We are delighted to welcome Wellington-based artist Zoë Marsden to our gallery stable.

Marsden creates meticulously detailed oil paintings that explore the quiet presence of derelict, abandoned, or architecturally unusual buildings. These structures—no longer fulfilling their intended purpose—appear in her compositions with haunting beauty and emotional charge. Marsden captures each with sensitivity and precision, transforming overlooked places into sites of quiet intrigue and poetic resonance.

Every building depicted in her work is one the artist has personally encountered. Yet, in the studio, Marsden often reimagines or shifts their surroundings to cultivate a particular emotional tone. Her titles remain intentionally understated and devoid of geographic reference, inviting the viewer into a contemplative space where mood and memory take precedence over literal location.

“Being devoid of human life, the paintings act like a story that you, the viewer, are now part of. What has happened here, is something about to happen? Should I keep walking, or should I look inside?”

– Zoë Marsden

British-born and now based in Wellington, Marsden returned to her fine art practice in 2022 after a 16-year career as a prosthetic make-up artist in the international film and television industry. Her work in productions such as Harry Potter, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, The Hobbit, and Avatar speaks to her technical expertise and cinematic sense of atmosphere—both of which now find expression in her fine art.

Since re-establishing her practice, Marsden has exhibited prolifically across Aotearoa. Her work has garnered national recognition, including the Supreme Award at the Craigs Aspiring Art Prize 2024 for her painting The Lookout, a Merit Award at the 2024 Wellington Regional Arts Review, and a Highly Commended Stuff Gold Award at the Wellington Art Show. She has also been selected as a finalist in several prominent national awards, including the New Zealand Painting and Printmaking Awards and the Walker & Hall Waiheke Art Awards.

Marsden’s work is held in private collections in New Zealand and the UK.

We are thrilled to now represent Zoë and look forward to sharing her quietly arresting and deeply evocative paintings with our collectors. View available works by Marsden by clicking here.