Vanessa Narbey studied MFA at Elam School of Fine Arts. She explores visual perception in her art pieces with layering of colourful pigment and lines creating veils of textured marks. Her work has been exhibited globally with pieces held in both private and public collections.

Second Place in the Kumeu Art Awards 2025

“In the News Today”

Painting on board, framed in oak,

500 × 500mm

MATARIKI 2026

A Kumeū Arts Members Exhibition

Wednesday 1st – Saturday 25th July

“"Shimmer” 50 × 50 cm $1100

Mixed media on a wooden panel.

“I really enjoyed the meditative process of making this work. There were many layers of pigment in a range of colours. You can see them when you look up close. From a distance the colours merge together to make a slate grey. I love to work with this play of colour and how we perceive colour combinations. The top layer is of little tiny horizontal lines to create a watery, wavey effect, an illusion of movement from the repetition of lines to evoke the idea of celestial bodies and the ever changing world we live in.”

Opening: Friday 3rd July 5pm-7pm

Artworks from Kumeū Arts members, celebrating Matariki.

2026 Theme: Matariki herenga waka "Matariki, the gathering of canoes"

A Glimpse of Abstraction

Chartwell Gallery, Artspot, Waikato Society of Arts, Hamilton.

An exhibition of paintings and prints selected by Dr Carole Shepheard, President of the Waikato Society of Arts.

12th June - 3rd July 2026.

“ New Beginnings.” 50 x 50 cm framed in oak $1200

“I have worked intuitively with shapes and lines of intense colour, building up the textured surface of this painting. The layering technique plays with perception, vision, and focus. The gestural marks create a meditative quality and the illusion of pulsating energy, movement and a sense of aliveness.”

"Meanderings" 400 x 400mm mixed media on panel

"For this piece I have used a mixture of plant dyes, acrylic paint and drawing materials in layers with meandering lines and pools of pigment that have gathered and evaporated on the surface. I like to work intuitively and let the textures, petterns and shapes emerge and evolve through the process, much like landforms in nature.”

"Dreamscape" 400 x 400mm mixed media on panel

“I explore how we construct meaning in a fragmented world through perception, memory, and materiality. Layers of marks create tension between the familiar and the unknown. Ambiguity, pareidolia and wonder invite psychological and emotional introspection.”