Introducing Anita DeSoto
My profound passion for painting takes on a vivid voice as it intertwines with my deep fascination for History. It’s a captivating dance where the forgotten stories of women, often hidden, find their expression in my art. A constant thread in my work.
I was born in Waimate, near where generations of my paternal ancestors lived in the enchanting Totara Valley in Waitaha/Canterbury. Amongst the limestone caves that hold ancient whispers and Maori art. And the echo of long-forgotten horseback
journeys through this valley, as children rode huge distances to school.
In the journey of my life, Koputai/Port Chalmers is a place of profound significance. It was here, from the age of 3, that I grew up around my maternal lineage. The salty breeze of Koputai carries within it the echoes of generations past, and my family’s tales.
Imagine the scene in the 1840s, my great-great-great grandmother was eyewitness to hundreds of vessels navigating Otago Harbour, carrying with them a tide of settlers. Her survival story of womanhood in that era remains etched in my consciousness – an awe-inspiring testament to her endurance and resilience.
Now, standing as a matriarch within my own family, I find profound joy in the act of sharing life’s journey with my loved ones. In a cottage by the ever-changing sea in Blueskin Bay, my partner and I have cultivated a garden vast in size, colours, and produce. Another kind of canvas imbued with a vibrant spectrum.
Curriculum Vitae
Qualifications
- MASTER of FINE ARTS, Otago Polytechnic School of Art, Dunedin, New Zealand
- BACHELOR of FINE ARTS, Otago Polytechnic School of Art, Dunedin, New Zealand
- Graduate Diploma in Teaching, Dunedin
Professional Experience
- 2004 – current
Drawing and Painting Lecturer at the Dunedin School of Art at the Otago Polytechnic
Residences
- William Hodges Fellowship, Southland 2018
- New Pacific Studio, Vallejo, San Francisco, California, USA 2014
- Arotoi Residency Award at New Pacific Studios, New Zealand, 2013
- Leipzig International Art Residency Programme, Leipzig, Germany, 2010
Collections
- Gala Day and Time is Not Linear 2018. Southland Art Foundation
- Not of This World, 2013, Pah House, Auckland
- Signpost from God, James Wallace Collection, Pah Homestead, Auckland
- Further than Far Away, Anderson Park Public Gallery Collection, Invercargill
Judging of Art Awards
- University of Otago, Intercollege Student Visual Art Competition 2022
- Edinburgh Art Awards, Dunedin 2022
- Preston Russel Art Awards, Riverton 2019
- Almost an Island, Otago peninsula 2019
- Edinburgh Realty Art Awards Dunedin 2018
- Otago University Students Association Art Awards 2015
- Aspiring Art Awards, Central Otago 2014
Prizes & Awards
2019 Merit award, Cleveland Art Awards, Dunedin
2018 William Hodges Fellowship and Residency, Southland|
2017 Peoples choice award, New Edinburgh Art Awards, Dunedin
2014 Artist in residence, New Pacific Studios in Vallejo, San Francisco, USA
2013 Aratoi Fellowship, New Pacific Studio, New Zealand
2012 Molly Morpeth Canady Art Award, merit prize for Abor Spiritus
2010 Awarded a 3 month Leipzig International Art Residency in Germany
2006 Park Lane Art Awards, First Prize, Portrait Category, Auckland Museum
2004 The McAlister Award, Anderson Park Gallery, Invercargill
2004 Highly Commended, Cleveland Award, Cleveland Living Arts Centre, Dunedin
2003 Cleveland Premier Award, Cleveland Living Arts Centre, Dunedin
2003 Derivan Art Award, Dunedin
2000 Recognition of Achievement in Painting, Otago Polytechnic School of Art
Reviews & Publications
- https://issuu.com/opresearch/docs/i_don_t_want_your_golden_apple
- https://www.odt.co.nz/entertainment/arts/putting-new-spin-past 2022
- Darren Ludlow, Art is Perception, Radio Southland NZ on Air 2018
- Amy Johnstone, Southland Express 7/8/2018
- Amy Johnstone, Southland Express 3/9/ 2018
- Westernstar July 2018
- T J McNamara, review, Vintage. New Zealand Herald Aug 2016
- Sian Hannagan, Home Birth Aotearoa, artists page 3.2 Winter 2016
- James Dignan, Otago Daily Times, Coming Back, p 26, 31 May 2012
- David Eggleton (ed), Landfall, Home + Building, 2012
- Scope, Contemporary Research Topics Art and Design, Otago Polytechnic, p. 5-6, 2011
- Nigel Benson, Otago Daily Times, True to Form, 16 Sept 2009
- Leoni Shmidt, Scope, Contemporary Research Topics: Art 3, Pie in the sky, 2009
- Otago Polytechnic Research Annual Report, Otago Polytechnic, 2009
- James Dignan, Otago Daily Times, Cross My Heart, 23 April 2009
- Gavin Bartram, D-Scene, Cross My Heart , Dunedin, 15 April 2009
- T.J. McNamara, The New Zealand Herald, Pie in the Sky, April 9 2008
- David Eggleton, The Listener, 25 Aug 2007
- Channel 9 Documentary, 7 July 2007
- Margi Macmurdo, Critic, OUSA, Issue 15, 2007
- Nigel Benson, Otago Daily Times, 12 July 2007
- Stephen Higginson, a review for the exhibition “Cross My Heart”, 2009
- Bridie Leonie, Ordinary Ecstacies catalogue for exhibition, Away, away, July 2007
- Maari McClusky, Drawn from Life: The Art of Anita DeSoto, Art New Zealand, Winter, 2007
- T.J. McNamara, The New Zealand Herald, Votive & Lies, July 5, 2006
- Ralph Body, Critic, Discomposures, OUSA, 2006
- James Dignan, Otago Daily Times, Discomposures, May 18, 2006
- Katrina Megget, Otago Daily Times, report on Park Lane Award, April 22, 2006
- Capital Times, Adam Portraiture Award, 2-28 March, 2006
- Diana Dekker, Dominion Post, Adam Portraiture Award, March 18, 2006
- Ben Vidgen, Deadline, 18 August, 2005
- Frith, Review of Limbus, p.23 – 24
- Joanne Campbell, Otago Daily Times, review of Limbus, (page 25), 12 August 2005
- Katrina Megget, Otago Daily Times, Cleveland Past Winners Show, p.26, 2 July 2005
- James Dignan, Otago Daily Times, Southern Light review, 16 Dec 2004
- McAlister Award, Southland Times, Amy Glass, P.27, 3 Oct 2004
- James Dignan, Otago Daily Times, Cleveland Award, 1 Oct 2004
- Richard Dingwall, Otago Daily Times, Post Raphaelites review, 15 Nov 2004
- David Eggleton, The Listener, Cleveland Award, 25 Oct 2004
- Richard Dingwall, Otago Daily Times, Cleveland Award, 3 Oct 2004
- Catherine Patterson, Otago Daily Times, Cleveland Award, p.28, 3 Oct 2004
- Brenda Harwood, Otago Daily Times, Desire Drapes Everything, 20 July 2004
- Richard Dingwall, Otago Daily Times, Desire Drapes Everything Review, 18 July 2004
- Peter Entwistle, Otago Daily Times, Site review, Dec 2000