DARRYN GEORGE

D AR R Y N GEORGE

NOTES ISAIAH o n

19 Oct - 13 Nov 2013 www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

milford galleries queenstown

9A Earl Street (03) 442 6896 qtown@milfordgalleries.co.nz

Reme (2013) oil on canvas, stretcher: 1011 x 760 x 33 mm

1

Piki #2 (2013) oil & acrylic on canvas, stretcher: 1012 x 760 x 33 mm

2

Notes on Isaiah #1 (2013) oil & acrylic on canvas, stretcher: 1013 x 760 x 33 mm

3

Notes on Isaiah #3 (2013) oil & acrylic on canvas, stretcher: 1217 x 912 x 33 mm

4

Notes on Isaiah #4 (2013) oil & acrylic on canvas, stretcher: 1217 x 912 x 33 mm

5

Notes on Isaiah #5 (2013) oil & acrylic on canvas, stretcher: 1217 x 913 x 33 mm

6

Notes on Isaiah #6 (2013) oil & acrylic on canvas, stretcher: 1217 x 912 x 33 mm

7

oil & a

Folder #1 / Folder #3 / Folder #4 (2013) automotive paint on aluminium, panels: 506 x 708 x 36 mm / 708 x 506 x 36 mm each

8 - 10

Different aspects of the Divine as articulated by Old Testament prophet Isaiah are explored by Darryn George in his new exhibition, Notes on Isaiah. Taking as his basis different names for God, George’s Te Reo translations operate on his canvases as both symbolic text and abstract form.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” - John 1:1 Words form the core of this set of works and they can be taken as both an iteration of faith and an examination of the roles of text, symbolism, and form.

George notes that God is described in a number of different terms and incorporates these in his works. (1) The idea of ‘incorporation’ is interesting in this context, stemming as it does from the Latin incorporare, "unite into one body", bringing to mind John 1:14, “And the Word was made Flesh”. In these paintings, George does indeed give the words body: the textured, three-dimensional, paint surfaces of the lettering are raised in relief above the flat background. The Word and the Body become one and the same.

George’s paintings require layers of translations on multiple levels: visual, literal, linguistic, symbolic. As he ‘embodies’ the text in his paintings, George simultaneously abstracts words and letters to systems of colours and geometries.

Optical illusions stem from his considered use of advancing and recessive colours, blurred outlines, and subtle patterning. Certain forms are imbued with his personal symbolism; he likens ‘U’ forms to horseshoe magnets, suggesting that, in his practice, “they have come to symbolise attraction, or love.” (2) The sharp lines and tightly controlled techniques of the geometric lettering in Notes on Isaiah #5 are thrown into strong relief by the organic patterning and brushwork of the central panel’s background. Here the ‘magnet’ shapes seem to float, their movement emphasised by the white outlines framing them.

Deciphering the written words requires concentration firstly on the form and then upon literal and symbolic meanings. As George examines his own experiences

and perceptions of the Divine, he creates a contemplative space for viewers to consider the same.

Accompanying the Isaiah paintings are three 2010 works from George’s Folder series, a concept he expanded in The Folder Room, an installation at Palazzo Bembo as part of a collateral exhibition at this year’s Venice Biennale. With their glossy, reflective surfaces, the Folder paintings stem from George’s exploration of the Lamb’s Book of Life, which “as mentioned in the Bible is the books of saints and ‘the saved’ throughout history, which I depict as a great filing cabinet, the folders… reflected over and over… like records receding into history.” (3) 1. Pohatu/The Stone; Rangatira /Chief; Ariki/Paramount Chief; Hepara /Shepherd of his People; Piki /Helper; Reme/Lamb 2. Artist’s statement, September 2013 3. Darryn George, “The Italian Job”, Art New Zealand, Spring 2013, p118

EXHIBITION PRICELIST 1

Reme (2013)

9,500

2

Piki #2 (2013)

9,500

3

Notes on Isaiah #1 (2013)

9,500

4

Notes on Isaiah #3 (2013)

11,500

5

Notes on Isaiah #4 (2013)

11,500

6

Notes on Isaiah #5 (2013)

11,500

7

Notes on Isaiah #6 (2013)

11,500

8

Folder #1 (2010)

7,500

9

Folder #3 (2010)

7,500

10

Folder #4 (2010)

7,500

DARRYN GEORGE b. 1970, lives Christchurch

Reme (2013)

