Nurture - Alice Toomer And Benjamin Cotter Dephoff | 13 June – 5 July 2025

Nurture brings together the work of Alice Toomer and Benjamin Cotter Dephoff, two artists who share a deep appreciation for nature, connection and food. Their photorealistic paintings line the gallery with moments of community, abundance and the familiarity of domestic spaces—an offering of what it means to give and receive care. 

Both artists dedicate their brush to light, texture and precise form—Cotter looking outward to the warmth of a shared fire, or the last steps before the hut after a day's hike. A small frame of the otherwise vast landscape beyond. Toomer however, places a nail in the crack of inner domestic life. Poking at the ironies of conventionally feminine ways of nurturing, while simultaneously enjoying them. Mundane moments captured amongst pink ceramic, her reflection in the bathroom tap, while pale tea made for nana balances on its saucer. 

The two artists ask gently, with the lull of Aotearoa’s bush and a quiet home in the background—what rituals are embraced by us versus expected of us? How can we let nature hold us and sustain us a little longer? Each canvas a breath of pause, a calm still before pace kicks back in and the everyday begins again.

Join us for the opening celebration on Thursday evening, 12th June, from 5.30pm, with beverages generously provided by Almighty.

Twentysix Gallery
26 Constable Street, Newtown
twentysix.co.nz
Opening Hours
Thurs/Fri 12 – 6
Sat 10 – 4
And by appointment

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