John Walsh / 17 October - 10 November 2007

 

Over recent years painter John Walsh has steadily built up a distinctive stylistic repertoire. His paintings combine an expressive gestural technique of loose brushwork and delicate washes of colour in jewel-like tones of vivid blues and greens. He incorporates customary Maori narrative as a vehicle to explore contemporary issues.

In this latest series of works Walsh continues to weave ancient and contemporary narratives while also creating an ethereal mood and a sense of timelessness. Fantastical dreamscapes and vistas, occupied by ancient beings, gods and demigods are engaged in discussing current affairs such as global warming thereby bringing contemporary relevance to his works and highlighting that the past and the ancestors depicted are ever-present.

Walsh’s work has been included in significant curated exhibitions in recent years such as Purangiaho - Seeing Clearly at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, 2001, Parihaka - the Art of Passive Resistance at the City Gallery, Wellington, 2001 and more recently Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf at Te Tuhi The Mark curated by Emma Bugden and Pita Turei. Works in collections include Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand, Wallace Arts Trust and the Tjibaou Cultural Centre, Noumea.