2009 felt like the right year for me to start showing my work
to the wider public so I produced my own art book featuring some of my works between 2004-2008. In 2008, I spent four months painting and spending time with my family in Basel,
Switzerland, where I was born.
Showing Now and Forthcoming Exhibitions:
4 January - 31 March 2012 PASSIONE, new italian restuarant here in Kaikoura 40 West End, phone 03 319 69 99
it is a most beautiful newly established modern building with high walls, lovely atmosphere and brilliant, authentic italian cuisine.
in the same building on the 2 floor is my daughter Piera Fromm's new SOUL STUDIO, where she teaches many different styles of dance, acrobatics and her brother Livio Fromm offers capoiera and i teach classes in breath- and body awareness at Soul Studio. For enquires call Piera on: 021 180 2126
My works can also be viewed and purchased at my Ruth Stirnimann Art Studio: heaven on earth, here in Kaikoura at 103 Harnetts Road, phone 03 319 7868 or via my website. I am also happy to do commissions for your personal painting
A limited edition of prints on canvas or aluminium composite are available for some of my works. Prices start at NZ$ 450 for a print of 50x50cm and prices increase with larger sizes. For more information on this exciting option, please contact me on ruth@ruthstirnimann.com
In 2012 I am taking a break from exhibiting my works outside of New Zealand, because I feel that stillness, contemplation, love and joy are crucial in these times of universal and personal transformation. In the last 2 years I have exhibited my paintings in Buenos Aires, Sydney, New York and Switzerland and many places in New Zealand, such as Cheviot, Queenstown, Christchurch, Auckland, Wellington,.
For this year I have turned down opportunities to show works internationally, just to give myself the space to connect with my creative energy on a ever deeper level, which is essential as my works are about healing, expanding conscious awareness and restoring balance on a holistic level.
Most of my original works range between NZ$ 2750 - NZ$ 7900. Shipment anywhere around the world can be easily arranged.
I offer all my warmth and gratitude to those who have supported and inspired me, loved my works and bought paintings in the past and wish you all an exciting 2012.
If you are interested in exhibiting my paintings at any stage in the future, feel free to contact me at some point.
Past Exhibitions:
21 May - 30 Aubust 2011 Pop Up Art Space Redcliff, 87 Main Road, Redcliff, Christchurch www.popupart.co.nz
18 - 22 July 2011 Mathematical Conference, Dunedin, New Zealand
1 May - 1 July 2011 nkb Gallery, 455 Mt Eden Road, Auckland, New Zealand www.nkbgallery.co.nz
14 February - 8 April 2011 The ArtHouse Hotel, Pitt Street, Sydney, Australia. Click HERE for more details.
11.1.11 . 11.11 am OPENING of my Ruth Stirnimann Art Studio: heaven on earth 103 Harnetts Road, Kaikoura It was such a lovely, joyful, inspiring opening .... i have been nearly overwhelmed that so many of you were here at 11.11 am to start the celebration with the popping of the champange with me..... thank you all for your presence and also Henno for playing the tibetan singingbowls, toning my workspace beautifully.....
7 November until 18 December 2010 Two Rivers Gallery, Cheviot, New Zealand Solo Exhibition
29 October – End of December 2010 Wai Restaurant, Queenstown, New Zealand Lakes District Council Reception, Queenstown, New Zealand Events Centre, Queenstown, New Zealand
August 2010 Galeria Consorcio de Arte, Buenos Aires, Argentina Solo exhibition: "Joint Polarities"
April/May 2010 Bryce Gallery, Christchurch New Zealand
March 2009 Kaikoura Winery, New Zealand Group exhibition : "Art in the Dark"
September 2009 – April 2010 Contour Gallery, Kaikoura, New Zealand
February 2009 Fullmer Gallery, Tasman, Nelson, New Zealand
November 2008 Forsyth Barr, Christchurch, New Zealand
artworks for hire
Some of my paintings can be hired to enhance the atmosphere of your office or home or to support you with specific healing issues.
A leading Swiss-born New Zealand artist will launch her art exhibition of contrasting styles at the Sydney’s Arthouse on February 14.
Ruth Stirnimann, the only New Zealander to show at an international exhibition in Buenos Aires last year, will have 11 geometric and three flowing abstract works.
