SCAPES
Matthew Couper:
The
notion of ‘scapes’ has been of interest to me
since I was asked to curate an exhibition by Wellington artists
at Mahara Gallery, Waikanae, in 2002. I chose the theme of ‘vista’ as
a way of incorporating interior scenes, landscapes and psychological
scapes. This was a good way to frame works of a seemingly disparate
nature. I have used this idea again to group this section.
Wanganui
photographer Leigh Mitchell-Anyon’s view of New
Zealand shows our society’s affinity with American culture,
especially in the image with the Elvis impersonator on parade in
Taupo.
We
first saw Daniel Phillips’ work at an IHC workshop exhibition
in Wellington, where a friend was teaching. Daniel is a prolific
artist and after trawling through hundreds of his paintings and
pastel drawings, we settled on this particular work, which suggested
to us a Picasso-like figure in a McCahon-type landscape.
Matthew
Summers reconstructs the New Zealand landscape into pictorial
planes, in a style reminiscent of French artist Paul Cézanne.
In recent years, the colours in Matthew’s paintings have
become more vivid. The three paintings on display show his development
from the subtle colour palette he was using when at art school
in Wanganui to the more luscious colour and paint application in
recent work.
Craig Collier, Pat Macan and Peter Ireland use the landscape as
a backdrop for their narratives. John Walsh creates ethereal scapes
which set the scene for Maori legends, while Andrew McLeod uses
the internet, computer printouts and paint to hold his own art
exhibitions in famous New York Art Galleries.
I found the small, portrait-format painting by Myrtle Hampton in
a second-hand shop in Wellington and was taken by the way the artist
painted the yellow light coming through the trees.