Te Wāhi Toi/The Arts Place exists to connect the creative community of Queenstown and Wānaka with audiences, students, teachers, spaces and each other. We are a not-for-profit organisation powered by Three Lakes Cultural Trust and inspired by local arts and culture.
Robyn Bardas’s practice is rooted in connectedness and the sublime in nature. Her long contemporary landscapes of the last ten years now give way to classical focused representational studies.
Since 2019, Robyn has been studying classical methodology at the great classical schools of Europe, and recently she returned from a month at the Barcelona Academy of Art learning classical sculpture and painting. Looking to continue the process, the horse skull in her studio provided a perfectly still model. The living horses became moving models, while Linda Kohanov’s book The Tao of Equus brought the Horse Ancestors into the room.
"I’m connecting the clay in my hands to a feeling from the horses of knowingness, old intelligence, kindness and inter-survival. The horses stand close, examining my hair, checking if the clay is edible, snoring. We are grateful for the shade together."
‘Interspecific information’ is where a species learns from the physical cues, language and senses of another species.
Bone is Bone shows new work at Te Atamira of sculpture, video and words. It is about connection, and includes excerpts from a new book.
Robyn lives and works in Hāwea Flat.
Bone is bone
It’s like fire, it’s old.
Ephemeral and continuous.
We have bones here,
buried in our paddocks.
Capped by threads of earth
and mycelium and grass and poo,
which we sink into our gardens
with biochar from our fires
to grow food.
That oldness though.
Comes through our noses
our hands our breath
when we lean into the living.
Those horses connect us.
To ourselves and to them.
We love each other.
We are gentle and curious.
They teach us stuff
that we don’t even know we’re learning.
Robyn Bardas 2026
Image: Bone is bone. Robyn Bardas 2026. Hand-built ceramic. 440 x 200mm
All are welcome to join us at the opening of this exhibition at 6:30pm on Wednesday 15 May at Te Atamira. Free to attend - please join us!
Event dates & times
Wed, 15 Apr
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Thu, 16 Apr
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Fri, 17 Apr
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sat, 18 Apr
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sun, 19 Apr
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Mon, 20 Apr
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Tue, 21 Apr
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wed, 22 Apr
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Thu, 23 Apr
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Fri, 24 Apr
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sat, 25 Apr
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sun, 26 Apr
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Mon, 27 Apr
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Tue, 28 Apr
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wed, 29 Apr
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Thu, 30 Apr
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Fri, 01 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sat, 02 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sun, 03 May
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Mon, 04 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Tue, 05 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wed, 06 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Thu, 07 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Fri, 08 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sat, 09 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sun, 10 May
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Mon, 11 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Tue, 12 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wed, 13 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Thu, 14 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Fri, 15 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sat, 16 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sun, 17 May
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Mon, 18 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Tue, 19 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wed, 20 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Thu, 21 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Fri, 22 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sat, 23 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sun, 24 May
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Mon, 25 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Tue, 26 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wed, 27 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Thu, 28 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Fri, 29 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sat, 30 May
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sun, 31 May
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Mon, 01 Jun
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Tue, 02 Jun
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wed, 03 Jun
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Thu, 04 Jun
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Fri, 05 Jun
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sat, 06 Jun
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sun, 07 Jun
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Mon, 08 Jun
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Tue, 09 Jun
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wed, 10 Jun
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Thu, 11 Jun
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Fri, 12 Jun
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sat, 13 Jun
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sun, 14 Jun
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Location
Te Atamira
Dart House Building, 11/12 Hawthorne Drive, Queenstown 9300
Price & Bookings
Free
Contact
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