NEIL DAWSON

NEIL DAWSON Negative Space 4 July - 29 July 2015 www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

Milford Galleries Dunedin 18 Dowling Street (03) 477 7727 info@milfordhouse.co.nz

Black Halos 15 (2015) powdercoated steel, size on wall: 1020 x 1175 x 245 mm

1

Black Halos 19 (2015) powdercoated steel, size on wall: 390 x 665 x 100 mm

2

Black Halos 18 (2015) powdercoated steel, size on wall: 875 x 870 x 130 mm

3

Black Halos 21 (2015) powdercoated steel, size on wall: 510 x 445 x 310 mm

4

Black Halos 24 (2015) powdercoated steel, size on wall: 500 x 450 x 325 mm

5

Black Halos 16 (2015) powdercoated steel, size on wall: 655 x 755 x 125 mm

6

Spikes (2015) powdercoated steel, size on wall: 860 x 1290 x 130 mm

7

Spirit (2015) black flocking on MDF, size on wall: 695 x 2050 x 695 mm

8

Uccello’s Corner (2015) powdercoated steel, size on wall: 1005 x 365 x 365 mm

9

Black Halos 17 (2015) powdercoated steel, size on wall: 835 x 835 x 175 mm

10

Black Halos 23 (2015) powdercoated steel, size on wall: 505 x 430 x 280 mm

11

Black Halos 22 (2015) powdercoated steel, size on wall: 550 x 430 x 250 mm

12

Black Halos 10 (2015) powdercoated steel, size on wall: 350 x 545 x 160 mm

13

Black Halos 20 (2015) powdercoated steel, size on wall: 345 x 400 x 340 mm

14

Black Halos 9 (2015) powdercoated steel, size on wall: 655 x 1335 x 220 mm

15

At first glance, Neil Dawson’s important new exhibition Negative Space might seem to be a radical departure and as such a complete reversal of his usual forms and approach, with no part of the linear outline now actually touching the wall. However his prominent use of architectural details returns aspects of these works to dialogues first prominent in his work from the 1970s.

Neil Dawson’s primary aim in Negative Space is to get shape off the wall and have it supported (and contradicted) by content.

Each work has been finished in a black water-silk powdercoating which defines space by functioning as if drawn in air while simultaneously seeming to advance and recede. There is a marked change of weight happening in every work as space, scale and dimension is altered, subverted and reconfigured.

Dawson is building visual contradictions and in doing so using a 5th to 6th century halo design from a church in Southern Spain. The halo is comprised of three key design elements which he employs in numerous ways. They interlock, support, float and fly.

Direction alters, scale is changed, halos are presented in full and in part.

There are many allusions and illusions. An ecclesiastical narrative unites all of the work and directly informs the key visual contradiction being used between the circles of the halo shape and the cube or triangle surrounding, outlining and defining them.

The role of shadow is, as always in his work, fundamental and critical to the experience of what we see and how we see it. This ‘spirit presence’ extends further the wonderful hovering sensation present in all of the Black Halos.

The exhibition includes Spikes which refers to the preceding Cloud works and features two motifs referencing the Christchurch earthquake and church spires. Spirit is a substantial work, finished in black flocking, and is a replica of the Christchurch Cathedral spire. It is a challenging work, imbued with the particular circumstance of its destruction, as it blurs in space. Uccello’s Corner, based on the 1430 Uccello drawing in the collection of the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, is a wire frame drawing occupying the corner of a wall, the illusion so successful that the viewer comprehends it in the round.

EXHIBITION PRICELIST 1

Black Halos 15 (2015)

18,500

2

Black Halos 19 (2015)

5,500

3

Black Halos 18 (2015)

18,500

4

Black Halos 21 (2015)

8,500

5

Black Halos 24 (2015)

8,500

6

Black Halos 16 (2015)

12,500

7

Spikes (2015)

22,500

8

Spirit (2015)

35,000

9

Uccello's Corner (2015)

18,500

10

Black Halos 17 (2015)

12,500

11

Black Halos 23 (2015)

8,500

12

Black Halos 22 (2015)

8,500

13

Black Halos 10 (2015)

5,500

14

Black Halos 20 (2015)

6,500

15

Black Halos 9 (2015)

16,500

All prices are NZD and include GST; Prices are current at the time of the exhibition