``I love the yin-yang energies; the joy of exhibiting in the beautiful city and the contrasting but nevertheless complementing styles. Being on the international art scene gives me passion and energy for painting. I will be exhibiting in New York in May and I just keep going, just loving it,’’ Stirnimann said today.
The Buenos Aires exhibition in August was a turning point in Stirnimann’s career. She is different from most other artists but it brought her in to contact with such talented artists from all over the world.
Stirnimann is a Kiwi but was born in Basel, Switzerland. She has been a full-time artist since 2004. Her paintings are expressions of creative, harmonious vibration underlying all life forms. They embrace changing patterns of being and support harmony and balance on a holistic level. She says her works as healing paintings, restoring harmony and equilibrium on an individual and universal level.
She opened her new studio at Kaikoura, two hours’ drive north from Christchurch, on January 11 at 11.11am. It was called the 11.11.1.11.11 opening exhibition, very symbolic of her geometric styles.
She is such a clever and sought-after passionate artist who puts all she can in what she creates on the canvas, which is inspired by her flowing energies. This is her first Australian exhibition and she will be at the February 14 opening.
......Stirnimann is a Kiwi but was born in Basel, Switzerland. She has been a fulltime artist since 2004.
She says her paintings are expressions of creative, harmonious vibration underlying all life forms. They embrace changing patterns of being and support harmony and balance on a holistic level.
She sees her works as healing paintings, restoring harmony and equilibrium on an individual and universal level.
Ruth is inviting the people of Kaikoura to her exhibition in January.
It will be a two-day celebration at the new studio at 103 Harnetts Rd. There will be wine and cheese along with some live performances, and a chance to see some of Ruth's artwork and her studio.
A leading South Island artist will open New Zealand’s newest art studio next month with her 11.11.1.11.11 exhibition in Kaikoura.
The figures represent the time, month, day and year the studio opens: 11.11am on January 11, next year.
Artist Ruth Stirnimann has exhibited in Christchurch, Buenos Aires, Queenstown and Cheviot this year and her studio opening is a precursor to her Sydney exhibition in February and a New York exhibition in May next year.
She has two painting styles: evocative abstract and straight line geometric. The 11.11.1.11.11 exhibition is symbolic of her geometric styles.
Stirnimann said she saw the number ‘one’ as the initial number of creation and it could be related in her geometric works.
The new studio will be open Fridays and Saturday from 11am till 1pm. Stirnimann was the only New Zealander at an international exhibition in Buenos Aires in August.
A leading South Island artist Ruth Stirnimann is set to exhibit her two key styles – abstract and geometric – in Queenstown and Cheviot, North Canterbury.
Stirnimann is just back from painting in Switzerland and last month was the only New Zealander at an international exhibition in Buenos Aires.
Her Queenstown exhibitions open at the Wai, the Queenstown Lakes District Council reception and the Queenstown Events Centre on October 29. Her exhibition at Cheviot’s Two Rivers Gallery will open on November 7.
Stirnimann says she started painting at kindergarten and was unaware mandala (circles) she so often painted were expressions of universal geometry.
"An important part of my painting education was the geometric design classes we had at the mathematical-scientific high school which I attended for a couple of years.
"Then in New Zealand, I had a very special art tutor Gary Griffiths in Nelson who inspired me to paint full time after I moved to Kaikoura six years ago. I am deeply grateful for his help and support until he died a few years ago.’’
Her first exhibition was at Forsyth Barr in Christchurch two years ago followed by a solo exhibition at the Fullmer Gallery in Tasman and the Art in the Dark show in Kaikoura last year.
The Buenos Aires exhibition in August was a turning point in Stirnimann’s career. It brought her in to contact with some amazingly talented artists from all over the world.
"I exhibited 13 paintings -- 11 geometric pieces and 2 abstract works. It felt great to be appreciated b y other artists. It was a great encouraging experience, because I have always disliked the “arty farty” world of art very much. When I was younger I came across a lot of pretentious, superficial, snobby people and galleries which put me off a lot….. so I realised that this is not always the case.
"It feels difficult to pinpoint aspects of New Zealand in my works but my Kaikoura environment influences the way I work. One painting, Ode to Kaikoura, is an expression of this connection with the land and sea… I feel most of my informal abstracts are happening here in New Zealand.
