Nicolas Dillon B i rds
- from Central to the Coast
19 November - 14 December 2011
www.milfordgalleries.co.nz
milford galleries queenstown 9A Earl Street
Tel (03) 442 6896
qtown@milfordgalleries.co.nz
1. The Wind in Winter (2010) oil on linen, stretcher (v x h x d): 800 x 1202 x 38 mm
2. Alpine Rest (2010) oil on linen, stretcher (v x h x d): 802 x 1200 x 38 mm
1. The Wind in Winter (2010) DETAIL VIEW
3. Eye of the Schist (2011) oil on linen, stretcher (v x h x d): 800 x 1204 x 38 mm
4. Mackenzie Fog (2011) oil on linen, stretcher (v x h x d): 802 x 1204 x 38 mm
4. Mackenzie Fog (2011) DETAIL VIEW
5. Early Spring Snow (2011) oil on linen,
stretcher (v x h x d): 800 x 1200 x 38 mm
6. In Reflection (2011) oil on linen, stretcher (v x h x d): 455 x 607 x 38 mm
7. Along the Coast (2011) oil on linen, stretcher (v x h x d): 450 x 603 x 38 mm
8. Between Land and Sea (2011) oil on linen, stretcher (v x h x d): 455 x 607 x 38 mm
9. The Eye (2011) oil on linen, stretcher (v x h x d): 455 x 607 x 38 mm
10. In Matagouri (2011) oil on linen, stretcher (v x h x d): 453 x 607 x 38 mm
Nicolas Dillon is “one of New Zealand’s leading wildlife painters” demonstrating in his work an “extraordinary empathy with nature” and “a curious combination of arrested motion and intense energy” presenting his subjects in their broad natural environment. Dillon’s artistic goal (and success) is to combine place specific naturalism and narrative realism plus mood and atmosphere whilst capturing the life-force and animated character of the birds observed. He works from life, drawing in the field, using a high powered spotting scope to view and build a “connection between artist and subject … so strong you can almost feel it vibrating.” (1) “Many of the paintings for this exhibition were made after a trip through the Mackenzie Country and Central Otago.” The Mackenzie was foggy where as at the Sutton Salt Lake near Middlemarch soft light played upon a NZ Falcon and the schist outcrops. In “The Wind in Winter” Dillon’s broad pictorial concerns reveal “as much about the wind and the patterns of winter” (2) as the place the Black Swans occupy in it. Dillon’s intention (like Bruno Liljefors, Swedish artist, considered the grandfather of wildlife art) is “first to combine the bird/animal and landscape as one.” (3) In (for example) “The Eye,” “Early Spring Snow” and “Alpine Rest” we see not simply the completeness of an arrested moment and the place but come to ask – given the significantly important role the gaze of the bird performs – what is being looked at by the bird, and why: what is it we can not see? We encounter the birds, and their active presence, in their environment. Dillon’s approach to his subjects is delivered with soft focus. Light is rendered with subtlety and much more complexity than the normal unquestioning depictive use of NZ’s (almost clichéd) harsh (as in bright) light. Dillon is a masterful painter – not an illustrator – of birds (and their presence) in the landscape. He uses a restricted and restrained palette with real authority - see “In Matagouri”. Each painting has a distinguishing mood and atmosphere, and painterly flourishes which reveal his work as being deeply considered observations of nature and the environment. (1) Sarah Quigley, “Being There,” North & South, November 2009 (2) Artist Notes on the paintings, 20 October 2011 (3) Nicolas Dillon, A Study Trip to Spain and Sweden (November 2010), 20 October 2011
EXHIBITION PRICELIST
1
The Wind in Winter (2010)
12,000
2
Alpine Rest (2010)
12,000
3
Eye of the Schist (2011)
12,000
4
Mackenzie Fog (2011)
12,000
5
Early Spring Snow (2011)
12,000
6
In Reflection (2011)
5,000
7
Along the Coast (2011)
5,000
8
Between Land and Sea (2011)
5,000
9
The Eye (2011)
5,000
10
In Matagouri (2011)
5,000
All prices are NZD and include GST; Prices are current at the time of the exhibition
NICOLAS DILLON b. 1966, lives Marlborough
Tussle - Keas (2010)
“The subtle light and gently rippling textures found in many of the paintings elevate them high above purely ornithological illustration. There's even a hint of Rembrandt and Vermeer in Dillon's light-infused portraits of the birds that hover over our lives. These paintings establish an enduring link with the natural world.” (1) "Dillon successfully blends the two often mutually exclusive positions of scientific observer and artistic aesthete. The emphasis in these paintings is not so much on the personal expression or theoretical concept but a deliberate and traditional courting of historical artistic values and the sentimental elation many people still feel about nature." (2) Nicolas Dillon, born in Blenheim, lives in Marlborough. He has been exhibiting paintings of birds and wildlife from the age of 18. He has exhibited internationally at galleries and museums including The Leigh Yawkey Woodeon Art Museum in Wasau, Wisconsin. He has also exhibited in the Society of Wildlife Artists in London, and The Wildlife Art Gallery in Lavenham, Suffolk. 1. Christopher Moore, The Christchurch Press, May 2008 2. Paul Wood, Quoted in ‘A Rare Kiwi Bird Painter’, The Christchurch Press, April 2008
Nicolas Dillon 2011 CV P a g e |1
milford galleries queenstown
www.milfordgalleries.co.nz
NICOLAS DILLON b. 1966, lives Marlborough SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2011 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 1999 1998 1991 1989 1987 1985
Birds - from Central to the Coast, milford galleries queenstown Recent Paintings, George Perry Gallery, Tauranga New Paintings, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch Light Reflections, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch The Studio, Blenheim Paintings, The Studio, Blenheim Recent Paintings, George Perry Gallery, Tauranga Paintings, The Studio, Blenheim Natural Reflections, Millennium Public Art Gallery, Blenheim Paintings and Drawings, Attic Gallery, Redcliffs, Christchurch Recent Paintings, Bealey Gallery, Christchurch Paintings and Drawings, Wildlife Art Gallery, Lavenham, England Recent Paintings, Bealey Gallery, Christchurch Paintings and Drawings, Grove Mill Wines, Blenheim Bird Paintings, Peppertree Restaurant, Blenheim Recent Paintings, Bealey Gallery, Christchurch
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2010 2004 2002 2001 1997 1992 1989 1988
Art at Spy, Spy Valley Wines, Blenheim Flora and Fauna, Millennium Art Gallery, Blenheim Judith Anderson Gallery, Hawkes Bay Gourmet Province Art Award, Marlborough Gallery, Blenheim Realist Paintings, Studio Of Contemporary Art, Auckland Wild in Nature, Doorwerth Castle, The Netherlands Birds in Art, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin, U.S.A Birds in Art, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin, U.S.A Society of Wildlife Artists, The Mall Galleries, London, UK Autumn Exhibition, Wildlife Art Gallery, Lavenham, England
BIBLIOGRAPHY 2009 2008
Quigley, Sarah, ‘Being There’, North and South Magazine, November 2009 Moore, Christopher, ‘A Rare Kiwi Bird Painter’, The Christchurch Press, April 30 2008
Pied Oystercatcher (2010)
Nicolas Dillon 2011 CV P a g e |2
milford galleries queenstown
www.milfordgalleries.co.nz