Turua Gallery is proud to present A TREE STORY; Portraits of Cornwall Park – a major solo exhibition by celebrated New Zealand painter Josh Lancaster, opening November 2025.
Lancaster, who grew up in Auckland and is now based in Havelock North, brings ten new large-scale works to Auckland, each centred on the trees of Cornwall Park, timeless landmarks that hold a collective memory for generations of New Zealanders.
‘’These trees, familiar and well-loved, evoke memories of a simpler time. As a child, I explored Cornwall Park’s sprawling roots and picnicked under its iconic trees. As an adult, I’ve come to appreciate their reassuring presence and the stories they tell. My paintings aim to capture the geography of the heart – places that define us and connect us through shared memories,” said Lancaster.
“This show is a rambling exploration of Cornwall Park and its woodier residents. Universally, each spot in the park has a plethora of memories, birthdays, picnics, BMX rides, first dates. Trees are where we gravitate, and they become containers for our stories. For me, they represent continuity, reassurance, and connection, even as the world changes so quickly around us.”
The exhibition is designed to emulate a walk through the park, some paths familiar, others detoured by curiosity.
While many of the works depict Cornwall Park’s most iconic trees, such as the grand Moreton Bay figs, Pohutukawa near the Tea Rooms, and Sir John Logan Campbell’s historic plantings, others feature weathered or even dead trees.
“Even the fallen trees are like sculptures,” he said.
“We played in them as kids, and for some families they even mark birthdays or anniversaries. They’re reminders that nothing lasts forever, but also that meaning can be found in the everyday.”
The exhibition also celebrates Lancaster’s 10 years of full-time painting, following over a decade-long career in advertising.
Known for his evocative landscapes, Lancaster often describes his works as “portraits of places”, beacons for personal and collective memory.
Though his subjects are drawn from real places, Lancaster doesn’t paint on site. Instead, he takes thousands of photographs and paints them into what he calls “the ideal memory of that place.”
He paints mainly at night in his Havelock North studio, balancing fatherhood with his creative practice and pours months of work into each canvas.
Lancaster’s exhibitions have consistently sold out, with waitlists for commissions now stretching three to four years. After A TREE STORY, he will present another solo exhibition in Dunedin in 2026.