"I hope next year I can exhibit more of my works publicly so that I can communicate with more people. I have moved into my newly built studio in Kaikoura and I will exhibit in the restaurant gallery soon to be opened by my daughter Piera Maria Fromm and her partner Sebastian Buergin.’’
Stirnimann is a Kiwi but was born in Basel, Switzerland. She has been a full-time artist since 2004.
Her paintings are expressions of creative, harmonious vibration underlying all life forms. They embrace changing patterns of being and support harmony and balance on a holistic level. She says her works as healing paintings, restoring harmony and equilibrium on an individual and universal level.
Sacred geometry and abstract artist Ruth Stirnimann has received amazing feedback after she was invited to show in a prestigious Buenos Aires gallery.
"The paintings were absolutely stunningly received, it was amazing."
The exhibition called Joint Polarities is a mixture of both more formal sacred geometry painting and her abstract work with colour. "I received a personal invite to exhibit in Buenos Aires and the feedback is exciting."
Trained in movement, healing and energy balancing techniques, her background is reflected in her work.
She has two distinctive styles of paintings a form of abstract expressionism and the more ordered sacred geometry, which Ms Stirnimann describes as formal expressionism.
Ms Stirnimann said her passion is moving beyond the known. "I wish to depict the concealed, the intangible and so each new painting is approached with complete openness." All paintings are expressions of the creative, harmonious vibration underlying all life forms.
Since 1990 Ms Stirnimann has been commuting between New Zealand and Switzerland but now lives in Kaikoura while returning regularly to Basel. "Kaikoura is a place to nurture and ground myself."
For Ms Stirnimann the two hemispheres, represent the uniting the polarities of Yin, which for her is New Zealand and Yang which is Switzerland and is what her recent exhibition is based on.
The sacred geometry paintings are evolving and now Ms Stirnimann is doing works on triangular canvases which she said is based on triangular wisdom and gives viewers the options of hanging the pieces in many different ways.
Mrs Stirnimann said she is proud to represent Kaikoura on the international art scene and is currently planning another exhibition in Switzerland.
Finally, I hit one smack in the middle. My drive on a nifty par four rises like a Jumbo Jet, far and high in the sky. But I lose sight of the golf ball. Instead I’m caught gazing at the majestic snow-capped Kaikoura mountains. To my right I hear the waves crashing on the shore.
This is Kaikoura: and it’s paradise. This is hardly New Zealand’s best kept tourist destination secrets – a million people stop and pass through Kaikoura every year.
It’s a little seaside township of barely 4000 people. But it is fast developing into a tourist destination. This cosy coastal settlement has its name flung worldwide because of whale watching. One hundred years ago they used to kill whales; now people just look at them. Whale watching is a big business.
But I digress. I putt out for a regulation par but have played poorly as usual and I grab my trundle and walk back to The Fairways at Ocean Ridge, a divine resort apartment destination where I am staying. The aptly name Fairways, on the edge of the gold course, is run by Stephan Rattray, who is in a race to become the town’s new mayor. He is bright, young and genial and has the area at heart. The Fairways is part of Ocean Ridge where they have planted 170,000 native plants among the walkways around the area. It’s a fantastic project.
But that’s not unusual in Kaikoura where they have one of the best recovery recycling centres in the country. Kaikoura is big on eco-tourism, green glob e measures and they try to keep the town as natural as possible, without it being over-run by tourists.
It’s just two hours’ drive from Christchurch’s international airport and is one of the most breathtaking locations of any town in New Zealand. Its towering, craggy snow capped mountains that plunge deep into the Pacific Ocean where whales, dolphins, seals and marine life thrive.
I stroll along the beach right next to the main street and see a sleepy seal was lazing on the sand. Out at Southbay, sperm whales dive for food. They are the biggest of the toothed whales and the world’s largest carnivore. They are equivalent in size to four elephants. World famous Whale Watch boats take you up close to giant sperm whales. Their 95 percent success rate means they guarantee an 80 percent refund if you don’t see a whale. I just love the play on words that their headquarters is in the town’s railway station, renamed the Whaleway Station.
Kaikoura is one of the few places in the world where sperm whales can be seen year-round and close to shore. One of these monsters consumes over 900kg of food a day.
Today I go crayfishing with Ian Croucher, who runs Southbay fishing charters. He’s a top bloke. We belt across the water in his Coastal Experience boat and lift a couple of pots to get some big crayfish. Ian says the crayfish (lobster) areas abundant as ever.
