PAUL DIBBLE

Parallel Worlds (2013) cast bronze, Corten steel, size: 3430 x 2116 x 807 mm, edition 1/1 + 1 AP

Tui (2013)

cast bronze, size: 521 x 320 x 277 mm, edition of

Fantail Construction (2010) cast bronze, Corten steel

part 1: ca. 2065 x 530 x 410 mm

part 2: ca. 1990 x 620 x 410 mm

part 3: ca. 2110 x 445 x 585 mm

varied edition 3/3

Tui in the Kowhai (Medium 2) (2010)

cast bronze, size: 1860 x 760 x 660 mm, unique

Flight of the Pigeon (2013)

cast bronze, size: ca 525 x 319 x 444 mm, edition of 10

The Gold of the Kowhai (2013) size: 498 x 254 x 184 mm, 1/1 AP +

Peeling the Apple (2012)

cast bronze, Corten steel, tree: 3090 x 2100 x 1070 mm, figure: 1835 x 860 x 640 mm, unique

Choosing an Apple 1 (Model) (2012)

cast bronze, size: 558 x 400 x 415 mm, unique

A Neighbour’s Fruit is the Best Fruit (Model) (2012) cast bronze, size: 611 x 346 x 350, unique

The First Orchard (2012) cast bronze, size: 675 x 357 x 287, unique

Choosing an Apple (Edition Model) (2012) cast bronze, Corten steel, size: 413 x 198 x 226, edition of 12

Paul Dibble is one of the most distinctive and considerable voices in NZ sculpture. “The human figure, objects drawn from contemporary life, the history of NZ and the Pacific form the subject of his work.” (1) His works have clear narrative purposes and contain considerable aesthetic dialogues.

Viewed as an inter-related body of work A Walk in the Park is a monument to human endeavour and (questions) our stewardship of the environment.

Dibble uses space, line, scale and visual deception in characteristically intriguing ways. He contrasts the linear, fabricated, rectangular forms and constructionist dialogues of Corten steel with the expressive, organic, abstracted bird-forms and the human figure in bronze. He builds wonderful metaphors of place and event using the mythic language and symbolism of birds. He uses cultural motifs and parable – The Garden of Eden – but places this in the context of where we live now and what we do there.

Parallel Worlds (2013) is a masterful work with the key elements (a walking figure, a huia) flattened like silhouettes, pointedly facing in opposite directions and thus the (metaphorical) past and future. He assuredly plays about with pictorial and sculptural space, directly contrasting naturalistic and organic elements with fabricated forms.

Peeling the Apple (2012) is a tableaux hymn to the season of plenty. Dibble uses repetition and spatial division to ‘set the scene’. We ‘feel’ the grass, we ‘know’ the place and ‘the moment’ - we ‘watch’ as he peels the apple, implicitly understanding how fresh and juicy that first fateful bite will be.

The First Orchard (2012) reveals a contemporary Eve. Dibble’s modernisation of that tale is likewise continued and examined in A Neighbour’s Fruit is the Best Fruit (2012).

Tui in the Kowhai (Medium 2)(2010) is a trademark work in which volume is flattened and two-dimensional perspective is rendered in 3D. Fantail Construction (2010) similarly has shallow space but the nuances and individual characters of the fantails – their abstracted and exaggerated scale, the tail feather flourishes – animate the group and unite the three distinctly different objects and spaces into a unified whole with the flat chocolate colouring of the Corten steel providing a grounded stage for “the expressive round surfaces of the bronze birds.” (2)

The internal journey and narratives of the exhibition is completed with three superb works – the iconic The Gold of the Kowhai (2013), the wonderfully stylised Tui (2013) and Flight of the Pigeon (2013).

1. The Large Works of Paul Dibble, Bateman, 2012.

2. Ibid.

EXHIBITION PRICELIST

PAUL DIBBLE

b.1943,livesPalmerstonNorth

SoftGeometricNo.16(2004)

One of New Zealand’s most acclaimed sculptors, Paul Dibble’s works range from small maquettes to large public pieces. Working primarily in bronze and grounded in a twentieth-century European sculptural tradition, his stylistic hallmarks include organic and sinuous curves, richly burnished patinas and a finely weighted sense of balance.

Often figurative in nature, Dibble captures his subjects – often birds or humans - in a single moment but they are not frozen in time. The forms possess a tangible sense of barely contained energy and the elegant lines of the sculpture enhance the feeling of movement as the viewer’s gaze is drawn up and along and over the surfaces. This liveliness implies an ongoing narrative with which the viewer can engage, rather than presenting a solitary instant that is disconnected from a past or a future.

