Agnes Ishak

Artist | Tutor

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Agnes is a multidisciplinary artist whose creative journey serves as both an escape and a safe haven—an environment where layers of identity, memory, and emotion freely unfold. Working fluidly across oil, acrylic, pastel, mixed media, and digital mediums, her art merges imagination and reality, offering a vivid response to life’s complexity. In her practice, Agnes explores the connections between self, community, and the land, honouring the lineage that ties the past, present, and future together.

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Agnes has exhibited her work in solo and group shows throughout New Zealand and internationally, earning recognition and accolades, including first and third-place awards in the prestigious international Assyrian art competition. In addition to her exhibitions, she is a dedicated educator who specialises in innovative painting techniques.

 

Through a focus on the painting knife, Agnes guides her students to experiment with texture, movement, and expressive mark-making. Her teaching approach encourages learners to push boundaries—splashing, layering, and sculpting paint on canvas—creating art pieces imbued with energy, depth, and narrative resonance.