Ruth In Mind - Online Exhibition
In recognition of Ruth Davey and her importance in Aotearoa New Zealand regional art, WSA & PCANZ organisied a selected exhibition of prints inspired by Ruth’s work.
Members were invited to submit up to two digital images of prints created recently.
The images selected were shown in Hamilton at the Ruth Davey Gallery at ArtsPost, managed by the Waikato Society of Arts (WSA).
Selector: Kathy Boyle
Organisers: Janice Meadows (ArtsPost) and the PCANZ exhibitions team. Contact details below.
Exhibition details:
Venue: Ruth Davey Gallery, Arts Post, Waikato Society of Arts, Hamilton
Dates: 10 July to 10 August 2025
Opening: Saturday 12 July. 1pm - 3pm.
Entry Information:
Format: unframed A4 paper, 280-300 gsm, portrait or landscape. Print size can be edge-to-edge or within the paper size with pristine margins.
Technique: any autographic printmaking technique/s are welcome.
Content: artists should take inspiration from Ruth’s work, especially two of her favourite themes: ‘People’ or ‘Nature and Landscape’. Ideally, work should be made for the exhibition, but older work (made 2024/2025) is acceptable.
Contacts:
Janice Meadows, jmeadows51@gmail.com for ArtsPost
PCANZ exhibitions team, exhibitions@printcouncil.nz, cc julieamoonlight@gmail.com
"All artwork images displayed in the 'With Ruth in Mind' exhibition are the exclusive copyright of the individual artists. Unauthorised reproduction or use is strictly prohibited."
A Bit About Ruth
Ruth Davey (1923-2023) was a close colleague and mentor of Marty Vreede (aka his ‘print mother’); by his invitation she was a charter member of Central Print Council. Many PCANZ members will remember working with Ruth during the council’s first two decades of summer schools and winter workshops, especially her eagerness to learn new techniques even after her many years of making and exhibiting prints. She was inspirational in her joy and enthusiasm for making and mentoring.
Ruth was a prolific artist who established printmaking as an option for the WSA School of Art in the 1970s and taught there into the ‘90s. In recent years she and her husband, Lester, established the Ruth Davey Merit in Printmaking prize awarded annually at the NZPPA. After giving many of her prints to Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum & Gallery, the Daveys left the remainder to the WSA.
These are displayed in a dedicated space at ArtsPost with all sales going to help fund the merit prize.
The several hundred prints held by the museum can be seen on their website at https://collection.waikatomuseum.org.nz/persons/340/ruth-marjorie-davey
Carole Shepheard has curated Davey exhibitions and in 2021 published ‘Walking Hand in Hand: Ruth Davey & Printmaking’ in Art New Zealand, issue 177. (Unfortunately, this is not available online.)
When Ruth died in December 2023, soon after her 100 th birthday, her life was described in the Waikato Times: https://www.waikatotimes.co.nz/nz-news/350158009/artist-whose-images-express-joy-idea-ruth-marjorie-davey-1923-2023