Arts commentator, television producer and writer Hamish Keith OBE, of Auckland, will contextualise in modern New Zealand art history five new pieces by artist Tony Lane, of Auckland, in Dorothy Brown's Cinema, on Friday, April 8.
Keith and wife Ngila Dickson ONZM, who won an Academy Award for her costume designs for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, will attend the function, along with Lane.
Gallery owner Nadene Milne said this week Keith "probably had the greatest understanding of anyone alive about how New Zealanders relate to art and what is and is not important in the nation's artistic conversations".
"We are very privileged to have him here and do hope people will make the effort to come and listen to him. I know they won't be disappointed."
Lane will unveil five "idiosyncratic, mysterious, symbolic and figurative paintings" in a series called "Breathe", she said.
Ms Milne said Lane was "a huge contributor to the fine art world in New Zealand with a career spanning more than four decades.
He was trained by Colin McCahon at Elam (School of Fine Arts) in Auckland and was a contemporary of Tony Fomison and Allen Maddox".
He was a contemporary painter who referenced Italian renaissance painters in his technique, Ms Milne said.
The lecture on April 8 begins in Dorothy Brown's at 7.15pm.
The cover charge is $8 per person and early bookings with the cinema are encouraged.
The neighbouring gallery opens "Breathe" to the public free of charge from 8pm.
The show runs until May 1.
"This is a huge opportunity for the community to meet and engage with some of New Zealand's most informed and entertaining cultural commentators," Ms Milne said.
