{"id":292310,"date":"2026-02-19T21:24:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T21:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/292310\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T21:24:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T21:24:14","slug":"my-opal-heart-new-exhibition-at-matawhero-art-gallery-in-gisborne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/292310\/","title":{"rendered":"My Opal Heart \u2013 New exhibition at Matawhero Art Gallery in Gisborne"},"content":{"rendered":"

Describing the title piece My Opal Heart, which portrays the many hues of an opal gemstone, she says it speaks to \u201cthose who have struggled with self-worth; it is about beginning to recognise the beauty of your own unique colours\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Gisborne-basedGisborne-based artist Amanda Rutherford with a series of abstract paintings she completed while studying towards a degree in counselling. Photo \/ Malcolm Rutherford<\/p>\n

Registered with the New Zealand Association of Counsellors, Rutherford works at a Gisborne counselling agency that supports families. <\/p>\n

\u201cI accessed a mode of therapy called EMDR \u2013 Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, a technique that activates both sides of the brain in an alternating pattern, usually through side-to-side eye movements, tapping, or sounds to help your brain reprocess traumatic or painful memories, so they feel less overwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rutherford thinks visually, often in images and pictures, so the process of EMDR brought up \u201cthe most amazing images for me, and the inspiration for this series came because I wanted to paint these images, to communicate something of the healing journey I have been on\u201d.<\/p>\n

There is a brief explanation of the pieces, but her hope is that the viewer will interact and engage with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want you to see what they say to you or make you feel. Perhaps there is something of your own story in some of these images. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey are intentionally vague, inhabiting the space between pure abstraction and realism, provoking a feeling or state of mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people get to midlife, they realise they have been doing this for a while. I have been painting on and off for over 20 years. I love it. I can\u2019t contain myself to just one style, and I\u2019m okay with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AmandaAmanda Rutherford says art is “thought-provoking, sometimes powerful, sometimes challenging”.<\/p>\n

She believes art, in all its forms, is not just an optional extra, a luxury. It is essential if humanity is to thrive, bringing together playfulness, creativity and often beauty. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is thought-provoking, sometimes powerful, sometimes challenging. It is one of the things that makes us human.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her process is intuitive, playful, experimental and often somewhat messy, she says.<\/p>\n

She builds up many layers and textures, using found and scavenged materials, alongside artist-quality paints. <\/p>\n

Everything in the exhibition is varnished and ready to hang.<\/p>\n

At the opening, she acknowledged the support of her family, particularly husband Malcolm, who works as an ecologist for QEII National Trust.<\/p>\n

Attracted by the climate and lifestyle, they moved to Tair\u0101whiti around 12 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to be able to have time for our kids and grow lots of fruit and veges, and have been here ever since.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe simplicity of life here and the sense of community keeps us living here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before deciding to retrain as a counsellor at the age of 40, Rutherford, who has an honours degree in international relations, worked in related roles in New Zealand and the UK. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut I have always had a creative outlet,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"OneOne of the artworks by Amanda Rutherford where she uses collage and layering to create abstract paintings.<\/p>\n

She studied M\u0101ori and indigenous arts through Te W\u0101nanga o Aotearoa at Gisborne\u2019s Whirikoka campus and holds a foundation certificate in art and creativity from The Learning Connexion, an art school in Wellington. <\/p>\n

\u201cOther than these two courses, I have mostly been self-taught.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her two daughters, aged 12 and 9, share her love for art.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey both love making art and other creative pursuits like writing and floristry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The exhibition runs until March 9.<\/p>\n

\"Zimbabwe-bornZimbabwe-born Gisborne artist Amanda Rutherford’s debut solo exhibition My Opal Heart is running at Matawhero Art Gallery at Matawhero Wines. Photo \/ Malcolm Rutherford<\/p>\n

My Opal Heart by Amanda Rutherford<\/p>\n

Matawhero Art Gallery <\/p>\n

Matawhero Wines, 189 Riverpoint Rd<\/p>\n

See website for cellar door opening hours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Describing the title piece My Opal Heart, which portrays the many hues of an opal gemstone, she says…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[10804,1228,1628,442,498,499,500,1975,1038,501,156,4296,1888,1229,12506,78072,2862,78,685,103808,1885,4977,117,111,139,69,52152,1864,3074,161841,51189,59353,12637,686,1297,5977],"class_list":{"0":"post-292310","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-amanda","9":"tag-art","10":"tag-artist","11":"tag-arts","12":"tag-arts-and-design","13":"tag-artsanddesign","14":"tag-artsdesign","15":"tag-at","16":"tag-brings","17":"tag-design","18":"tag-entertainment","19":"tag-exhibition","20":"tag-first","21":"tag-gallery","22":"tag-gisborne","23":"tag-gisbornebased","24":"tag-heart","25":"tag-in","26":"tag-last","27":"tag-matawhero","28":"tag-mental","29":"tag-my","30":"tag-new","31":"tag-new-zealand","32":"tag-newzealand","33":"tag-nz","34":"tag-opal","35":"tag-opened","36":"tag-painting","37":"tag-passions","38":"tag-rutherfords","39":"tag-solo","40":"tag-together","41":"tag-week","42":"tag-wellbeing","43":"tag-which"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}