About
Please note that some of the above works may no longer be available. See our Stockroom for a range of available works or contact us for a detailed inventory of available works by Darryn George.
Darryn George
b. 1970 (Nga Puhi)
Lives and works in Christchurch
Working primarily in oil on canvas, Darryn George has mastered a unique style of geometric abstraction which incorporates dizzying pop art colours and a host of influences from popular culture to Maori kowhaiwhai. The lineage of abstraction in George’s measured geometric compositions is discernable - from Mondrian and the de Stijl movement, through to Peter Halley, Bridget Riley, Sol Lewitt, Donald Judd and closer to home, Gordon Walters. However, whereas pure formalism is impervious to cultural references, George appears to be defining himself through them. Sarah Farrar observes that often the social content of George’s works are hidden or disguised under layers of paint, pattern and colour. It is interesting to note that this tactic was employed by Maori artists at the turn of the century, who disguised ostensibly ‘heathen’ images within complex kowhaiwhai designs to render them indecipherable to the missionaries. It is fitting that George’s own designs are influenced by the interior motifs found within Maori meeting houses. Once estranged from his Nga Puhi heritage, over recent years George has come to not only embrace his indigenous origins but to celebrate them in his art practice.
Since having reconciled the idea that it is possible to utilise the vocabulary of Maori aesthetics to articulate a personal Christian ethos, George’s practice has assumed a subtle shift. This is aptly conveyed in the series ‘Tipuna’ where Maori and Christian ideologies converge. These works borrow bilingual titles derived from Maori transliterations of biblical characters demonstrating the intermarriage of Maori and Christian belief systems. Conceptually, the works evolved from a Maori tukutuku panel design known as ‘Poutama’ (Stairway to Heaven). This motif symbolised the climb of folk-hero Tawhaki to the heavens to obtain the three baskets of knowledge. The narrative serves to reinforce the importance of education, achievement and advancing oneself for the benefit of the tribe.
Recent works feature the conventional palette of red, white and black generally associated with customary Maori art. While the colours might also signal an alignment with the Dutch de Stijl movement, within the context of New Zealand they remain firmly located to this place. The obvious comparisons with Gordon Walters are imminent, particularly where Walter’s abstraction of generic kowhaiwhai motifs such as the koru, are concerned. But where Walter’s appreciation lay purely in the aesthetic possibilities of the motif as pattern, George clearly engages with the motifs as repositories and potent signifiers of cultural narrative. In this respect George is more aligned with the art of Shane Cotton, with whom he shares a tribal affiliation.
Education
1993 Fine Arts Degree from Canterbury University
1994 Diploma of Teaching, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
Lives and works in Christchurch, New Zealand
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2012 Karakia, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland
2010 Rarohiko, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland
2009 Whare Pukapuka, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch
Darryn George in Good Company, The Gallery at Woollaston, Nelson
2007 Pukapuka, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland
2006 Marama/Arawhata, Peter McCleavey Gallery, Wellington
Turanga, Starkwhite, Auckland
Matapihi, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch
2005 From Maui to Moses, FHE Galleries, Auckland
Mihini, Starkwhite, Auckland
2004 Darryn George, Brooke Gifford, Christchurch
Darryn George, Span Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
Darryn George, Starkwhite, Auckland
2003 Stairway to Heaven, Peter McCleavey Gallery, Wellington
Tipuna, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch
2002 We apoligise, appair we to be having some technically probl be back soon, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch
2001 Zoom, SPAN Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
The T.A.T. show, Peter McCleavey Gallery, Wellington
The Hippy Hop Show, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch
2000 Fast Forward, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch
