About Pat
Pat Foster was born in Timaru in 1943. She graduated with a BSC from the University of Otago and attended summer art schools in Auckland. Her grandmother May Bradley, was a Christchurch sculptor, her mother Myra Vance was a Timaru sculptor and painter. Pat participated in many national exhibitions and her sculptures are found in international collections.
Foster worked in an extensive variety of media and had a special affinity for wood and stone, particularly serpentine. She worked without preliminary sketches or drawings, preferring to let her material dictate the resulting form. She compared the sculpting process to facilitating the birth of an image that is ‘screaming to get out’.
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Foster was influenced by Inuit and ancient Meso-American sculpture. She described her works as ‘spiritual self-portraits’, examining the universal themes of mother and child, man and woman and the inner psyche.
The Aigantighe has a strong collection of her work which she donated for the cost of the stone, as she had become disenchanted with the dealer gallery system and wished instead for her work to be enjoyed by everyone. Pat Foster died suddenly in July 2004 in Auckland.
5 Marble and Black Serpentine Sculptures
In 2022 the Aigantighe Art Gallery loaned to the Geraldine Sculpture Trail 5 works by the late Timaru artist Pat Foster, for which we are very grateful.
Located on the Waihi River Trail.
See more of Pat's art
You can view Pat Foster’s sculptures at the Aigantighe Art Gallery in Timaru, New Zealand. The gallery houses a significant collection of her works, including pieces like Pink Kiss (1997), crafted from Hanmer pink marble with a brass bell, and Standing Mother and Child, which explores themes of femininity and connection.
