Wallace Sutherland Retrospective

Tēnā koutou katoa,

This year marks the fiftieth year of Wallace Sutherland as a Jeweller and art-maker and Wallace has been invited to exhibit a retrospective of his jewellery at the Suter Gallery in Nelson, Te Aratoi o Whakatū.

The exhibition is titled ‘Alchemy’ and will showcase the evolution of Wallace’s jewellery making; spanning back to early pieces of silver-smithing made in his Ponsonby workshop in the mid 70s. 

We’re here to help Wallace raise  funds  to cover the exhibition costs; including displays, shelving, installation, signage, the design and printing of a small catalogue and a web page.

Please WATCH THE VIDEO  ABOVE for the full kaupapa!

Wallace Sutherland has been a practicing jeweller and sculptor for 50 years.

As a young Geology graduate, in 1970 Wallace took his first job with a gold mining company in Townsville. He quickly realized mining wasn’t for him, but the experience sparked a fascination with the alchemy of precious metals. After extensive traveling across Africa, Asia and the UK, Wallace, and his late wife Sally, settled back in Aotearoa and found their community of like minded, creative thinkers and practitioners in a Ponsonby artist enclave.  

At this time Wallace’s affinity with the NZ bush, love of scientific botanical drawings, alongside new creative influences from Africa and India, all collided with his new found skill-set gained at the Lapis Lazuli School of Silver-Smithing and thus launching Wallace into a long and productive career as jeweller. From his time working at Art Works Fine Art Bronze Foundry in the mid 80s, Wallace’s art-making grew to include bronze cast sculpture.

Whilst themes of native flora and fauna have been long running threads in Wallace’s jewellery, playful humour has also been a device for him to explore deeper themes of politics and mortality.

Ancestral ties to French Pass in the Marlborough Sounds have had a profound influence on his art-making. Wallace’s fascination with the ocean led him to revive the ancient technique of Cuttlefish Casting, using the porous shell of the cuttlefish to create unique, textured forms in metal.

A founding exhibitor at Fingers, New Zealand’s leading contemporary jewellery gallery, Wallace went on to regularly exhibit in the New Zealand gallery circuit throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and well into the 2000s. His work has also been featured internationally in collections in London, The Hague, and Milan.

Creative Director of Nelson Jewellery Week and Director of The Bench | School for Jewellery Kay van Dyk initiated the idea for Wallace’s retrospective show, and she continues to be the key project lead. Wallace’s kids Alex and Chloe having been involved in planning discussions from the start, and have decided to launch this Boosted Campaign.

(Also - a shout out to Karl Steven for the use of his composition in the video)

These funds will go toward essential costs, including:

• Displays

• Shelving

• Installation

• Signage

• The design and printing of a small publication

• A simple web page

The retrospective exhibition is titled ‘Alchemy’ and will be part of the Nelson Jewellery Week, 10th-16th April 2025, however Wallace’s show will run longer from 10th April – 8th June. 

Wallace will exhibit a small, but focused range of his jewellery which includes brooches, native flower rings, medallions, and bronzes. Works made by Wallace’s trademark casting technique ‘cuttlefish casting’ will also be exhibited.

We’re really excited for Wallace to have a retrospective exhibition. It’s the right time.

So please consider whether you can help - either by making a contribution or sharing a link to this Boosted page to anyone that might be interested. It all helps.

Thank you for your interest and support.