Anita DeSoto

Anita DeSoto, is a renowned Aotearoa New Zealand artist living in Waitati, Dunedin, she showcased her work nationally and internationally for over 15 years. With a Master of Fine Arts, she has been teaching Drawing and Painting at the Dunedin School of Art, Otago Polytechnic since 2004.

Notable accolades include a three-month arts residency at the Leipzig International Art Program in Germany (2010), and an artist residency at New Pacific Studios in San Francisco (2014).

Currently, Anita holds the William Hodges fellowship in Southland (2018). her distinctive style involves expressive, thick brushstrokes, creating a sense of movement and ephemeral beauty in her paintings.

In her recent work, Anita delves into the use of tableau in figurative painting to depict and reinterpret historical events, particularly focusing on the intergenerational history of marginalized women. By connecting past and present paintings, she highlights the tableau's crucial role in conveying significant gestures in contemporary art's socio-political context.