Ideas spring from a range of sources: “The New Zealand vernacular, and folk art and writings, birds – it’s all in there.” (1) In his 2010 show ‘Bird’s Eye View’ stylised kereru, tui and piwakwaka perch on strong geometric forms made from Corten steel, the steel’s rusted finish acting as foil for the rich depth of the bronze. The huia in particular has special significance for Dibble and can be seen in a number of his sculptures as a reflection on the natural environment, and especially on the damage inflicted upon it by the heavy hand of man.

Dibble works from his own studio in the Manawatu and casts his own pieces with the help of two skilled assistants, using primarily ceramic shell/lost-wax and sand casting techniques. He has a clear preference for working with bronze: “you can weld it, you can cut it, you can slash it… I use other materials as well as bronze... but I have a preference for cast metal. It’s just so pliable.”(2)

Concepts are sketched, modelled in wax and often mocked up in plywood prior to developing maquettes that work both as individual artworks, but also help to assess which forms will be best for large public-scale works.

One of Dibble’s most prominent works, the New Zealand Memorial ‘Southern Stand’, sits on a corner of London’s Hyde Park and was commissioned by New Zealand’s Ministry of Culture and Heritage. Unveiled in 2006, it is a collaborative work with architect John Hardwick-Smith (Athfield Architects) and references Maori pou, or markers, and iron fencing warratahs.

"The front wedge is dedicated to the war, celebrating the Maori Battalion, the army, navy and air force. It depicts the flags of both countries. Then as they climb up the rise the sculptures celebrate our sport, beaches, bush, trade and literature. There are excerpts of poetry, letters sent home by soldiers and all sorts of cast images and objects affixed to the columns. These include castings of shells from Foxton Beach, a rugby ball, an oar denoting our marine heritage and a fantail perched on a ledge, denoting impending death."(3) The breadth of imagery used not only clearly identifies the work as ‘Kiwi’ but also speaks to Dibble’s strong connection with his own identity as a New Zealander.

Born in 1943 in Thames and raised on a farm in Waitakaruru on the Hauraki Plains, Dibble graduated from Elam with Honours in 1967. Now based in Palmerston North, he received the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2004 and in 2007 an Honorary Doctorate from Massey University. He has numerous public sculptures across the country and his works are also held in a number of private and public collections including Te Papa Tongarewa, the Dowse Art Museum, the University of Waikato and Massey University

1. p194, Artists @ Work, Wolfe Richard & Stephen Robinson. Publ 2010, Penguin. 2. p190, ibid.

3. http://www.artnews.co.nz/previous/26-4/26-4-studio.html. Accessed 3/2/12.

PAUL DIBBLE

b.1943,livesPalmerstonNorth

EDUCATION

1963-67

BFA (Hons, sculpture) Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland

2004 Awarded a New Zealand Order of Merit

2007 Honorary Doctorate received from Massey University, Palmerston North

2011 Fellowship received from UCOL (Universal College of Learning), Palmerston North

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2013 A Walk in the Park, Milford Galleries Dunedin

Recent Works, Black Barn Gallery, Havelock North

2012 A Decade of Sculpture, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington

The Ghost of the Huia and the Orchard, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

2011 The Watchers, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington

Sources, Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science and History, Palmerston North

For the Birds, Black Barn Gallery, Havelock North

2010 The Dance, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington

Bird’s Eye View, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

Performers, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch

2009 Thoughts about Men and Birds, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington

The Geometric Figures, Black Barn Gallery, Havelock North

2008 Paradise, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

Gods, Devils and Men, Black Barn Gallery, Havelock North

2007 In the Sticks, Black Barn Gallery, Havelock North

2006

Recent Bronze Sculpture, Martin Browne Fine Arts, Sydney, Australia

Unfolding Model, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

2005 Martin Browne Fine Arts, Sydney, Australia

Whitford Fine Arts, London, United Kingdom

Building on Modernism, Black Barn Gallery, Havelock North

2004 Soft Geometrics, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

Soft Geometrics, Bowen Galleries, Wellington

Gorge Road Gallery, Queenstown

Dibble, Black Barn Gallery, Havelock North

2003

Dibble Sculpture Exhibition, Gorge Road Gallery, Queenstown; Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

