Curator and writer Gregory O'Brien is presenting ‘Old country/New land - the work of Euan Macleod' at the Tauranga Art Gallery tonight.

Gregory's talk will discuss Euan's paintings in relation to the tradition of ‘the figure in the landscape' which dominated New Zealand art and literature in the 20th century.

Curator and writer Gregory O'Brien will be discussing artist Euan Macleod's paintings at the Tauranga Art Gallery tonight. Photo: Supplied

'In an art world cluttered with new-media and digital productions, Gregory will argue that there are still places in the human heart and mind that only oil-on-canvas can take us,” says the gallery.

Moving beyond the book ‘The Painter in the Painting', Gregory will explore how Euan's art continues to engage not only with the art world, but also with present day issues.

These issues include environmentalism and the changing notions of New Zealand and the Pacific region.

The visionary and subconscious elements in Euan's art will also be highlighted, along with their underlying autobiographical narrative.

All money raised by ticket sales will go to the Claudia Jarman Memorial Fund, which represents a passionate local art teacher who died in 1986, aged 78.

The memorial fund was established by her friends and family to honour her as one of Tauranga's most respected art teachers.

Gregory O'Brien's ‘Old country / New land - the work of Euan Macleod' talk will be hosted at the Tauranga Art Gallery, corner of Warf and Willow streets, Tauranga, tonight from 5.15pm

Tickets cost $10 and can be purchased by calling the Tauranga Art gallery on: 07 578 7933.