Ngāpuhi artist Darryn George is known for his minimal abstractions which draw from both Christian symbolism and his Māori heritage. For the latest Drawing Wall project he consolidates elements from both his recent room sized wall paintings and his extensive body of abstract paintings.
The Drawing Wall provides a site for George to develop crossovers between his canvas and wall based works. Working directly on the wall, he creates a giant abstract painting which is formed from duplicating elements of a previous composition Rēhita across the wall. This method of repeating elements recalls the kōwhaiwhai panels that George frequently references in his room sized work. Yet this methodology also recalls important New Zealand abstractionists such as Gordon Walters, particularly in George’s use of simplified forms which are laid over a rich bright surface. George’s Drawing Wall project teases out these dual references - expanding his abstract vocabulary and collapsing his painting methodologies.