Born in 1964, Séraphine Pick is recognised as one of Aotearoa’s most esteemed painters. Over a career spanning more than three decades, she has delved into the complexities of human experience, seeking innovative ways to convey these through her materials. Seamlessly blending elements of figuration and abstraction, Pick crafts otherworldly compositions using an array of media, including oil paint, watercolour, smoke, and clay. Rider Instinct showcases a selection of works from her extensive repertoire, originating from the recent exhibition of the same name, held at Te Uru Contemporary Gallery in Tāmaki Makaurau and curated by James Gatt.

Pick’s approach is closely tied to the tactile qualities of her materials. She works on various types of paper, layering pencil, gouache, smoke, and other media with an instinctive, improvisational process that allows the images to surface naturally. Her practice can be seen as a partnership with the materials themselves, embracing spontaneity as a tool for discovery. Through this daily routine, her works emerge with intricate details, marked by blooms, squiggles, and burn traces. These forms coalesce into ambiguous compositions that often straddle the line between abstraction and representation. Many pieces feel ephemeral, like fleeting memories or ghostly impressions, reflecting Pick’s ability to capture the delicate balance between presence and absence that defines her unique vision.

Pick’s work has been the subject of two major survey exhibitions: White Noise, Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt (2015) and Tell Me More, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū (2009). Recent exhibitions include: Rider Instinct, Te Uru Contemporary, Auckland (2024), Pages of Mercury: Rita Angus, Andrew Beck, Séraphine Pick, City Gallery Wellington (2022) and Coloured Mud with Jaime Jenkins, Michael Lett, Auckland (2021). Significant solo exhibitions include Looking like someone else, Pataka Musuem, Porirua (2014) and Tell Me More, City Gallery, Wellington (2010). Works by Pick were included in the 1st Auckland Triennial in 2001. In 1999 Pick was a Frances Hodgkins Fellow at the University of Otago, Dunedin and in 1995 she held the Rita Angus Cottage Residency in Wellington. The Olivia Spencer-Bower Foundation Art Award was awarded to her in 1994. Pick graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Canterbury in 1987 and gained a Diploma of Teaching from Christchurch College of Education in 1991.