5C McDonald Street,
Mount Maunganui 3116

e. hello@grocer.gallery
tel. +642102672704
Wed - Fri 10am - 1pm
Sat - 11am - 2pm & by appointment Instagram
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Past shows

Robert McLeod
Drown or Burn

Josh Taylor

March 1 -29

Please contact hello@grocer.gallery for a catalogue and images of all artwork.


Grocer Gallery is excited to welcome works by Robert McLeod and Josh Taylor. A significant figure in New Zealand art since the 1970s, McLeod unveils a new body of work titled Drown or Burn. Meanwhile, Taylor, briefly back in Mount Maunganui from London, offers a lush selection of new ceramic pieces.




Photos by Untitled Studio


Robert McLeod
Drown or Burn



We are pleased to present ‘Drown or Burn’, a new body of work by Robert McLeod, on view at Grocer from March 1–29. Born in Glasgow in 1948, he relocated to New Zealand in 1972 and has just recently moved to Auckland. McLeod’s work, whether on traditional surfaces or breaking out to the floor or into three-dimensional forms, invite the viewer to confront uncomfortable truths with a mix of humor and indignation. Recurring figures, such as the “Mutant Mickey,” appear in his work as part of an ongoing dialogue with political satire, ecological concerns, and cultural critique—reflecting a world where destruction, instability, and absurdity collide.

"Ecological destruction, climate change, carbon footprints, unstable egocentric politicians, disruptive protests. Events that are endlessly highlighted in the media can’t be avoided. They impact on my life and eventually show up in my paintings. The ridiculous, the humorous, the overstated and the imagined allow me to comment on world events that painting can highlight but not change and to hold up a distorting mirror to the confusion and uncertainty that is part of everyday life. This invites viewers to look, to think, to react. Maybe to laugh. I don’t want to spend my studio time wallowing in the depths of despair. I’m a painter, not a social activist. The events may not be funny but the painting is there to be enjoyed for its own sake."

"Painting has a long history and I was happy to spend many years wandering through this already charted territory hoping to tumble or fumble my way into something new. I was in no hurry to establish a 'signature' style, preferring the freedom to experiment, make mistakes, and learn. If a technique, style, movement, way of using paint exists, I want to understand, update, and absorb it into my work. Everything from the Renaissance Window to Greenberg’s flat picture plane and postmodern confusion.

In the last two decades, I’ve been trying to push boundaries by exploring the areas where painting, drawing, sculpture, and installation rub up against each other. However, there is a line I don’t want to cross. I want my works to remain and always be recognised as paintings. If you move Duchamp’s Urinal or Bottlerack to the local tip, they revert back to their original state. I want to make objects whose identity is based in their history, techniques, and materials; not the context they are placed in. My recent work has been a response to the way I see the world. What I absorb on a day-to-day basis melds with my political views and combines with older, established ideas within my paintings. Odd and incongruous larger-than-life characters from past works combine with recognisable images derived from some of the issues of our times."

McLeod’s work is held in major collections, including Te Papa, Auckland Art Gallery, and the Dowse Art Museum. His significant exhibitions—such as his seminal solo show at City Gallery Wellington in 1981—reflect a fearless commitment to challenging the conventions of painting. Accolades such as the 2005 Runner-Up Prize and the 2004 Jury Prize at the Wallace Art Awards, the 1998 Lillian Ida-Smith Award for Painting, and multiple prestigious grants underscore a career dedicated to continual exploration and transformation in art.


















Josh Taylor




We are excited to have new work by Josh Taylor (Fords Factory), a multidisciplinary artist from Mount Maunganui, now based in London. Working primarily with ceramics, Taylor’s practice explores form and material through both sculptural and functional objects. A graduate of Massey University Wellington with a BDes(Hons) in Industrial Design, his approach is driven by process and material experimentation.

This body of work, including hand-built plates and a sculptural lamp, embodies a tactile connection to home. Incorporating locally collected shells, these pieces reflect time spent in Aotearoa after time abroad.

"I’ve been head down on the smelly streets of London for a couple of years. I went back home for a few weeks. I felt wind, sun, and ocean on me. Every day I played in the sea with my friends and in my backyard with some mud. I was happy with some of the tricks I did on my surfboard. When I was hungry, I ate pies and vegetables from Mum and Dad’s garden. Annoyingly, some of my secret spots are no longer secret because of the new boardwalk. I fired my little gas kiln in the garden. Between the pieces of mud, I laid shells I had collected from Cutters Cove at low tide. These are the pieces that came out."























Please contact hello@grocer.gallery for a catalogue and images of all artwork.