1999 Written on Tablets, SPAN Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
1998 Hide and Seek, Ramp Gallery, Waikato Polytechnic, Hamilton
Selected Group Exhibitions
2010 New Traditions: Recurring Themes in Maori Art, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland
2009 Black to Black: George/Cotton/Hotere, Gow Langsford Gallery
John Leech and Gow Langsford Galleries 2009 Spring Catalogue Exhibition, Gow Langsford Gallery
Auckland Art Fair, Gow Langsford Gallery stand, Auckland
2007 Contemporary Projects, City Gallery, Wellington
New Painting Digital Age, Pataka Gallery, Porirua
Auckland Art Fair, Gow Langsford Gallery stand, Auckland
Hei Konei Mai: We’ll meet again, Auckland City Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Auckland
4 Artists Project, Wellington City Gallery
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
The Koru Club, Pataka Gallery, Wellington
2004 Overview; Still Life and Abstraction, Milford Galleries, Dunedin
Whare, Tandaya Gallery, Adelaide Festival, Adelaide, Australia
Prospect 2004, Wellington City Gallery, Wellington; Adam Art Gallery, Wellington
2003 Pacific Arts Symposium Exhibition, 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
2000 Canterbury Painters in the 1990’s, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch
Art and Instruction, Centre of Contemporary Art, Christchurch
Melbourne Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Hall, Melbourne, Australia
Group Show, SPAN Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
1999 Hiko! New Energies in Maori Art, Robert McDougall Art Annex, Christchurch
20/20, Centre of Contemporary Art, Christchurch
1998 n.z, Gallery 101, Melbourne, Australia
Strata, SPAN Galleries, Melbourne Australia
1997 Nga Matatini Maori, McDougall Art Annex, Christchurch
1996 Recent Acquisitions, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch
Patua, Wellington Festival of the Arts, Wellington City Gallery
Recent Maori Sculpture, Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth
1995 Te Karohirohinga Toanga; Maori Art from the Community, Waikato Museum of Art and History
1994 Te Puaroa Exhibition, Contemporary Maori Art Exhibitions, Te Toka-a-Toi Festival, Wellington
Te Rakau Toi o Waitaha, School of Fine Arts Gallery, Canterbury
1993 Dangerous Liaisons, CSA Gallery, Christchurch; George Fraser Gallery, Auckland
Te Tipunga, School of Fine Arts Gallery, Canterbury University, Christchurch
Awards
2004 Te Waka Toi Grant
2000 Wallace Art Awards (Finalist)
Creative New Zealand funding for Melbourne Art Fair
1998 Arts Council of New Zealand Grant for Melbourne Project at SPAN Galleries
1994 Te Waka Toi Grant
Selected Publications
Amery, Mark. ‘Tauiwi’, Techno Maori: Maori Art in the Digital Age, (Exhibition CDRom Catalogue), City Gallery, Wellington, 2001, pp. 1-16.
Baker, Jonathan ‘Matapihi; Darryn George’, (Review), CS ARTS, Issue 26, March 2006, p11
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.
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.
Boyce, Roger 'Lines of Descent', Art News, Spring, 2005
George, Darryn Evisible: A Millennium Art Project, Christ’s College, Christchurch, 2000
Johnstone, Jocelyn ‘Art teachers aiming to make big impression’, Sunday Star Times. 5 July 2000
Kedgeley, Helen The Koru Club, Pataka Art Gallery Catalogue, 2005.
McCormick, Deborah Scape; Art and Industry Urban Arts Biennial 02, Catalogue, pp 1-5, 10, 2000
Milburn, Felicity Hiko! New Energies in Maori Art. Robert McDougall Art Gallery
Highfield, Smith Pushing the Boundries-Eleven Contemporary Artists in Aotearoa New Zealand, Giltedge Publishing, 2004, pp 18-23.
Jonathan Mane-Wheoki 'Tipuna', Catalogue for Span Galleries Show, 2004
Moore, Christopher ‘Arena of Abstract Art’, The Press, 28 June, 2000
Gregory O Brien 'Bro Town Boogie Woogie' FHE Galleries catalogue, 2005
Paton, Justin ‘Devotional Signs on a Cross-Cultural History’, The Press, 25 May 1994
Pauli, Dorethee ‘Demanding Hip Hop’, The Press, 22 August 2001
Rewi, Adrienne ‘Art Teachers studying modern in traditional setting’,Sunday Star Times, 18 June 2000
Tipa, Moana Unfolding Language, Chrysalis Seed publication, 2006
Selected Collections
College House
ANZ Bank (Wellington)
ANZ National
AMZO Trust
City Bank Auckland
Ministry Of Foreign Affairs
New Zealand High Commission
Designworks
Wallace Trust
Polar Investments
Deloittes
Cowdy Real Estate
Workshop Fashion House (RCM)
JB Were Coldman Sacks
Chartwell Collection
Christchurch City Gallery
COCA Art Collection
Court of Appeal of New Zealand