STELLA CORKERY

WOULDN’T SOUND LIKE

ANYTHING AT ALL, IT

WOULD JUST SOUND LIKE

AIR JUST AIR AND THE

EARTH AROUND ME. IT

WOULD BE MY INSIDES.

I COULD TASTE EARTH FLIRT

IN THE AIR. I WOULD DO

IT FLANA CHLOA STYLE.

IT WOULDN’T EVEN MATTER

WHAT PEOPLE SAID BC IT WOULD BE PURE

– Odwalla88 *

Stella Corkery makes work which considers how sound behaves in different places and situations. References within her paintings can touch on contemporary art history, cinema as well as musical influences such as post-punk and improvised sound. Corkery is interested in collapsing timelines, dissolving and reforming percussions, to build relationships between paintings. Corkery’s most recent work has extended to include digital photography, in which her own paintings are collaged alongside found images.

Stella Corkery is currently a Doctoral candidate at College of Creative Arts, Massey University, Pōneke. Previously she graduated from Te Waka Tūhura Elam School of Fine Arts and Design, Tamaki Makaurau with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours in 2012, and a Master of Fine Arts in 2013. In 2015 her work was included in a major exhibition of contemporary New Zealand painting, Necessary Distraction: A painting show at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. Solo exhibitions include: Paradises, Michael Lett, Auckland (2020); Year of the Head, Olga, Dunedin (2020); I’ve Seen Sunny Days, Goya Curtain, Tokyo (2018) and Keep Smiling the Boss Loves Idiots, Poppy’s Gallery, New York City (2016).

Stella Corkery lives and works in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. This is her fourth solo exhibition at the gallery.

* Odwalla88 were an American female duo group. Their poem cited above has no title and is printed on a fold out poster insert from their album EarthFlirt, OOGA BOOGA RECORDS, 2015.