NEIL DAWSON b. 1948, lives Christchurch

Neil Dawson: Vortex 5 (2012)

From the recent Fanfare, the established Chalice in Christchurch's Cathedral Square and Ferns in Wellington's Civic Square, to Raindrops in Manchester, United Kingdom, and the Globe in Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, Neil Dawson's public artworks have become city icons. (1) “Born and bred in New Zealand, Neil Dawson is a sculptor of international standing. All of Dawson’s works emphatically echo aspects of this nation’s socio-cultural environments and, literally, elevate these in spatial celebrations that are at once accessible and challenging. A central achievement discernable in this sculptor’s work is his ability to embody in pure space, clusters of socio-cultural and global concerns.”(2) Neil describes his work as "an obsession, like it is for the majority of artists," adding that he "continue[s] to be excited by new projects." In the 1998 catalogue for "Ferns," Jim and Mary Barr say his work offers a "multiplicity of views that people can create for themselves as they move beneath or around his sculptures," emphasising that while "Dawson has used the interplay of the constant and the serendipitous in many of his works, in the spheres the combination has proved inspiring." (3) Born in Christchurch in 1948, Dawson gained a Diploma of Fine Arts (Hons) from Canterbury University in 1970, and a Graduate Diploma in Sculpture from Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, in 1973. Dawson was awarded an Arts Laureate by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand in 2003 and in 2006 held the Antarctica NZ Fellowship. His public commissions have been installed in many New Zealand and Australian cities as well as in France, the United Kingdom, China, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.

1. Lee Suckling, 'The Sky's the Limit', Art News, Summer 2009 2. Dr Cassandra Fusco, Ways of seeing presence and absence – The work of Neil Dawson, Crafts Arts International No. 58, 2003 3. The Arts Foundation of New Zealand, 2003

Neil Dawson 2015 CV P a g e |1

Milford

Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

NEIL DAWSON b. 1948, lives Christchurch EDUCATION 1973 1971 1970

DipGrad (Sculpture), National Gallery of Victoria Art School, Melbourne, Australia DipTch, Christchurch College of Education, Christchurch DipFA (Hons), School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury, Christchurch

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2015 Negative Space, Milford Galleries Dunedin 2014 Selected Works, milford galleries queenstown On Hollowed Ground, Jonathan Smart Gallery, Christchurch Spires, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington 2013 Silver Linings, Milford Galleries Dunedin 2012 Orange Zone, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington 2011 Pulse, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington Incident 1992/2011, Jonathan Smart Gallery, Christchurch 2010 Five Years, milford galleries queenstown Deck: Second Hand, Milford Galleries Dunedin Deck: Three of a Kind, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington 2009 Deck: First Cut, Jonathan Smart Gallery, Christchurch 2008 Old/New/Borrowed/Blue, Milford Galleries Dunedin Selected Works, milford galleries queenstown 2007 Vanishing Points, Anna Bibby Gallery, Auckland Recent Sculptures, milford galleries queenstown New Work, Jonathan Smart Gallery, Christchurch 2006 Thoughts on Ice, Janne Land Gallery, Wellington 2005 Craters, Anna Bibby Gallery, Auckland Recent Wall Sculptures, Milford Galleries Dunedin 2004 Wall Sculpture 2004, Jonathan Smart Gallery, Christchurch 2003 New Wall Sculptures, Peter Webb Galleries, Auckland Wall Sculptures, Janne Land Gallery, Wellington 2002 Domes, City Art, Christchurch 1994 Steps and Stages, Jonathan Jensen Gallery, Christchurch 1993 New Work, Jonathan Jensen Gallery, Christchurch 1992 Incident, Luba Bilu Gallery, Melbourne, Australia Jonathan Jensen Gallery, Christchurch Infomuse Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 1991 Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland Jonathan Jensen Gallery, Christchurch 1989 Neil Dawson Site Works 1981-89, National Art Gallery, Wellington Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland Jonathan Jensen Gallery, Christchurch Luba Bilu Gallery, Melbourne, Australia 1988 Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, Australia 1987 Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland Site Related Work 1981-87, Centre For Contemporary Art, Hamilton 1986 Janne Land Gallery, Wellington Overhead Hardware, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch 1985 Mirrors, Bosshard Gallery, Dunedin New Wall Works, Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland 1984 Sunset Constructions, Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland Rock Constructions, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Dunedin 1982 Holes, Robinson Brooker Gallery, Christchurch Land Escapes, Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland

