Jenny Keate is a painter living in Wellington Whanganui-a-Tara. Jenny’s paintings are primarily of, and about, the New Zealand landscape. She is interested in the stories we can read in landscapes – how the land shapes people and people shape the land. The spectre of human presence is often visible in the environments she portrays, with varying levels of impact – from roads slicing through valleys, to fields cultivated for crops. She paints in an abstract figurative style, often using strong geometric shapes to construct scenes that may possess ethereal elements and perspectives, but that still retain a sense of familiarity. The lovingly curated shades of green that have become associated with her work reflect a sense of genuine reverence for the subjects she dedicates her practice to.

Her December 2025 show at Bowen Galleries marked a departure from the New Zealand landscape, and featured paintings inspired by the desert landscapes of Central Australia.

Jenny is represented by Bowen Galleries, Wellington.

Solo exhibitions

Dec 2025 Flight of the Budgerigar – Bowen Galleries, Wellington
Apr/May 2024 There or someplace else – Bowen Galleries, Wellington
Jul/Aug 2023 Looking Sideways – Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History
July 2022 Bowen Galleries window, Wellington
Oct 2021 The Idea of North – Bowen Galleries, Wellington
July 2020 Still Lifescapes – Visual Culture, Wellington

Group exhibitions
May/June 2023 You won’t believe your eyes…a visual miscellany – Bowen Galleries, Wellington
Feb 2023 Holidays Work – Bowen Galleries, Wellington
August 2022 No Time Like the Present – Thistle Hall, Wellington
March 2020 Confection 2 x 4 – Visual Culture, Wellington
2016 Points of View – Visual Culture/Thistle Hall, Wellington

Media

Review of There or someplace else, Art New Zealand Winter 2024