“Over my career I have been fortunate enough to travel each year and every time I gravitated back to Italy and France. It is in these two countries that I always found the space and stillness to formulate painting concepts.

I would often stay in convents – beautiful old buildings with no televisions or distractions. Travelling for me feels like there are more hours in the day and a sense of freedom from the routines of home life. It allows for a luxurious space and stillness – a blissful no rush rhythm.

Due to Covid, this yearly travel has obviously not been an option and I was concerned that due to my routine and practice being disrupted, clarifying and formulating my ideas, may prove illusive. Interestingly for me, however, another process occurred – I “excavated” my lexicon of imagery, it was meditated on and recomposed – coinciding with learning to meditate and finding some stillness from within.

I have always been interested in a sense of place and how a place can evoke emotion and allow for contemplation. I was born in Waitara, North Taranaki, and I continue to return in my work to Mt Taranaki. The mountain anchors me back to my ancestors, both Pakeha and Maori. In stark contrast I yearn for the exuberance and pageantry of the Italian Baroque (strangely drawn to since seeing a book at 7 years old) and the mercurial nature of gold in different lights. Who can know why we are drawn so inextricably to something?

Nature remains a constant in my painting, growth, flux and decay. Order and chaos and the beauty in the overlooked and humble. My navigational tools compiled as though a type of personal heraldry.”

–Nicky Foreman, 2021