An exhibition by Auckland artist Max Gimblett is to open at the Fisher Gallery, Pakuranga, Manukau City from Friday 13 August. Radiant Path has been curated specifically for the Fisher Gallery by the Guest Curator, Diana Renker who has recently completed a Master of Arts (Art History) on the artist.
As one of New Zealand’s major established contemporary artists, Gimblett has had his work recognised nationally and internationally in a number of significant exhibitions. Radiant Path Max Gimblett: Works from 1965-1993 will exhibit a selection of large-scale paintings, works on paper, scrolls, ceramics, artist’s books and notebooks by Max Gimblett dating from 1965-93.
The exhibition will provide a unique opportunity to record and document never before seen historical work (made in America and brought to New Zealand for this show) as well as lesser known aspects of Gimblett’s work, such as his artist’s books and ceramics (made in New Zealand in collaboration with Weymouth potter Phillip Luxton).
This exhibition will provide an opportunity for the viewer to re-assess aspects of the artists work produced over this thirty year period. As the Guest Curator states, ‘Tracing the evolution of his visual language, we can identify his concerns as an artist and explore some of the lesser known areas of his oeuvre, such as his demonstrations of Zen Koans and the glazed ceramics created in collaboration with Auckland potter Phillip Luxton.’
Renker continues, ‘By the time he [Gimblett] began painting in 1964, early modernist abstraction and post-war American art had left a strong impression on his attitude towards the role of art and the artist. Gimblett has always emphasized expression and content, using form and colour to elicit emotional responses in the viewer.’
‘He aims to heighten awareness, to create an opportunity for profound change to occur for both artist and viewer. The apparent simplicity of his work, the reduction of formal elements and the resulting indeterminacy of meaning encourage viewers to examine their own responses to the work. There is ample opportunity to enter a realm of feeling, reverie and reflection, enjoying the deep pleasures these sensuously realized objects offer.’
Max Gimblett is one of New Zealand’s most highly recognized international contemporary artists. He has attained a substantial standing for his work and prominence within the national/international art community. He currently divides his time between studios in New York and Auckland.
Ephemera
→ Radiant Path: Max Gimblett Works from 1965-1993, 1993, exhibition card
→ Radiant Path: Max Gimblett Works from 1965-1993, 1993, exhibition card
Press
→ Archpriest of Alchemy, New Zealand Herald, 26-08-1993
→ Emblem of eternal decay, New Zealand Herald, 02-09-1993