"I think it’s because we have more seals about now. The seals eat octopus and the octopus eat the crays but the seals have been dealing to the octopus so we have heavy quantities of crayfish now."
He takes out tourists – usually six at a time - and they catch sea perch, blue cod or red cod with clients and occasionally a whale pops up close by. They often see dolphins, seals, orca (killer whale), and little blue penguins.
Satisfied with my cray, I head back to The Fairways apartment to boil up my cray, savour the tail flesh and wash it down with a magnificent glass of Spy Valley Envoy bubbly from the Marlborough winemaking region. Outside my apartment I put my feet up on a chair, sip my bubbly, and listening the waves pounding the shore and look at the sun setting on the Seaward Kaikoura snow-tops. It’s so romantic. This is the life. The Fairways is luxurious and just seems the best place to stay. It on the town’s edge so it’s quiet but close to all I need.
The next day, I’m exhausted from all this lazing around so I head to Indulge Body and Soul and find out why they won a best spa in New Zealand award. My masseuse Tia Timms is amazing. She works hard on the knotty parts of my back and shoulders. My neck is tense but I feel so relaxed everywhere else!
An ace netballer, Tia suggests what else to do for the day. I could go surfing at Mangamaunu Point, one of the South Island’s most famous surf breaks. I could go bird-watching – sadly just the feathered-kind; scuba diving, Glenstrae farm biking, luging, archery, surf-casting, learn to fly and see whales from the air, diving with dolphins, fossil hunting, horse trekking, sea kayaking, cave tours, mountain hiking, deer hunting...I fall asleep, exhausted at the thought of all these.
Refreshed and invigorated, I plod off to Ruth Stirnimann’s art studio and fall in love with her bright geometric works which she just recently exhibited in Buenos Aires. She has a real talent and is a great asset to the Kaikoura art trail.
I drive back to Christchurch in my little Jucy rental, mentally making a note of all the things to do when I return Kaikoura.
Engaging the viewer into a dialogue with her work is just one aspect of painting that appeals to local artist Ruth Stirnimann, whose art is being exhibited in Nelson until the end of this month. Trained in movement and dance, and with years of learning different hands-on healing and energy balancing techniques, Ruth's background is reflected in her work.
She has two distinctive styles of compositions; the first, she says, is painting through opening herself to intangible energy patterns that wish to manifested through her, a form of abstract expressionism.
The second is much more ordered. Called sacred geometry, it is what Ruth describes as formal or structured expressionism, although she prefers the term "experiential art".
She also enjoys creating healing paintings for others, which she describes as a "very beautiful and rewarding way to work".
"I love the different sides to my work. On the one hand there is order and on the other it is much more random," she says.
"Each piece takes between six and twelve months to complete, and I always have at least three on the go at any time."
Ruth has lived in Kaikoura for four and a half years, having spent much time in Blenheim. She says she has found it to be an inspirational place for an artist with very good energy, and has received a lot of local support, as well as having supportive friends in Nelson, where the exhibition is on.
The exhibition of Ruth's paintings from 2004 to 2008 is at the Fullmer Gallery, Balwin Rd, Nelson. Dedicated entirely to her work, there are about 25 pieces on display, showcasing her use of different textures, including sand, adding further vibrations to the work. The exhibition finishes on February 28.
Kaikoura artist Ruth Stirnimann says painting has always been a beautiful and essential part of her life.
"Colour, rhythm, movement and texture are important aspects to my art. I am fascinated by the subtle dialogue and interplay of energies between these different aspects, the relationships they create, the ever-changing patterns through the slightest variation of light and how they influence and transform each other."
Crucial to Stirnimann’s approach to her art is her interest in "moving beyond the known".
"In expanding my own consciousness and awareness, I wish to manifest the 'concealed', the intangible. Therefore, I approach every new painting with complete openness, a curiosity of that which wishes to flow through me into manifestation.
"As a young woman, I became aware that my driving soul-force was healing and expanding my own being. Extending and evolving our own consciousness not only realigns the individual, it has a ripple effect outward, restoring and elevating the world as a whole, as everything and everyone is inextricably linked."
She says that her work can be categorized as formal and abstract expressionism.
"But I like to call it experiential art, as I hope to engender a greater awareness and a fresh, innovative experience in the viewer."
