Historic Villa, Art Gallery & Shop
Non-Profit Arts Society
Nestled down at the iconic Town Basin in Whangarei, this lovingly restored historic villa houses some real delights. Home to the thriving Northland Society of Arts, who were established back in 1989, they continue to host exhibition space for artists to hire, along with a boutique shop filed with unique pieces of local artworks.
Following the Hatea River, and just a quick walk through our Heritage Rose gardens, you will find the Reyburn Art Studio. This creative space houses the Firebirds Ceramic group and Fire Frenzy along with a main studio space for various groups to hire.
Entry to the Gallery is free but a donation is always appreciated. Run as a non-profit by mostly volunteers, your donation would help us to keep supporting Northland Artists.
What’s on at the Gallery…
Five great Exhibitions:
- Gallery 1 – Paitangi Art & Ink: Tihei Mauri Ora – The Sneeze of Life
- Gallery 2 – Gaynor Nairn: Distinctive and Delightful Explorations of Northland
- Gallery 3 – Liam Astbury: Tails of Friendship
- Gallery 4 – Karla Hansen: Reflections of the Celestial Womb
- Gallery 5 – Aubrey Cutforth: Places, Memories and Open Horizons
Take the virtual tour !
Try a virtual tour from your own home. Works on mobile, tablet and through a browser on a PC or Mac.
Just choose a room and, using finger or mouse, move around a 360° room view. Zoom in and out, move left & right.
Happy viewing! Call in to see the real artworks when you can.
Paitangi Art & Ink
Tihei Mauri Ora – The Sneeze of Life
website: www.paitangiartandink.co.nz
Gaynor Nairn
Distinctive and Delightful Explorations of Northland
Living coastally for many years made her intensely aware of the horizons in this part of the world. The relationships between the sky, horizons and the water, especially on the drive from the Heads to Whangarei, she finds irresistible.
The Whangarei Heads area has a unique landscape including water, mountains, and big skies, set under very distinctive volcanic horizons. Gaynor tries to get these on to paper using watercolour, pen and ink.
She’s developed a way to present the horizons in a more abstract way, using a limited pallet, merging colours in a way that only watercolour allows.
Lately, she has been creating a new series of watercolours that introduce the “Squeegees” to us. Theses fun little creature are always getting up to mischief.
Her exhibition is a distinctive and delightful exploration of Northland, with some bits of Squeegee fun!
Liam Martyn Astbury
Tails of Friendship
Through a compelling series of printed works, Liam explores the emotional bonds between people and their pets, highlighting the important role these relationships play in emotional wellbeing and everyday life. His approach combines artistic innovation with a deeply personal perspective, offering audiences an opportunity to reflect on the therapeutic value of human-animal connections
Please join Liam at 11am on the 25th October for his artist talk.
Karla Hansen
Reflections of the Celestial Womb
“Reflections of the Celestial Womb” is a love story painted in light and shadow – the tale of two souls who are perfect mirrors, finding each other again across lifetimes in the infinite cosmos.
Bound in harmony that is both tender and fierce, they are forever drawn together, destined to reflect one another’s essence, like the Earth and Moon in eternal embrace.
Aubrey Cutforth
Places, Memories and Open Horizons
Aubrey Cutforth is a multidisciplinary artist of French-Kiwi descent. Born in France in 2007, he moved here in 2021, a shift that deeply influenced his creative path. Aubrey first began drawing during the Covid lockdowns, but put it aside when his family relocated. Immersed in the beauty of New Zealand’s natural landscapes, he was drawn to photography as a way of capturing what he saw—an experience that led him back to visual
art, this time through painting. For now, he focuses on coastal scenes, boats, and the quiet tension of the sea, combining observational detail with an introspective, atmospheric style.
With a practice rooted in both design and fine arts, Aubrey explores the emotional pull of place, memory, and the open horizon.
Support Reyburn House
Each year we run our very own ‘Calendar Competition’, this is a special exhibition where Northland artists are invited to show off their very best work for an opportunity to win one of the twelve prize placements. Their artwork is then made into a Calendar which Reyburn House sell to help fundraise.
Buying a calendar is such a great way to support us, the artists, and as an added bonus it helps you get to know who are the rising stars of art in Northland!
Exhibition Opportunities for Artists…
