Welcome Swallow Gallery & Gifts

Welcome Swallow Gallery & Gifts Welcome Swallow Gallery & Gifts. Not-for-profit, staffed by volunteers, and supporting children leading incredibly tough lives.

Everyone who works in the Gallery and shop, including the Shop Manager, is a volunteer. We receive no salaries; all our time and efforts are donated free. The money that we raise will go directly to children in need. This work is our passion, this is our home. Achieving Change for Children Charitable Trust.

Martin Necas sells a reflective river imageSold from the exhibition, Our River, is a beautiful watercolour diptych entit...
12/09/2026

Martin Necas sells a reflective river image

Sold from the exhibition, Our River, is a beautiful watercolour diptych entitled Afterglow by gallery artist Martin Necas. These paintings attracted significant attention at the opening of the exhibition. Now snapped up.

Martin Necas
Afterglow - diptych
Watercolour
2 x 420x290mm
Price: $2200

Rebecca Dowman-Ngapo, thread sellerSold from the Our River exhibition is Rebecca Dowman-Ngapo’s rather remarkable compos...
11/09/2026

Rebecca Dowman-Ngapo, thread seller

Sold from the Our River exhibition is Rebecca Dowman-Ngapo’s rather remarkable composition, Threads of Life: River Palette. In the artist’s own words:

“As an artist, colour is often where a painting begins. The Waikato River offers an extraordinary palette - from deep greens and soft blues to muddy browns, weathered stones and the shifting colours of its surrounding landscape. Colour becomes a way of measuring and experiencing the river, with the embroidery thread making something intangible almost tangible.

This embroidery organiser holds approximately 153 thread cards, each carrying around eight metres of thread. To stretch thread the full 425-kilometre length of the Waikato River would require roughly 53,125 cards.

Threads of Life: River Edition celebrates the river not as a single colour, but as an ever-changing tapestry of subtle shades, moods and moments - a palette created by nature itself.

Rebecca Dowman-Ngapo
Threads of Life: River Palette
Watercolour
610x405mm
Price: $1425

Bernadette Parsons, ‘at the waters edge’Sold on preview day, gallery artist Bernadette Parson’s, intense watercolour, Wa...
11/09/2026

Bernadette Parsons, ‘at the waters edge’

Sold on preview day, gallery artist Bernadette Parson’s, intense watercolour, Water’s Edge. As with The Art of Hamilton Gardens exhibition, the current show, Our River, is resonating powerfully with buyers who have personal experiences that are represented by the compositions on display.

Bernadette Parsons
Water’s Edge
Acrylic on Canvas
770x770mm
Price: $2500

Kirsten McIntosh sells ‘light on the river’.“That gives me tingles” so spoke the buyer of Kirsten McIntosh’s oil on canv...
11/09/2026

Kirsten McIntosh sells ‘light on the river’.

“That gives me tingles” so spoke the buyer of Kirsten McIntosh’s oil on canvas composition, entitled, A Passage of Light, sold from the Our River exhibition.

Kirsten McIntosh
A Passage of Light
Oil on Canvas Linen Blend
775x775mm
Price: $4200

Sandra Turner-Barlow seller of HighwaysSold immediately from the opening of the Our River exhibition is the Sandra Turne...
11/09/2026

Sandra Turner-Barlow seller of Highways

Sold immediately from the opening of the Our River exhibition is the Sandra Turner-Barlow acrylic on board composition, Backs to the Highways.
Here we see Turner-Barlow’s signature expressive style place the Waikato river in a transitional historic narrative.

Sandra Turner-Barlow
Backs to the Highways
Acrylic on Board
900x600mm
Price: $2500

This is our 44th exhibition of original art. Although there have been many paintings of the Waikato river, a focused rev...
18/08/2026

This is our 44th exhibition of original art. Although there have been many paintings of the Waikato river, a focused review has yet to be compiled. Until now.

We do not need to look too far to see how the art masters have represented rivers. Monet, obsessed with reflections in water, did a whole series on the Thames, as shown in a 2017 exhibition at Tate Britain.

British artists, Turner and Constable respectively used the rivers Thames and Stour to project atmosphere and social commentary. Vincent van Gogh’s also painted his Starry Night interpretation as, Starry Night over the Rhone. New Zealand artist Douglas Badcock as part of his landscape studies included rugged river compositions such as his 1974, Above the Rapids.

Curated exhibitions on rivers are less evident. What do artists see, what should we know about landscapes and the fabric of life? What insights and winding narratives might be gleaned from an exhibition designed to unlock the secrets of the Waikato River?

Giovanni Bonazzon sells Venetian CanalItalian gallery artist, Giovanni Bonazzon has now sold all his watercolour composi...
18/08/2026

Giovanni Bonazzon sells Venetian Canal

Italian gallery artist, Giovanni Bonazzon has now sold all his watercolour compositions that were held by the gallery courtesy of Fine Art Society of New Zealand. On this occasion, it is Venetian Side Canal that is now permanently relocating to the Waikato.

Giovanni Bonazzon
Venetian Side Canal
Wataercolour
160x110mm

Gaen sells a Musterer’s HutGaen’s expressive geometric landscapes continue to attract interest in the gallery. And Buyer...
18/08/2026

Gaen sells a Musterer’s Hut

Gaen’s expressive geometric landscapes continue to attract interest in the gallery. And Buyers. On this occasion, the Musterer’s Hut has been sold from The Winter Collection 2026: Chaos & Calm.

Scale, imagination, simplicity and a muted serene colour palette combine to create a compelling if not irresistible composition.

Gaen
Musterer’s Hut
Acrylic on canvas, Oak Frame
900x1200mm
Price: $5900

Elena Brambilla sells the Milano DuomoSold from the Out of Italy exhibition is the stunning architectural edifice Piccio...
18/08/2026

Elena Brambilla sells the Milano Duomo

Sold from the Out of Italy exhibition is the stunning architectural edifice Piccione con Duomo, by Italian artist, Elena Brambilla.

This ink and watercolour composition breathes life into a stone structure that was started in 1386, reputedly completed in 1965 although by some interpretations originally anticipated to be completed a thousand years from inception. So this magnificent piece of art could be said to have captured the Duomo in ‘mid-build’.

Elena Brambilla
Piccione con Duomo, Milano
Ink and Watercolour on Bristol Board
590x500mm
Price: $2750

Marilyn moves to the MountSold from the showcase The Way We Were: Icons of the 60s, is the Debra Thompson striking compo...
18/08/2026

Marilyn moves to the Mount

Sold from the showcase The Way We Were: Icons of the 60s, is the Debra Thompson striking composition, Marilyn. Bought by a collector who will be returning to 'The Mount' with this new acquisition.

A luminous reimagining of an enduring icon, this mixed media portrait draws inspiration from Marilyn Monroe’s celebrated 1954 “Ballerina Series” photographed by Milton H. Greene. Set against a richly floral backdrop, Monroe’s unmistakable beauty is softened with romantic femininity while layered textures, gold leaf detailing, and hand-applied diamanté earrings bring a contemporary glamour to the work. Finished in resin, the painting captures both the fragility and brilliance of Hollywood’s most enduring star.

Debra Thompson
Marilyn
Mixed Media on Canvas
415x355mm
$1380

Address

378 Grey Street
Hamilton
3216

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Saturday 10am - 2pm

Telephone

+6478583964

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