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katemcleod.art

Welcome to the art of Kate McLeod — where texture, light, and instinct collide. Based in Ilam, Ōtautahi Christchurch, New Zealand, Kate is a full-time mixed-media artist who works intuitively with oil, acrylic, resin, pigments, metal leaf, and handcrafted timber frames. Her process is bold and physical, transforming raw materials into works that pulse with movement and emotion.

There are three upcoming events where you’re warmly invited to come along and experience Kate’s art in person: the Christchurch Art Show this weekend, ArtCo Gallery 15-22 May 2025, and the New Zealand Art Show in Wellington 30 May - 1 June 2025. Find out more.

Each piece is a unique sensory journey — layered, tactile, and deeply connected to the natural world. From her sunlit studio, Kate creates art that doesn’t just sit on a wall, but speaks, shifts, and resonates. No two works are ever the same, and all carry her unmistakable mark.

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About

Kate McLeod is a full-time mixed media artist based in Ilam, Ōtautahi Christchurch, New Zealand.

McLeod has exhibited widely throughout Aotearoa and her work is in collections in NZ, USA, China and the UK.

In December 2023 McLeod was the New Zealand representative at the Liangzhou Forum, a global art symposium involving artists from over 80 countries. She was a keynote speaker at the event and her painting is now part of the permanent gallery collection in Liangzhou, China. In 2022 she was awarded the Winsor and Newton Prize for creative use of materials at the Auckland Art Show.

Following her graduation in 2005 from Canterbury University (BA, Art History and Sociology), McLeod’s life twisted and turned, with jobs as a TV set designer, art teacher, advertising account manager, creative software executive and restoration project manager giving her licence to explore a wide range of creative disciplines.

Along the way, Melbourne, Auckland, Ankara, London, San Francisco and Sydney have all been called home. In 2015 McLeod came full circle, putting down roots in her home town of Ōtautahi. She then set about creating a purpose built studio and environment to support her career as a full-time artist.

She now lives her dream of creating rich, layered, gestural, abstract paintings with the goal of evoking an emotional response. Grounded by her deep fascination with colour theory, each work is original and captures a fleeting moment.

McLeod paints in a wide range of archival materials, including oil, acrylic, resin, pigments, metal leaf and hand-crafts all her frames. Free delivery available in Canterbury and worldwide delivery can be arranged.

Studio visits welcomed by appointment.