"George's paintings spring from a belief in the power and cultural force of pattern - a faith that decorative forms carry as much cultural voltage, speak as powerfully, as any other kind of image." (1) Darryn George has a clear "interest in paint and pattern; around these primary notes the formal relationships are orchestrated. Colour and pattern are themes are themes featured consistently in George's practice, while a dynamic rapport between American abstraction, Maori heritage and Christian values, and influence of computer technology on are continues to evolve." (2) "Darryn George’s small-scale oil paintings resemble tiles or stepping stones. If they summon forth the utopian ideals as well as the jazzy geometries of Mondrian, they also, in relax-mode, suggest diagrams of electrical circuitry, microchips, details of a Persian rug…" (3) Darryn is of Ngapuhi descent and lives and works in Christchurch. He has graduate diploma in teaching and 1998 completed a Master in Fine Art (painting) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He has exhibited in a number of solo and group shows around New Zealand and Australia including Adam Art Gallery, Wellington, Wellington City Art Gallery and the Canterbury Museum. In 2010 a book 'Darryn George' was published including images of paintings from 2004-2010 by Mihi Publishers.

1. Justin Paton, Mana Magazine, 2008 2. Abby Cunnane, CS Arts, February 2008 3. Gregory O’Brien, 2005 Darryn George 2013 CV P a g e |1

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DARRYN GEORGE b. 1970, lives Christchurch EDUCATION 1999 1998 1994 1993

Head of Department, Art, Christ’s College, Christchurch Master of Fine Art (Painting), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Diploma of Teaching, Christchurch College of Education Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting), School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2013

2012

2011 2010 2009 2008

2007 2006

2005

2004

2003 2002 2001

2000 1999 1998

Notes on Isaiah, milford galleries queenstown Folder Room, Venice Biennale, Collateral Event-Personal Structures, Palazzo Bembo, Venice, Italy Kaitiaki, Pataka Museum of Arts and Cultures, Wellington Kaitiaki, Melbourne Art Fair with RH Gallery, Nelson Waiata, Peter McLeavey Gallery, Wellington Karakia, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Lambs Book of Life, Folder Wall, SCAPE Biennial, Christchurch Atua, RH Gallery, Nelson Rarohiko, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Rehita, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Whare Pukapuka, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch Darryn George in Good Company, The Gallery at Woollaston, Nelson Pukapuka, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Pulse, Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch Konei Korero, Peter McLeavey Gallery, Wellington Pohi, Cable Bay Vineyards, Waiheke Island Countdown, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington Tatau, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch Marama/Arawhata, Peter McLeavey Gallery, Wellington Turanga, Starkwhite, Auckland Matapihi, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch From Maui to Moses, FHE Galleries, Auckland Selected Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin Mihini, Starkwhite, Auckland Darryn George, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch Darryn George, SPAN Galleries, Melbourne, Australia Darryn George, Starkwhite, Auckland Stairway to Heaven, Peter McLeavey Gallery, Wellington Tipuna, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch We apoligise, appair we to be having some technically probl be bacck soon, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch Zoom, SPAN Galleries, Melbourne, Australia The T.A.T. show, Peter McLeavey Gallery, Wellington The Hippy Hop show, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch Evisible (with Phil Price), Christ's College Dining hall, Christchurch Fastfoward, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch Written on Tablets, SPAN Galleries, Melbourne, Australia Hide and Seek, Ramp Gallery, Waikato Polytechnic, Hamilton

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2013 2012 2011

Spring Catalogue, milford galleries queenstown The Review, milford galleries queenstown Reboot, milford galleries queenstown Significant Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin E T! Ake: Standing Strong, Musée du quai Branly Paris, France; Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington Back in Black, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin

Darryn George 2013 CV P a g e |2

milford

galleries queenstown

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

2010 2009

2008 2007

2005

2004

2003 2002

2001 2000

1999 1998 1997 1996

1995 1994 1993 1991

New Traditions: Recurring Themes in Maori Art, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Black to Black: George/Cotton/Hotere, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland John Leech and Gow Langsford Galleries 2009 Spring Catalogue Exhibition, Gow Langsford Gallery The Stations of the Cross, Gus Fisher Gallery, Auckland The Spring Catalogue Show, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland New Painting in the Digital Age, Pataka Museum of Arts and Cultures, Porirua, & Te Tuhi Centre for the Arts, Auckland The Spring Catalogue Show, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Hei Konei Mai: We’ll meet again, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland 4 Artists Project, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington 125 Years of the Canterbury School of Fine Arts, Christchurch Art Gallery Maori Students at Canterbury University, SOFA Gallery, Christchurch 30th Anniversary Show, Brooke Gifford, Christchurch Object, Milford Galleries Dunedin Louise Perkins Foundation Art Auction The Koru Club, Pataka Museum of Arts and Cultures, Porirua OverView - Abstraction & Still Life, Milford Galleries Dunedin Whare, Tandaya Gallery, Adelaide Festival, Adelaide, Australia Prospect 2004, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington; Adam Art Gallery, Wellington Pacific Arts Symposium, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch Summer Exhibition, SPAN Galleries, Melbourne, Australia Up/Down/Up, Canterbury Museum, Christchurch Whare, SOFA Gallery, Christchurch Look this way, CoCA Gallery, Christchurch Techno Maori, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington Canterbury Painters in the 1990's, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch Art and Instruction, CoCA, Christchurch Group show, SPAN Galleries, Melbourne, Australia Hiko! New Energies in Maori Art, Robert McDougall Art Annex, Christchurch 20/20, CoCA, Christchurch n.z., Gallery 101, Melbourne, Australia Strata, SPAN Galleries, Melbourne, Australia Nga Matatini Maori, Robert McDougall Art Annex, Christchurch Recent Acquisitions, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch Patua, Wellington Festival of the Arts, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington Recent Maori Sculpture, Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth Te Karohirohinga Toanga, Maori Art from the Community, Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton Te Puaroa Exhibition, Contemporary Maori Art Exhibitions, Te Toka-a-Toi Festival, Wellington Dangerous Liaisons, CSA Gallery, Christchurch; George Fraser Gallery, Auckland Te Tipunga, School of Fine Arts Gallery, Canterbury University, Christchurch Toi Tutanga Na Ngaa Toa O Te Whare Waananga O Waitaha, School of Fine Arts Gallery, Canterbury

AWARDS 2007 2004 2000 1998 1994

Deutsche Bank Head Office NZ commission Te Waka Toi Grant Creative New Zealand funding for Melbourne Art Fair Finalist in Wallace Art Award Arts Council of New Zealand Grant for Melbourne Project at SPAN Galleries Te Waka Toi Grant

COLLECTIONS AMZO Trust ANZ Bank (Wellington) ANZ National

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Chartwell Collection Christchurch City Gallery City Bank Auckland COCA Art Collection College House Connells Bay Sculpture Park Court of Appeal of New Zealand Cowdy Real Estate Deloittes Designworks Deutsche Bank JB Were Coldman Sacks Ministry of Foreign Affairs New Zealand High Commission Polar Investments Te Papa Tongarewa The Real Art Road Show Wallace Arts Trust Workshop Fashion House (RCM)

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 2010 2006 2006 2005 2005 2005 2004 2004 2004 2001 2001 2000 2000 2000 1999 2000 1994 2001 2000

Brown, Dr. Deidre and Lara Strongman, Darryn George Book, Mihi Publishers, Christchurch Tipa, Moana, ‘Unfolding Language’, Chrysalis Seed publication, 2006 Baker, Jonathan, ‘Matapihi; Darryn George’, (Review), CS ARTS, Issue 26, March 2006, p11 Boyce, Roger, 'Lines of Descent', Art News, Spring, 2005 Kedgeley, Helen, The Koru Club, Pataka Museum of Arts and Cultures Catalogue, 2005 Gregory O Brien, Bro Town Boogie Woogie, FHE Galleries catalogue, 2005 Brown, Deidre, ‘The Whare on Exhibition’, in Lydia Wevers and Anna Smith, On Display: New Essays in Cultural Studies, Victoria University Press, Wellington, 2004. pp. 65-79 Highfield, Smith, Pushing the Boundaries-Eleven Contemporary Artists in Aotearoa New Zealand, Giltedge Publishing, 2004, pp 18-23.

Jonathan Mane-Wheoki, Tipuna, Catalogue for Span Galleries Show, 2004 Amery, Mark, ‘Tauiwi’, Techno Maori: Maori Art in the Digital Age, (Exhibition CDRom Catalogue), City Gallery, Wellington, 2001, pp. 1-16 Brown, Deidre, ‘Navigating Te Kore - Maori Artistic Identity in the Digital Age’, Techno Maori: Maori Art in the Digital Age (Exhibition CDRom Catalogue) City Gallery, Wellington, 2001, pp. 1-9 George, Darryn, Evisible: A Millennium Art Project, Christ’s College, Christchurch, 2000 Johnstone, Jocelyn, ‘Art teachers aiming to make big impression’, Sunday Star Times, 5 July 2000 McCormick, Deborah, Scape; Art & and Industry Urban Arts Biennial 02, Catalogue, pp 1-5 Milburn, Felicity, Hiko! New Energies in Maori Art., Robert McDougall Art Gallery Moore, Christopher, ‘Arena of Abstract Art’, The Press, 28 June, 2000 Paton, Justin, ‘Devotional Signs on a Cross-Cultural History’, The Press, 25 May 1994 Pauli, Dorethee, ‘Demanding Hip Hop’, The Press, 22 August 2001 Rewi, Adrienne, ‘Art Teachers studying modern in traditional setting’, Sunday Star Times, 18/06/00

Kete #7 (2009)

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milford

galleries queenstown

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz