Macandmor at your door

Murray Clode in the now closed Macandmor Art Space. Photo: John Borren.

The Macandmor Art Space collective has closed its doors but can still park a picture at an afficionado's front door.

'We've made the decision to close our physical gallery permanently,” says Macandmor operator and contributing artist Murray Clode.

The gallery in Tauranga's Goddards Shopping Centre's is a collective of ‘like-minded artists' from around New Zealand.

'Like everyone else, we were unable to trade until Alert Level 2, which hasn't been easy for any business.

'While the decision wasn't solely based on COVID-19, it didn't provide a positive outlook for the foreseeable future.”

Macandmor will continue to sell art online.

'Buying online is fine for prints, but it's hard to get the full impact of a painting. It's important to see the impression a piece has on you in real life.

'I'll happily take art to customers so they can still have that experience – even if I take it to their door and walk two metres away. Who knows, maybe it's a better way to do it.”

It seems art buyers hold the real-life experience in the same high regard – Murray says the shop made ten times more than the website pre-COVID.

'We show the work from artists all over New Zealand. They're incredibly talented, and will find other galleries to show their art in.”

Macandmor was born out of a five-minute conversation.

'Downtown Tauranga's Sally Cooke asked if I had any ideas on how to brighten Goddard's Arcade, and we decided on an art gallery. I'd never run one before, or worked in retail.

'The matter was settled with a simple ‘yes, when?' Well, 'when' turned out to be straight away.”

Murray called upon the artists he knew, and quickly rallied enough troops to open and run the gallery.

There were many highlights for Murray.

'Running the exhibitions was great fun. They showed that you can give a group of artists the same topic and they'll all interpret it differently.

'Being part of an artist's first exhibition was incredibly rewarding. Some didn't value their art very highly, so encouraging them to up the price and seeing it sell was a great feeling.”

The art will be kept in the artists' homes and delivered by courier.

To view Macandmor's online gallery, visit: www.macandmor.nz

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