To a shadow’s edge
McLeavey, Wellington
5 - 26 November 2025
Although space is not always important to Polly Gilroy, the chance to create works in response to the gallery space at McLeavey opened up new opportunities. The unique experience of walking up the narrow stairs from Cuba Street and arriving in the light filled room with its distinctive architectural features shaped this stunning new collection of works. Gilroy spent time drawing the many shapes and lines, responding to the structure and rhythm of the space as well as the sunlight and shadows that seep through the three pane windows. With a sensitivity to the fleeting geometries of light and shadow within the gallery, she knew she wanted the work to engage directly with the architecture and the nature in which light falls, and the quiet impression these shadows leave behind. Colour was introduced with careful consideration, layering tones to explore colour theory, optical effects, and the illusion of movement, mirroring the shifting presence of light in the space. These works absorb the unique language of their surroundings. Light doesn’t just illuminate; it engages—its daily dance with the hues brings the works to life, casting new moods as time shifts.
Blurring the boundaries between painting and sculpture, Gilroy expands the possibilities of both forms beyond their conventional limits. Her works create fleeting moments of time and light which manage to be both grounded in their materials and ethereal at the same time.
Low winter light reaches toward the edge of the floorboards, a gap in the buildings allows a slither of morning sun to spill across the gallery wall. Shadows dance through the colours of the stained glass windows. These fleeting moments of time and light are what Polly Gilroy has created in her first McLeavey Gallery show To a Shadow's Edge, which manages to be both grounded in its materials and ethereal at the same time.
Taking cue from the reflections which cascade across walls and floors, Gilroy harnesses light play to create chromatic and spatial harmonies evocative of our environment. These artworks respond intimately to the sites they inhabit, absorbing the language of their surroundings. Light doesn’t just illuminate; it engages - its daily dance with the hues bring the works to life, casting new moods as time shifts. The works in To a Shadow’s Edge are inspired by the fleeting geometries of light and shadow within the architecture of the gallery, and the quiet impression these shadows leave behind. In these quiet transitions, the reading of colour and form is never fixed, but always evolving.
We loved having a chat to Gilroy about her upcoming exhibition and this opportunity to return to Pōneke Wellington where she graduated with a BFA (1st class Honours) from Toi Rauwhārangi – College of Creative Arts Massey University in 2017. She now lives in Ōtautahi Christchurch where she has based herself while exhibiting around the motu. Gilroy’s practice blurs the boundaries between painting and sculpture, expanding the possibilities of both forms beyond their conventional limits. Click here for the full interview.
All text courtesy of McLeavey Gallery and Anna Hewitt
most images taken by Samson Dell
