Inspired by Picasso: Paint a Cubist figure
31 Oct 2026
10:30am to 1pm and 1:30pm to 4pm
General admission $100, Members $70, concessions $90
Event detail
Explore the art of painting the figure with painter and tutor Zarahn Southon, in connection with Picasso: Designed by Paul Smith.
Choose from two sessions: 10:30am to 1pm or 1:30pm to 4pm. Both sessions cover the same content, so choose the time that suits you best. If you wish to attend both sessions, a bundle ticket is available.
No previous painting experience is needed. All materials are provided, thanks to the generous support of Gordon Harris The Art & Supplies Store. They are yours to keep after the session.
What to expect
Each session begins in the foyer, where you’ll meet before being brought to Picasso: Designed by Paul Smith for an introduction to the exhibition from Senior Curator, International Art, Dr Sophie Matthiesson. From there, you’ll head to the East Terrace for a hands-on introduction to oil painting with painter and tutor Zarahn Southon. Here you’ll create your own Cubist figure-within-a-scene painting inspired by Picasso.
You’ll also receive a wristband that gives you entry to Picasso: Designed by Paul Smith. You can return to the exhibition in your own time on the same day as the workshop.
About the exhibition
Picasso: Designed by Paul Smith
Picasso like you’ve never seen him before. Encounter the Blue and Rose periods, Cubism, portraits and more in the first solo exhibition of Picasso’s work in Aotearoa New Zealand in more than 30 years.
Bringing together outstanding works from the Musée national Picasso–Paris in a special collaboration with legendary British fashion designer Sir Paul Smith, the exhibition unfolds across atmospheric rooms that draw on the colours, shapes, patterns and textures of Picasso's artworks. Smith’s experiments with light, colour, shape, feeling and his Signature Stripe reimagine how we experience the artworks.
This exhibition is organised by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki in collaboration with the Musée national Picasso–Paris.
About the contributors
Dr Sophie Matthiesson
Dr Sophie Matthiesson is Senior Curator, International Art at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. She has curated Manpower: Myths of Masculinity (2021) and Heavenly Beings: Icons of the Christian Orthodox World (2022 and MONA, Tasmania, 2023), both of which have associated publications. More recently she has co-curated Threads of Time: Travel, Trade and Textiles (2023–26), Gothic Returns: Fuseli to Fomison (2023–25) and The Robertson Gift: Paths through Modernity (2024).
She was previously curator of international art at the National Gallery of Victoria (2006–19) where she led the 2012 Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition Monet’s Garden. Her doctoral research was on artists in prison in the French Revolution and received the Prix Marianne Roland Michel award from the Institut de France.
Zarahn Southon
Zarahn Tūwharetoa Southon (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Pukenga, Whakatōhea) is an Auckland-based painter of Māori, Sāmoan and mixed European Jewish descent. After completing a Bachelor of Visual Arts in 1998, he held several solo exhibitions and received a Contemporary Pacific Art Scholarship in 2005 to study in Florence, Italy.
In 2007, Southon received a scholarship to study at classical art school Studio Escalier in France’s Loire Valley. He later continued his studies with artist and teacher Ted Seth Jacobs in San Francisco. These experiences in Italy, France and the United States have strongly influenced his painting practice.
Southon’s work explores portraiture, still life and allegorical themes, and has been exhibited regularly at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery. His works are held in public collections including Auckland Council and the Wallace Trust Collection. He is finishing a degree in te reo Māori at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
