Page 75 - World of Art magazine (2000)
P. 75

barbara strathdee   new zealand



         Born Barbara Smythe, Wellington 1941. Lives and works in   Gallery Auckland NZ; 1990 33 1/3 Gallery Wellington NZ;   1999  Conversations,  work  by  selected  women  artists,
         Wellington New Zealand.            Lazelle  Gallery  Auckland  NZ;  1989  Waikato  Museum  of   Fisher Gallery Auckland NZ; 1995  Galleria L’uovo di Struzzo
         edUcation 1982 BA degree Victoria university of Wel-  Art  and  History,  Te  Whare  Taonga  O  Waikato,  Hamilton   Turin Italy; Fiera d’Arte Pordenone Italy; La natura delle
         lington  NZ  double  major:  English  literature  and  Italian;   NZ;  Galleria  Interno  Quattro  udine  Italy;  CSA  Gallery   cose, Villa Brandeis San Giovani al Natisone Italy;  Blitzart,
         1973  kokoscha  Summer  School,  Salzburg  Austria,  First   Christchurch NZ; 1988 Wellington City Gallery Wellington   Fortress  of  kluse,  Bovec  Slovenia;  Local  Colour,  City
         Prize in painting; 1971 and 1972 urbino Summmer school   NZ; 33 1/3 Gallery Wellington NZ; Nadia Bassanese Studio   Gallery Wellington NZ; Town & Gown, Collection of Victoria
         in lithography urbino Italy; 1967 1971 Private tutor: Prof   d’Arte Trieste Italy; 1985 Nadia Bassanese Studio d’Arte   university  City  Gallery  Wellington  NZ;  1994  Stazioni
         Augusto Cernigoi, Trieste, Italy; 1965 Byam Shaw Art School   Trieste Italy; Denis Cohn Gallery Auckland NZ; Janne Land   Topolo`/Postaja  Toplove,  Val  di  Natisone  Italy;  Portici
         London, part-time one term; 1963 Sir John Cass Art School   Gallery Wellington NZ; 1980 Galerie Legard Wellington NZ;   Inattuali, Sitran d’Alpago, Belluno Italy; Revotella Estate,
         London uk part-time painting; 1962 Auckland Art Gallery;   1978 Galleria Spazio Alternativo Rome Italy; Galleria de`   Museo  Revoltella  Trieste  Italy;  1993  Pilot  Essay,  Studio
         1954 1957 Wellington Girls College Wellington NZ.  Carbonese  Bologna  Italy;  1976  International  Centre  for   d’Arte Trieste Italy; From Liquid Darkness Artists’ books,
         Selected  Solo  exhibitionS  1999  Tinakori  Gallery   Theoretical  Physics  Trieste  Italy;  1975  Commonwealth   Dunedin  Public  Art  Gallery  Dunedin  NZ;  1992  Erewhon,
         Wellington NZ; Lesley kreisler Gallery New Plymouth NZ;   Institute  London  uk;  Galleria  Acquario  Venice  Mestre   Mestna  galerija  Ljubljana  Slovenia;  Erewhon,  Nadia
         Portfolio Gallery Auckland NZ; 1998 Warwick Brown Gallery   Italy; Galleria Tommaseo Trieste Italy; Galleria Cartesius   Bassanese  Studio  d’Arte  and  Teatro  Miela  Trieste  Italy;
         Auckland NZ; 1995 Nadia Bassanese Studio d’Arte Trieste   TriesteItaly;  Studio  Pozzan  Vicenza  Italy;  1971  Galleria   Perspectives, Te Papa Tongarewa/Museum of New Zealand
         Italy; Galleria L’Officina Anagni Italy; 1992 Diecidue Arte   Cortevecchia Ferrara Italy; Galleria Piccinnini Bari Italy.  Wellington NZ; 1991 Il Sud del Mondo, Galleria Municipale
         Milan  Italy;  33  1/3  Gallery  Wellington  NZ;  1991  Lazelle   Selected groUp exhibitionS  and other venues Marsala Sicily Italy;
          artiSt TALk

            For ten years I worked on a series,   incorporating a decorative use of   least one work a year, for many
           which I eventually titled ’The     gold leaf, and experiments in many   years.
           Conventional Canvas’. In fact it   forms of the visual language.       My painting, since I commenced
           was about the end of the con-       I have done many other things but   on the present series with the
           ventional canvas. Paint brush-     always return to painting.         subject matter of ’Historical
           marks within the rectangular frame   Contemporary experimental        Memory’, is very traditional.
           explored the beginnings of art     music was important to me during   Possibly English and United States
           language. Next the axis was marked   earlier years; now the music, which   Pop painting are important influ-
           in various ways on the canvas      I listen to in the studio, is largely   ences.
           surface, and finally the canvas itself   classical.                    There are moments where I could
           was torn, and stretched in nominal   I don’t allow the market to affect   have more profitably made another
           ways. When I came to the end of    my work because I have chosen not   choice in my development. But I
           that road I published a booklet on   to attempt to live by art alone. I   have never thought of my art as a
           the work and began painting works   divide the periods rigorously     career above all. Decisions have
           that were more about being a social   between art making and discussing   been made that allowed me time
           witness to the times I am living   its value out in the art world.    and freedom to explore painting
           through.                            I welcome critiques of my work if   ideas.
            In my case this meant questioning   they are serious attempts at      Certain people, especially senior
           my identity as a European living in   understanding and contextualizing   artists who have shown com-
           New Zealand, where Europeans       the work. The worst are reviews,   mitment in face of all obstacles,
           had occupied the land by conquest   which parrot the words of the artist   have influenced me.
           and legal trickery more often than   herself.                          Also certain of my peers with
           not.                                The narrative in my works has     whom I’ve worked alongside, and
            This led me in 1985 to search out   been described above. The concern   above all the belief of one gallery
           images not seen before in painting:   that I haven’t mentioned so far is an   dealer in my work for nearly twenty
           wood engravings used to illustrate   ongoing exploration of color as the   years.
           articles in newspapers of the last   predominating element of my art   Networking seems to be the factor
           century about the wars between     language.                          that ensures attention. But painting
           Europeans and Maori and about the   As part of my work I fragment and   requires months hidden away in the
           meetings between the two peoples   isolate elements in different      studio to produce the work. Also
           over hunting for gold, overlaid by   paintings.                       the artist’s own concerns don’t
           diggers, axes and other tools, gun   Deciding when a painting is      always coincide with the interests of
           barrels, wallpaper, parasols: all the   complete is a purely visual process.   curators etc. But it is important to
           paraphernalia of occupation and    Everything in the work must hold   be included in commissions and
           settlement.                        together in a precarious balance:   major exhibitions. These stimulate
            I have worked with aluminums      something added would wreck it, as   the artist to be ever more complex
           and photographs in installations at   would something taken away. A   and ambitious in the work.
           times.                             color or tone modified, an edge     The visual culture presented by the
            Often in non-gallery sites.       softened or sharpened.             mass-media is only that which will
            The function of art is different   Photographic reproductions of my   sell their products: the shocking or
           depending on the culture. In New   work don’t satisfy me to the degree   the easily understood. The inno-
           Zealand some art is used to        the work itself does - yes, the    vative visual culture is for the
           reinforce identity in a national sense   physicality of the work is hugely   audience that wants it. The big
           but other streams of art deal with   important.                       biennials prove that there is a huge
           contemporary technological living,   I have always looked at the work   international audience for con-
           with a super-refined aesthetic     of other artists and have collected at   temporary art.


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