Erika Hazlehurst New Zealand artist
Erika and her work "Freakshow' at the 2022 Parkin Drawing Award Exhibition.
Erika Hazlehurst (née Kruger) is a Lower Hutt-based artist with an interest in drawing, painting, symbolism and surrealism. In 2026 she is continuing her studies in the Bachelor of Fine Arts at Massey University, has graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Creative Art, and holds a Master of Design in architectural drawing and symbolism from VUW.
Erika’s practice is anchored at the shifting edge of Petone Beach, where land dissolves into open water and islands linger on the horizon. Matiu Island often stands as a central presence, while the Rimutaka and Akatarawa ranges rise on either side of Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai, forming a powerful and enduring backdrop. This mutable coastline—waxing and waning, never fixed—becomes a liminal threshold: the final point of contact before the spirit drifts free.
Her paintings occupy this in-between realm, populated by mythic, hybrid figures that exist somewhere between human and animal. These forms emerge through repeated acts of blind drawing, a process of distortion and abstraction that allows new beings to surface, embodying ideas of connection, transformation, and evolution. Balancing the real with the fantastical, Erika’s work explores the mythology of monsters as symbols of becoming.
Her practice is inspired by the incredible figurative work of national and international artists such as Star Gossage, Seraphine Pick, Katherine Bradford, and Kiki Smith.
Erika’s practice is anchored at the shifting edge of Petone Beach, where land dissolves into open water and islands linger on the horizon. Matiu Island often stands as a central presence, while the Rimutaka and Akatarawa ranges rise on either side of Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai, forming a powerful and enduring backdrop. This mutable coastline—waxing and waning, never fixed—becomes a liminal threshold: the final point of contact before the spirit drifts free.
Her paintings occupy this in-between realm, populated by mythic, hybrid figures that exist somewhere between human and animal. These forms emerge through repeated acts of blind drawing, a process of distortion and abstraction that allows new beings to surface, embodying ideas of connection, transformation, and evolution. Balancing the real with the fantastical, Erika’s work explores the mythology of monsters as symbols of becoming.
Her practice is inspired by the incredible figurative work of national and international artists such as Star Gossage, Seraphine Pick, Katherine Bradford, and Kiki Smith.
© Erika Hazlehurst 2026
