Max Gimblett

b. 1935, New Zealand
Lives in New York, USA

Max Gimblett’s practice is rich with influences and philosophical engagement, from Abstract Expressionism to Eastern and Western spiritual beliefs. Known for creating distinct canvas shapes, particularly the quatrefoil, he engages in his own form of expressive abstract painting. Gimblett continues to experiment with gesture, colour, and precious metals in his practice today. Bridging cultures and spiritualities, his work draws from concepts of consciousness and enlightenment. This is reflected in the production methods and colour choices behind his gestural abstract paintings.

Born in New Zealand, Gimblett has been primarily based in New York since 1972. He continues to exhibit regularly in both locations. This mix of geographic locations and cultures is evident in the aesthetic of his work. His practice consists largely of object-based painting, with the use of shaped canvases to convey various associations and meanings. The particular shapes Gimblett has used include the oval, rectangle, tondo, keystone, and the quatrefoil – for which he is most recognised. The quatrefoil dates back to pre-Christian times and is found in the iconography of both Western and Eastern religions. It has been used to symbolise various spiritual symbols including the window, the cross, the rose, and the lotus. Gimblett states, “The quatrefoil is the female cross, the curvilinear, the Jungian ‘anima’, the transition from the Trinity to the Quaternity. It is the dominant shape of my oeuvre.”

Gimblett has exhibited in a range of prominent international contexts, including the 2009 exhibition The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860-1989 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim, New York. In 2011, he presented a solo exhibition in the series The Word of God at the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In New Zealand, Gimblett’s profile is prominent. Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki hosted The Brush of All Things, a major survey exhibition curated by Wystan Curnow. His works are held in the collections of all major public galleries and institutions in the country. He became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to Art in 2015, and in 2017, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from The University of Waikato for his contributions as an artist, scholar, teacher, and philanthropist.

Gimblett is the subject of several publications including the monograph Max Gimblett (Craig Potton and Gow Langsford Gallery, 2002), Max Gimblett: The Brush of All Things (Auckland Art Gallery, 2004) Workspace (Charta, 2010) and Max Gimblett (Charta, 2013).

Gow Langsford Gallery has represented Max Gimblett since 1988.

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Driven to Abstraction is a group show of contemporary artists who together represent a diverse range of entry points into abstraction.

Judy Millar’s paintings, based on gesture, lend themselves to elements of both Abstract Expressionism and Lyrical Abstraction. Millar plays on the notion of gesture in abstraction but adds an ironic twist to the discussion by using screen-printing techniques to generate the final image. Like Millar, Simon Ingram’s non-objective canvases signal more contemporary approaches in his innovative use of modern technologies combined with the hand drawn, in his painting practice. The slug-like painted forms in the two Untitled works appear to devour the formal geometric elements of the painting and one senses that with the passing of time these works will return to the pristine plain white surfaces that existed prior to Ingram making his marks.

Max Gimblett’s large diptych Either/Or from 1983 appears at first glance to be a classic piece of American minimalist painting. However the surface of the work is activated by Gimblett’s masterful use of heavy brushwork to create texture. In the centre of each square a rectangle painted in the same colour and manner as the rest of the painting subtly reveals itself to the viewer. Allen Maddox’s ardent and impassioned paintings established him as one for the most noted Abstract Expressionists New Zealand has produced. Colin McCahon’s Jump painting is indicative of the abstracted landscapes for which is well known.

Although not strictly abstract American Isaac Layman’s photographs offer an alternative perspective on everyday subjects, as the context of his subjects is shifted. By shifting scale and limiting colour creates formal abstract compositions. In Blackout Laymen photographs a blind in a window to produce a work that references the American painter Agnes Martin.

Through myriad approaches, media and materials Driven to Abstraction considers the visual language of abstraction.