About the Artists

Internationally renowned artist Darryl Robertson and his artist partner Lesley Jacka Robertson are the resident artists at Bronte Gallery.

Darryl Robertson   

Robertson was born in Reefton on the West Coast of the South Island, New Zealand and lived in the small rural settlement of 30 people at Mawheraiti,twenty kilometers away. At the age of four his family moved to Nelson at the top of the South Island.

Darryl aways fascinated with the stained glass windows, sculptures and architecture of the local St Mary's church and early paintings in the local Suter Art Gallery, which he visited on the way from primary school and Nelson College. The church art and the gallery art, together with the atmosphere of these buildings, demanded respect when entering their large echoing spaces, were two places that set in motion an artistic feeling within him. At the time he did not understand what evoked the exciting powerful emotions from within him but later working as an artist he completely understood why he had felt that way about the artworks he had seen a child.

As a college student, in 1972, Darryl first became involved with clay whilst working with May and Harry Davis, both highly regarded potters from England. Darryl completed training in 7 studios over 7 years in New Zealand; Cornwall, England with John Davidson; and Queensland, Australia. These included an apprenticeship with Jack Laird in New Zealand.

Darryl later traveled through many countries seeking art, artists and artistic expression of many kinds, sometimes seeking places, other times finding them by chance. These experiences changed the way he would aim to work from that point on.
On returning to New Zealand in 1980, Darryl and his artist partner Lesley Jacka established studios in two different locations around Nelson province before moving to Bronte and establishing the Bronte Gallery.

 Lesley Jacka Robertson

Lesley was born in the North Island city of New Plymouth before moving to Nelson. She can vividly remember as a child of six years old, her fascination with collecting bottles of colored waters from papers and plants or anything that lost its dyes.

An interest in the arts was set in motion later with training in the processes of pottery at Waimea Craft Pottery, a well renowned and regarded Richmond pottery run by Jack and Peggy Laird.
After extensive overseas travel and the forming their first business in Queensland Australia,Lesley and her artist partner Darryl Robertson returned to Nelson to set up their own Gallery and artist studios in the 1980s which continues to this day.
Now known as Bronte Art Gallery,it has transformed into predominately Painting and Sculpture, attracting National and International recognition, awards and honors.

Lesley's early paintings evolved from painting on clay, porcelain jewellery to paper , were usually very vibrant, watercolors.( A possible throw back to childhood days).
Now solely painting on canvas she describes her works and subjects as sometimes cryptic, Poised between elusive and symbolic,her love of form and movement, present in her most recent subtle, figurative paintings in a neutral palette, they are reflective and a little surreal.

''I try to capture mood and atmosphere through a process of layering.I become completely absorbed in the depths of color and abstract forms.My figures are often youthful with a quiet quality and I enjoy bringing form to life from a raw canvas and paint and then watching the viewer connect''.

"We live in a very special location here on the stunning Bronte Peninsula, overlooking the Waimea Inlet, the largest inlet in the south Island. It is an ever changing, inspiring place to live and work as an artist".

Lesley's paintings are shown in exhibitions, galleries or through her studio
and gallery, Bronte Gallery on the Bronte Peninsular near Mapua / Nelson and have been purchased for private collections around the world

Use this ARTWORKS link to view Artworks.