Down the Line, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch

Looking for Australia, Gow Langsford Gallery, Sydney, Australia

Around the Firth of Thames, Bowen Galleries, Wellington

2002 Where the Owl Sits on the Water, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

Dibble Down Under, Lombardii Winery with Bowen Galleries, Havelock North

2001 Paul Dibble Survey Exhibition, Te Manawa, Palmerston North

2000 Unfinished Business, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

Balanced Gestures, Bowen Gallery, Wellington

Opposites Attract, Michael Carr Fine Art, Sydney, Australia

1999 Works from 1999, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch

Revisiting Formalism, Bowen Gallery, Wellington

1998 Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

1997 Drips and Drops, Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North

Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch

Bowen Gallery, Wellington

1996 Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

City Gallery, Wellington

1995 Made in New Zealand, Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North; Bowen Gallery, Wellington

1994 Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

1993 Bowen Gallery, Wellington

1992 Pacific Monarch, Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North

Stories from the Hinterland, Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt

1991 Recent Editions, Bowen Gallery, Wellington

Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

From Reason and Myth, Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North

1990 Bowen Gallery, Wellington

1989 Hawkes Bay Cultural Centre, Hastings

Fisher Gallery, Auckland

Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North

1988 Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt as part of the International Festival of the Arts

1984 Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North

1983 Wairarapa Arts Centre, Masterton

1981 Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North

1979 Studio Exhibition, Auckland

1978 Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North

1976 Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North

1972 Barry Lett Gallery, Auckland

1971 Barry Lett Gallery, Auckland

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2013 The Review, milford galleries queenstown

International Sculpture, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

Summer Show, Milford Galleries Dunedin

Headlands, Sculpture on the Gulf, Waiheke Island

2012 Sculpture OnShore, Takapuna, Auckland

Steele, Paint, Bronze, Gallery 33, Wanaka

2011 Auckland Art Fair, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

Sculpture in Central Otago, Rippon Vineyards & Winery, Wanaka

2010 Wanganui Sculpture, Wanganui River, Wanganui

Summer Sculpture Exhibition, Gow Langsford Gallery and Cable Bay Vineyards

Botanic Gardens Sculpture Exhibition, Botanic Gardens, Auckland

A Beautiful Place, Gallery Thirty Three, Wanaka

Shrunken, Brick Bay Sculpture Park, Warkworth

2009 Double Take, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

Landscape, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington

Sculpture on the Peninsula, Guest Artist, Banks Peninsula, Christchurch

Sources: Paul and Fran Dibble, Mahara Gallery, Waikanae

Crème II, Gallery Thirty Three, Wanaka

Run Rabbit Run, Gallery Thirty Three, Wanaka

An Artists’ Aviary, John Leech Gallery, Auckland

Slugs, Snails and Spider Tales, A Closer Look at Conservation, Te Manawa, Palmerston North Collectively Speaking, Te Manawa Art Society; the first 50 years, Te Manawa, Palmerston

North

2008 Autumn Catalogue, Martin Browne Fine Arts, Sydney, Australia

Melbourne Art Fair 2008, Melbourne, Australia

Spring Catalogue, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

With and Object in Mind, Gallery Thirty Three, Wanaka

2007-2008 Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens, Auckland Botanic Gardens, Auckland

2007 12th Annual LA Art Show, Los Angeles, USA

2006 Melbourne Art Fair 2006, Melbourne, Australia

Birds: The Art of New Zealand Bird Life, Pataka, Porirua

Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi Beach, Sydney and Perth, Australia

2005 Miami Art Fair, Florida, USA

Sculpture on the Gulf, Waiheke Island, Auckland

2004 Melbourne Art Fair 2004, Melbourne, Australia

Shapeshifters, Lower Hutt

Sculpture Exhibition, Bowen Galleries, Wellington

Sculpture 2004, Gow Langsford Gallery, Sydney, Australia

2003 Sculpture on the Gulf, Waiheke Island, Auckland

Miami Art Fair, Florida, USA

2002 Changing Spaces, Civic Square, Wellington

2000 Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia

1999 Gow Langsford Gallery, SPAN Gallery, Melbourne, Australia

1998 Australian Contemporary Art Fair 6, Melbourne, Australia (Re)visioning the Real, Lopdell House, Auckland; Robert McDougall Gallery, Christchurch; Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui

1996 NZ Real, Milford Galleries Dunedin

1995 H2O, Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt

1994 Christmas Show, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Flowers, Bowen Gallery, Wellington

Australian Contemporary Art Fair 4, Melbourne, Australia

1993 Art Fair, Korea

1992 A Breath of Fresh Art, The Bathhouse, Rotorua

1989 Gateways and Lintels, Fisher Gallery, Auckland

1984 Art in Dunedin, Dunedin

1982 Art in Boxes, Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North Hansells Sculpture Exhibition, Wairarapa Arts Centre, Masterton and toured nationally

