Andrew Blythe is a self-taught artist possessing a rare gift as a painter. Over the last years his body of work has been prodigious. Andrew is not inclined to label or title his paintings, but rather for them to be seen as an ongoing dialogue of “free expression and abstract figurative composition, to be enjoyed..….I am an empty vessel when I paint”.

A turbulent adolescence saw Andrew in and out of hospital and living hard in Auckland. During this time he would draw with pencil and Indian ink, as a cathartic expression of his experiences and depiction of the downtrodden side of life.

Painting and drawing since childhood, artists such as Ernst, Dali, Dechamp and Rauschenberg, made an early impression on Andrew, as did the works of New Zealand artists such as Clairmont and Fomison.

Since 2000 his passion for painting has been supported by Toi Ora Live Art Trust, a community arts centre providing studio space and tuition for people who have experience of mental illness. He has been exhibiting his works over the last six years, and Satellite is his first major solo show.

This exhibition provides a window into this poetic artist’s world.