Summer Editions: Group Exhibition

Don Binney (NZ, 1950 - 2012)

To coincide with our landmark exhibition A Flight Through Time held at our Onehunga gallery earlier this year, Gow Langsford is honoured to announce a new limited edition screenprint by the late Don Binney, one of Aotearoa’s most iconic and beloved painters. Published by the Estate of Don Binney, this new edition offers collectors and admirers a unique opportunity to acquire a new work from the artist’s legacy. Faithful to Binney’s unmistakable style – where native birds take flight over Aotearoa’s expansive, undulating landscapes – this print captures the spiritual and environmental themes that defined his five-decade career.

In a gesture respecting both Binney’s conservationist values and his deep care for future generations, $500 from every print sold will be donated to Starship, supporting their vital work for Kiwi children. This charitable contribution has been selected by the Binney family, ensuring the artist’s legacy continues to give back to the community.

Shane Cotton (Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Hine, Te Uri Taniwha, b. 1964)

Shane Cotton has created two new lithographs for this show, each an edition of 50. Cotton’s practice is underpinned by recurrent questioning of his own bicultural identity, and our collective cultural identity. To offer a view into Te Ao Māori (Māori world view), Cotton had to commit to learning and understanding Mātauranga Māori (knowledge). As his practice developed, he has built on the knowledge of his ancestors, actively absorbing and re-examining the past to contextualise what biculturalism means in the present day. The symbols from Māori and Pakeha cultural histories in his paintings and prints are predominantly derived from post-contact Māori art, and prompt conversations about nationhood and identity.

Sara Hughes (NZ/CA, b. 1971)

Earlier this year, Sara Hughes created a series of prints created in close collaboration with Auckland Print Studio (APS Editions). Marking a shift from her previous screenprint works, these works have been created entirely on traditional hand-operated presses; an intensive, manual approach that embraces more of a painterly printmaking result. Every element, from the hand-rolled gradients to the layered pressings, have been carefully constructed to achieve the vivid yet subtle transitions of colour seen in the sky at sunset. Unlike screen printing, where ink is often laid down in a single pull, these works require multiple roll-ups and passes through the press, with each print receiving individual attention. This series not only reflects Hughes’ ongoing engagement with the natural world around us, but also highlights the value of time, care, and collaboration in the printmaking process.

John Pule (NZ/NU, b. 1962)

John Pule is one of the world’s leading figures in contemporary Pacific art. An accomplished painter, printmaker, poet and writer, included in this show are a range of his prints that are made in collaboration with writer and curator Gregory O’Brien. Pule was born in Niue, emigrating to New Zealand at the age of two. He first visited Niue as an adult and has since returned to the island nation to live and work. His strong interest in the mythology, culture, and history of the country of his birth continues to inform his work to this day. His paintings and prints often depict Niuean flora and fauna and make use of customary approaches to patternmaking.

André Hemer (NZ, b. 1981)

André Hemer is a New Zealand-born artist based in Vienna whose artworks blend traditional painting methods with digital processes, particularly photography, image manipulation, and printmaking. Hemer often scans paint marks and found objects to create digital imagery, which is then manipulated, printed, and over-painted with highly textural applications, becoming uniquely hybridised explorations of contemporary image-making. Vibrantly coloured and ostensibly abstract, Hemer titles this series of prints his “Skyscapes” – depicting flora, paint and golden lustres across flat surfaces that suggest three-dimensional depth.

Aiko Robinson (NZ/JP, b. 1993)

Over the past decade, Aiko Robinson has developed an image-making practice that delicately balances historic influences with a contemporary aesthetic, creating work that is both richly nuanced and visually fresh. Of Japanese-New Zealand heritage, Robinson draws on traditional printmaking and ink on paper techniques. Her work conceptually engages with shunga, a form of Japanese erotic art that was prevalent from the 1600s through to the 1800s. She creates images that are playfully explicit, balancing the provocative with the everyday, the romantic with the humorous.

Steve Carr (NZ, b. 1976)

Steve Carr is a multi-disciplinary artist whose practice is embedded in the curiosities of the everyday. Working predominantly in lens-based practices and sculpture, the resulting works masterfully conceptualise the banality of human existence with humour and provocation. His ceramic donuts are beautifully glazed – stacked and ready to eat. A tongue-in-cheek print exhibits the artists hand in the shape of a rooster complete with a googly eye, evocatively titled “Cock”.

Damien Hirst (UK, b. 1965)

Infamous for his celebrity and record-breaking, bank-breaking auction prices, Damien Hirst has become somewhat of the poster boy for British Art of his era. From animals encased in formaldehyde, jewel encrusted skulls, and works adorned with the wings of butterflies, Hirst’s approach to creating art is unprecedented. His practice continues to examine themes of beauty, faith, mortality and value, securing his place as one of the most influential and provocative artists of his generation.

Politeness (2021) is part of a set of eight cherry blossom prints by Hirst, each named after one of The Eight Virtues of Bushido: Justice, Courage, Mercy, Politeness, Honesty, Loyalty, Control. The vibrant, pastel colours evoke the season of spring, bringing a cheerful and upbeat tone to the print. The Currency Unique Print (2022) interrogates value and authenticity in the digital age. Each print in the edition is unique in its arrangements of dots, part of the ongoing iterations of his iconic Spot Paintings. The artwork explores the boundaries of art and currency – when art changes and becomes a currency, and when currency becomes art.