1980 Hansells Sculpture Exhibition, Wairarapa Arts Centre

1978 Hansells Sculpture Exhibition, Wairarapa Arts Centre

1974 Selected with New Zealand sculptors as part of the Mildura Sculpture Exhibition, Mildura, Australia

SELECTED COMMISSIONS, RESIDENCIES & AWARDS

2011 Sculpture for Palmerston North Public Sculpture Trust site outside the Regent Theatre in the central city

2010 Sculpture for Hauraki District Council commemorating the Pioneers for the Ngatea Memorial Gardens

Two sculptures for Upper Hutt City Council installed on roundabouts at either end of the city’s CBD

Sculpture for Iona College, Havelock North

2009

Runner up in the Situate Competition for a sculpture in Forrest Place, Central Perth

Sculpture for Moore Wilson, Wellington to mark the site of the original artesian spring

2008 Second sculpture for Lindisfarne College, Hastings

2007 Sculpture commission memorial to John Britten for the Dyslexia Experience Project in Christchurch

2006 The New Zealand Hyde Park Corner Memorial in association with John Hardwick-Smith from Athfield architects, opened on Armistice Day, November 11th by the Queen and attended by the Prime Minister of Britain and of New Zealand and by many members of the Royal Family

2005

2004

Sculpture for Waikato University to celebrate their 40th anniversary

Sculpture for Christensen Estate Winery, Waiheke Island

Sculpture for UCOL (Universal College of Learning), Palmerston North

2002 Fourth sculpture constructed for The Point, Residential development, Auckland

2000 Lindisfarne College, Hastings

Commissioned by IMOVE/Wellington Sculpture Trust, to produce sculpture for Wellington Airport round-about, Wellington

1999 Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna, Auckland

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, large wall piece, Auckland

Wanganui Collegiate School, Wanganui

Three large sculptures constructed for The Point, Residential development, Auckland. Part of the America’s Cup development project

1996 Major piece purchased by the Robert McDougall Gallery to be mounted outside the Gallery entrance

Commissioned to produce a large lintel, 3m high for the new Palmerston North library

Moore Family, Wellington

1995 Sturtvant Family, Palmerston North

Steel relief sculpture designed and made for the Globe Theatre, Palmerston North

1994 The Tuna’s Song, Michael Camp QC, Wellington

Bronze work for Dunedin Police Station

A work celebrating the Centennial of the Palmerston North Hospital

1993 Dohmel Family, Vienna, Austria

1987/88 Residency, Dowse Art Museum during International Festival of the Arts

1985 QEII Arts Council of NZ Grant

1991 Commissioned to make Pacific Monarch 4.5m high bronze for outside the Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North

1979 QEII Arts Council of NZ Grant

1972 Dr Neville Hogg, Dargaville

1970-77 Completed many religious sculpture commissions (crucifixes, tabernacles and candlesticks) for Architect James Hackshaw for churches, private chapels & catholic schools.

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

Waikato University, Hamilton International Pacific College, Palmerston North

Te Papa Tongarewa, Museum of New Zealand, Wellington Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt

Hawkes Bay Cultural Centre, Hastings

Robert McDougall Art Gallery and Annex, Christchurch

Te Manawa (formerly Manawatu Art Gallery), Palmerston North Massey University, Palmerston North Massey University, Albany, Auckland Saatchi and Saatchi, Wellington Colenso, Auckland

Colenso, Wellington

James Wallace Trust Collection, Auckland Lambton Quay Harbour Board

The New Zealand Memorial, London

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

2012 Dibble, Fran, Paul Dibble: The Large Projects, David Bateman publishers 2010 Wolfe and Stephen Robinson, Richard, Artists @ Work, New Zealand Painters and Sculptors in the Studio, Penguin Books, pg 184 - 195

2002 Dunn, Michael, New Zealand Sculpture A History, Auckland University Press, pg 95 - 97 Caughey & John Gow, Elizabeth, Contemporary NZ Art 3, David Bateman publishers, pg 3841

2002 Rabbitt, Lindsay, Behind Every Strong Woman; The Hard Graft of Manawatu Sculptor Paul Dibble, NZ Listener 13 April 2002, pg 52 - 53

Vial, AKC Petersen, Gordon H Brown, Dorothea Pauli, Alexa Johnson & Fran Dibble, Jane, Paul Dibble, David Bateman Publishers, reprinted in 2006 with an extra chapter 2001 Big Art Trip Television Series, TV 1, Saturday 28 July 1996 Brown, Warwick, Another 100 NZ Artists, Godwit Publishing, pg 28 O’Brien, Gregory, Free / Standing - Paul Dibble in Wellington, Art New Zealand, Issue 80, Spring 1996, pg 48 - 50

1992 Sloane, Debra, Inner Strength, NZ Listener, 29 June 1992, pg 44 - 45

1980 Cape, Peter, Please Touch, Collins publishing, pg 50 – 52