Neil Dawson 2015 CV P a g e |2

Milford

Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

1981

1980 1979 1978 1975 1972-73

Here and There, Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland Escapes, Peter McLeavey Gallery, Wellington Boundaries, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch Recent Series, Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland Here and There, New Zealand Chancellery, Washington DC, USA Interiors, Elva Bett Gallery, Wellington Order/Chaos, Bosshard Gallery, Dunedin House Alterations, Brooke-Gifford Gallery, Christchurch 3 Black Holes, CSA Gallery, Christchurch Pinacotheca Gallery, Melbourne, Australia

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2015 New Works, milford galleries queenstown 2014 Significant Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin The Royal Queenstown Easter Show, milford galleries queenstown 2013 Small Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin 2012 Significant Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin Small Works, milford galleries queenstown 2011 Parallel, Milford Galleries Dunedin Gems, milford galleries queenstown 2010 Bloom, milford galleries queenstown 2009 Dawson, Petre, Arnold ‘Recent Works, milford galleries queenstown Masterworks, milford galleries queenstown 2008 Neil Dawson, Ralph Hotere, Pat Hanly, milford galleries auckland Masterworks, milford galleries queenstown 2006 Masterworks, milford galleries queenstown Tribute, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland Birds, Pataka, Porirua 2004 Cutouts, Anna Bibby Gallery, Auckland Project 04, Peter Webb Galleries, Auckland 2003 Sculpture on the Gulf, Waiheke Island 1995 H2O, Dowse Art Gallery, Lower Hutt 1994 Art Now, Museum of New Zealand, Wellington Virtual Reality, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra 1993 Canopy, Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia 1992 Wellington Festival Exhibition, Gow Langsford Gallery, Wellington Prospect Canterbury, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch 1991 Review 1991, Luba Bilu Gallery, Melbourne, Australia 1989 Magiciens de la Terre, Musee National d’Art Moderne, Paris, France 1988 NZ Xl, Auckland City Art Gallery From the Southern Cross, Sydney Biennale, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia 1986 Aspects of Recent New Zealand Art: Sculpture, Auckland Art Gallery Content /Context, National Art Gallery, Wellington 1985 Six New Zealand Artists, Perspecta ’85, Mori Gallery, Sydney, Australia Better than Collecting Dust, Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North Chance & Change: A Century of the Avant-Garde, Auckland Art Gallery 1980 4 New Zealand Sculptors, Sargeant Gallery, Wanganui 1978 Platforms, CSA Gallery, Christchurch Seventh Mildura Sculpture Triennial, Mildura Arts Centre, Mildura, Australia Little Works, Auckland Art Gallery 1974 Environmental Structures, Christchurch Arts Festival SELECTED INSTALLATIONS & PUBLIC COMMISSIONS 2015 Fanfare, State Highway 1 at Chaneys Corner, Christchurch 2014 Spires, Latimer Square, Christchurch Toss, Victoria University, Wellington

