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
Notes on Isaiah #1 (2013)
oil & acrylic on canvas, stretcher: 1013 x 760 x 33 mm
Notes on Isaiah #3 (2013)
oil & acrylic on canvas, stretcher: 1217 x 912 x 33 mm
Notes on Isaiah #4 (2013)
oil & acrylic on canvas, stretcher: 1217 x 912 x 33 mm
Notes on Isaiah #5 (2013)
oil & acrylic on canvas, stretcher: 1217 x 913 x 33 mm
Notes on Isaiah #6 (2013)
oil & acrylic on canvas, stretcher: 1217 x 912 x 33 mm
Folder #1 / Folder #3 / Folder #4 (2013)
panels: 506 x 708 x 36 mm / 708 x 506 x 36 mm each
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/TheStone;Rangatira/Chief;Ariki/ParamountChief;Hepara/ShepherdofhisPeople; Piki/Helper;Reme/Lamb
2.Artist’sstatement,September2013
3.DarrynGeorge,“TheItalianJob”, Art New Zealand,Spring2013,p118
DARRYN GEORGE
b.1970,livesChristchurch
1999 Head of Department, Art, Christ’s College, Christchurch
1998 Master of Fine Art (Painting), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
1994 Diploma of Teaching, Christchurch College of Education
1993 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting), School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2013 Notes on Isaiah, milford galleries queenstown
Folder Room, Venice Biennale, Collateral Event-Personal Structures, Palazzo Bembo, Venice, Italy
2012 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
2011 Lambs Book of Life, Folder Wall, SCAPE Biennial, Christchurch
Atua, RH Gallery, Nelson
2010 Rarohiko, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland
Rehita, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland
2009 Whare Pukapuka, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch
Darryn George in Good Company, The Gallery at Woollaston, Nelson
2008 Pukapuka, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland
Pulse, Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch
Konei Korero, Peter McLeavey Gallery, Wellington
Pohi, Cable Bay Vineyards, Waiheke Island
2007 Countdown, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington
Tatau, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch
2006 Marama/Arawhata, Peter McLeavey Gallery, Wellington
2005
2004
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
2003 Stairway to Heaven, Peter McLeavey Gallery, Wellington
2002
Tipuna, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch
We apoligise, appair we to be having some technically probl be bacck soon, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch
2001 Zoom, SPAN Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
The T.A.T. show, Peter McLeavey Gallery, Wellington
The Hippy Hop show, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch
2000 Evisible (with Phil Price), Christ's College Dining hall, Christchurch
Fastfoward, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch
1999 Written on Tablets, SPAN Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
1998 Hide and Seek, Ramp Gallery, Waikato Polytechnic, Hamilton
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2013 Spring Catalogue, milford galleries queenstown
The Review, milford galleries queenstown
2012 Reboot, milford galleries queenstown
2011
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
2010 New Traditions: Recurring Themes in Maori Art, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland
2009 Black to Black: George/Cotton/Hotere, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland
John Leech and Gow Langsford Galleries 2009 Spring Catalogue Exhibition, Gow Langsford Gallery
2008
The Stations of the Cross, Gus Fisher Gallery, Auckland
The Spring Catalogue Show, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland
2007 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
2005
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
2004 OverView - Abstraction & Still Life, Milford Galleries Dunedin
Whare, Tandaya Gallery, Adelaide Festival, Adelaide, Australia
Prospect 2004, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington; Adam Art Gallery, Wellington
2003 Pacific Arts Symposium, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch
Summer Exhibition, SPAN Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
2002 Up/Down/Up, Canterbury Museum, Christchurch Whare, SOFA Gallery, Christchurch
Look this way, CoCA Gallery, Christchurch
2001 Techno Maori, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington
2000 Canterbury Painters in the 1990's, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch Art and Instruction, CoCA, Christchurch Group show, SPAN Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
1999 Hiko! New Energies in Maori Art, Robert McDougall Art Annex, Christchurch 20/20, CoCA, Christchurch
1998 n.z., Gallery 101, Melbourne, Australia Strata, SPAN Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
1997 Nga Matatini Maori, Robert McDougall Art Annex, Christchurch
1996 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
1995 Te Karohirohinga Toanga, Maori Art from the Community, Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton
1994 Te Puaroa Exhibition, Contemporary Maori Art Exhibitions, Te Toka-a-Toi Festival, Wellington
1993 Dangerous Liaisons, CSA Gallery, Christchurch; George Fraser Gallery, Auckland Te Tipunga, School of Fine Arts Gallery, Canterbury University, Christchurch
1991 Toi Tutanga Na Ngaa Toa O Te Whare Waananga O Waitaha, School of Fine Arts Gallery, Canterbury
AWARDS
2007 Deutsche Bank Head Office NZ commission
2004 Te Waka Toi Grant
2000 Creative New Zealand funding for Melbourne Art Fair Finalist in Wallace Art Award
1998 Arts Council of New Zealand Grant for Melbourne Project at SPAN Galleries
1994 Te Waka Toi Grant
COLLECTIONS
AMZO Trust
ANZ Bank (Wellington)
ANZ National
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 Brown, Dr. Deidre and Lara Strongman, Darryn George Book, Mihi Publishers, Christchurch
2006 Tipa, Moana, ‘Unfolding Language’, Chrysalis Seed publication, 2006
2006 Baker, Jonathan, ‘Matapihi; Darryn George’, (Review), CS ARTS, Issue 26, March 2006, p11
2005 Boyce, Roger, 'Lines of Descent', Art News, Spring, 2005
2005 Kedgeley, Helen, The Koru Club, Pataka Museum of Arts and Cultures Catalogue, 2005
2005 Gregory O Brien, Bro Town Boogie Woogie, FHE Galleries catalogue, 2005
2004 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
2004 Highfield, Smith, Pushing the Boundaries-Eleven Contemporary Artists in Aotearoa New Zealand, Giltedge Publishing, 2004, pp 18-23.
2004 Jonathan Mane-Wheoki, Tipuna, Catalogue for Span Galleries Show, 2004
2001 Amery, Mark, ‘Tauiwi’, Techno Maori: Maori Art in the Digital Age, (Exhibition CDRom Catalogue), City Gallery, Wellington, 2001, pp. 1-16
2001 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
2000 George, Darryn, Evisible: A Millennium Art Project, Christ’s College, Christchurch, 2000
2000 Johnstone, Jocelyn, ‘Art teachers aiming to make big impression’, Sunday Star Times, 5 July 2000
2000 McCormick, Deborah, Scape; Art & and Industry Urban Arts Biennial 02, Catalogue, pp 1-5
1999 Milburn, Felicity, Hiko! New Energies in Maori Art., Robert McDougall Art Gallery
2000 Moore, Christopher, ‘Arena of Abstract Art’, The Press, 28 June, 2000
1994 Paton, Justin, ‘Devotional Signs on a Cross-Cultural History’, The Press, 25 May 1994
2001 Pauli, Dorethee, ‘Demanding Hip Hop’, The Press, 22 August 2001
2000 Rewi, Adrienne, ‘Art Teachers studying modern in traditional setting’, Sunday Star Times, 18/06/00
Kete#7(2009)
