Karena de Pont is a Mahurangi West based artist with a diverse artistic practice encompassing painting and sculpture. Covid lockdowns forced Karena to look at what she had at home that could be used as a foundation for her paintings and this exploration is the starting point for all her current works.

In her BURNT OFFERINGS series, Karena has used local Mahurangi scenery as her inspiration for her most recent works and for abstract works within this series the inspiration has come from the colours viewed on the long road trips taken across America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in recent years. Using recycled cedar boards made up into panels, the original compositions are transformed through fiery sacrifice with the application of intense heat causing paint to bubble colours to shift and the cedar boards to crackle and char. This metamorphosis is a testimony to sacrifice, transition, and transformation echoing burnt offerings in the past.

Both the FLUID and the AND IT WAS SAID series began as a way to use the photo paper that came with her new printer. The FLUID gestural artworks embrace the alchemy and translucency of coloured inks, whereas the AND IT WAS SAID artworks honour the emotional resonance of lyrics and quotes, celebrating the power of words in our lives.

Karena’s EARTH STICKS sculptural series transforms painted bamboo poles into striking focal points that juxtapose the natural environment. Installed outdoors among Aotearoa’s flora and fauna, these works embody our human instinct to embellish our surroundings. Whether standing alone as sentinels or grouped like a gathering of people in conversation, each EARTH STICK interacts with its surroundings and with one another, creating a dynamic dialogue within the landscape.

Karena’s mixed media wall sculpture series, ISLANDS, repurposes recycled pine batons to explore the significance of Aotearoa New Zealand’s many offshore islands. Through the interplay of light and shadow, these abstract painted works capture the essence of place and connection. Karena welcomes commissioned requests to recreate your favourite island, transforming its unique character into a sculptural artwork.

For all enquiries regarding her art practice, work, or commissions, please contact her directly.
Studio Open by appointment only:
Whare Koa, 27 Opahi Bay Road, Mahurangi West, Auckland 0983