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Milford

Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

2013 2012 2010

2009 2006 2005

2004 2003 2002

2001

2000 1999

1998

1997 1996

1995 1994

1993

1992

Boats and Birds, ANZ Tower, Auckland Feather from Afar, International Finance Centre, Shanghai, China Feather and Ripples, Christchurch City Council Building Sky Len, Guthrey Plaza, Cashell Mall, Christchurch Cubes, St Andrew’s College, Christchurch Feather, Two Paddocks Winery, Central Otago Anchor, Victoria Point, Docklands, Melbourne, Australia Wellsphere, Gouldon Square, Rochdale Road, Manchester, UK Bomber Command, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australia H2O, Lincoln University, Lincoln Mahana Ceiling Dome, Woollaston Estate Winery, Motueka Raindrops, Lumiere Building, Manchester, UK Fanfare, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Australia Chevron, Kate Edger Commons, University of Auckland Corro Dome, Private Commission, Sydney, Australia Lapped Sphere, Christchurch Girls’ High School Suntrap, Hastings District Council, Hastings Diamonds, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia Other People’s Houses, Private Commission, Waiheke Island Flying Steps, Hunter Courtyard, Victoria University, Wellington Cones, Dunedin Public Art Gallery Chalice, Cathedral Square, Christchurch Skies, West Main Entry Artwork, Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia Sphere, Cone, Cylinder, Designworks, Wellington Starferns, APEC conference, Auckland Town Hall Feathers, East Main Entry Artwork, Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia Ripples and Rays, Clear Communications, Takapuna, Auckland Ferns, Wellington Civic Square, Wellington Expansion, Pyne Gould Corporation, Christchurch Plumage, Phileo Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Butterflies, Phileo Avenue, Kuala Lumpur Tranquillity, Tsing Yi MTR Station, Hong Kong Flora, Private Commission, Governors Bay Vanishing Stairs, Phileo Promenade, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Leafsphere, Wisma Perkasa, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Decoy Feathersphere, Private Commission, Te Horo Decoy Down, Private Commission, Te Horo Majestic Earth, Majestic Centre, Wellington Down, Private Commission, Auckland Canoe, SkyCity Casino, Auckland Steps, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia Nor’West Arch, Lincoln University, Lincoln Kahu, Takahanga Marae, Kaikoura Horizons, Private Commission, Kaukapakapa Different Skies, Osaka Business Park, Japan Flying Chairs, Private Commission, Kaukapakapa Globe, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia Lens, Petrocorp Building, New Plymouth Untitled, High Court of New Zealand, Wellington Flying Chairs, Sculpture in the Gardens, Christchurch Canopy, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia Snap, Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia Wave Screens, Private Commission, Auckland Throwback, Albert Park, Auckland Echo (re-installation), Arts Centre, Christchurch Globe Installation, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Vertigo, Gallery Kobayashi, Tokyo, Japan

Neil Dawson 2015 CV P a g e |4

Milford

Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

1991

1990

1989

1988

1987 1986 1984

1982

1980 1979

Perception Room, Capital Discovery Place, Wellington Orb, Private Commission, Taranaki Awakenings, Hastings Boys High School Jetset Globe, Jetset Tours Building, Melbourne, Australia Spectra, Aotea Centre, Auckland Macaw Feather, Private Commission, Wellington Leadlight, Private Commission, Wellington Blue/Green, The Bath House, Rotorua Globe Down Under, Sargeant Gallery, Wanganui Featherlight, Aotea Centre Foyer, Auckland Globe, Musee National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France Framework, National Art Gallery, Wellington Get the Picture, Wellington Railway Station Vanity 1, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia Vanity 2, Melbourne Concert Hall, Melbourne, Australia Featherlight, Methodist Trust Association Building, Auckland Ripples, Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton Plumbobs, Private Commission, Christchurch Going for Broke, Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth The Rock, Bank of New Zealand Centre, Wellington Paper, Scissors, Rock, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch 5 Large Works, Graduate Centre Mall, City University of New York, USA Lightwell, Private Commission, Wellington Echo, Arts Centre, Christchurch Vanishing Points, Auckland City Art Gallery Reflections, National Art Gallery, Wellington Street Show: Street Grid, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch Airspace, Wairarapa Arts Centre, Masterton Seascape Installation, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch

SELECTED AWARDS 2006 Antarctica New Zealand Arts Fellowship, Antarctica 2004 Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit 2003 Laureate Award, New Zealand Arts Foundation 1985 Awarded Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council Establishment Grant 1980 Awarded Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council Travel Grant 1972 Awarded Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council Grant SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 2011 Wolfe, Richard and Stephen Robinson, Artists At Work, Penguin Books, London, England 2009 Suckling, Lee, The Sky’s the Limit, Art News, Summer 2009, pp 52 – 55 2006 Mane-Wheoki, Jonathon, Laureate Feature – Neil Dawson, Applause, Arts Foundation of New Zealand, pp7 2005 Blundell, Sally, The Outsider, The Listener, November 26 2005, pp 44 & 46 2003 Fusco, Dr. Cassandra, Ways of Seeing Presence and Absence- The Work of Neil Dawson, Craft Arts International, Number 58 2003 pp 34 – 412000 Caughey, Elizabeth and John Gow, Contemporary New Zealand Art 2, Auckland; David Bateman, 1997, pp 52 – 55 1996 Brown, Warwick, Another 100 NZ Artists, Godwit Press 1996, pp 26

Neil Dawson: Blue Retreat Sweep (2010)

Neil Dawson 2015 CV P a g e |5

Milford

Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz