallery
- Appointed member of Your Way/Kia Roha Hutt Valley Local Disability Leadership Group.
Review
"Jonette Murray's impressive still life's are the subject of ''Composed'' at The Artist's Room. The artist has created a series of tableaux in which the individual elements have been composed so as to play off each other, in terms of position and colour. The works are beautifully created, the soft lighting and gentle reflected surfaces reminiscent of Flemish art of the 17th century, even though the artist's influences and tastes surprisingly veer towards more modern painting.
The still life's are generally restricted to a few items - fruit, butterflies, jugs - set against plain backgrounds. This allows for the relationship between the items to become a major point of focus, in terms of their position within the picture frame and the psychological interplay of the items. The relationship between colour and tone is also brought to the fore, especially in works such as These golden moments, with its rich golden pears, brass jug, and deep golden cream backdrop.
Several of the pieces bring to mind classical vanitas images, with antique utensils placed against the ephemeral lives of fruit and insects. This is emphasized in Elevation, where a burnt-out candle rests on a dog-eared book alongside a sickle, all traditional symbols of the too, too short nature of life."
14/03/19
Written by James Dignan for the Otago Daily Times