MICHAEL SHEPHERD by Milford Galleries

Michael Shepherd The Social Fabric

14 March - 8 April 2015

PREVIEW 5:30 pm Friday 13 March www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

Milford Galleries Dunedin 18 Dowling Street (03) 477 7727 info@milfordhouse.co.nz

Via Apia (2006) oil on linen, frame: 984 x 1255 x 40 mm

The House Beneath Te Rangi (2006) oil on linen, frame: 742 x 914 x 40 mm

The Advance on Rangiriri (1990) triptych; oil on hardboard, installed size: 2100 x 3040 x 30 mm

A Small Bronze Object is Found in the Coromandel (Study) (2010) acrylic on board, panel: 315 x 288 x 6 mm

My Ancestors, They Were Eaten (Study) (2010) acrylic on board, panel: 460 x 410 x 6 mm

Military Moments (1980) oil on linen, frame: 536 x 580 x 34 mm, canvas: 230 x 294 mm

Still Life with Toy Parachute (1980) oil on linen, frame: 521 x 551 x 35 mm, canvas: 212 x 260 mm

Ihumatao (1985) oil on linen, frame: 567 x 695 x 58 mm, stretcher: 382 x 510 x 28 mm

Large White Collar and Tie (1978) oil on linen, frame: 917 x 970 x 40 mm, stretcher: 854 x 900 x 23 mm

Large Dark Collar and Tie (1979) oil on linen, frame: 918 x 970 x 40 mm, stretcher: 853 x 900 x 23 mm

The Social Fabric illustrates the breadth and depth of Michael Shepherd’s art practice. Shepherd’s sustained intellectual theories about the social warp and weft of this country have, for over 40 years, been given form using an everdeveloping array of exquisite painting techniques. A self-described “metaphysical still-life painter”, Shepherd’s concerns run deeper than the outward appearance and utility of the things he depicts. He wishes to explore the fundamental nature of each object (or landscape or people) he paints and, through this, the underlying web that connects them all. Comparing Shepherd’s still-lifes from the late 1970s and from 2010, it is possible to see the similarity of their foundations as well as the extension and development of initial concepts. Drawing on the tradition of 17th century Dutch still-lifes, Shepherd paints a carefully curated selection of objects, intimating the narrative that connects them. Attention is paid to the fall of light and the composition of the arrangement, and there are subtle pointers to the histories that form the context for each work. Shepherd’s brushwork possesses a restless energy; this is especially evident in the earlier works and is tempered somewhat in the more contemplative works from 2010. Shepherd does not hesitate to bring together the unexpected and in Military Memories (1980) the incongruity of the monarch butterfly perched above the crossed flags of a signalman’s regimental badge gives the viewer pause. This moment invites contemplation: why did New Zealand men go to war “for king and country”? What now remains of the many fleeting lives other than memory and the gilded insignia they left behind? The same curiosity about the past’s flotsam can be seen in the much more recent A Small Bronze Object Found in the Coromandel (Study) (2010). Shepherd provides few clues to its story and leaves the decoding of this ‘relic’ to the viewer. The irregular physical shape of the panel contributes to the feeling that it has been worn away over time and complements the softly textured stone or driftwood that forms the resting-place for the found object.

Shepherd’s landscapes expand his social commentaries from the personal to the public sphere and reveal a land in the process of being measured, excavated and reconfigured. The hidden narratives of history, and the way in which they are interpreted, are examined in Via Apia (2006) and The House Beneath Te Rangi (2006). As in the still-lifes, the landscapes record the fragments of lives once lived and Shepherd suggests the ineffable nature of their stories that can never be ‘known’ but only surmised as the archaeological grids and scientific method can only ever ‘scratch the surface’. Ihumatao (1985) tells a more brutal tale and documents the quarrying of the sacredmaunga of the oldest pa site in the country. The disfigured hill bleeds against a grey sky and Shepherd’s carefully situated power poles loom like crosses in the wounded land. The dominant piece in The Social Fabric is the 1990 triptych The Advance on Rangiriri. It references the 1863 battle for Rangiriri Pa, led by Captain Henry Mercer and won by the British. A turning point in the New Zealand Land Wars, the battle and surrender of the Maori forces at Rangiriri is contentious, with historian James Belich suggesting the British took advantage of the raising of the white flag to force surrender rather than accede to parley. (1) Painted in the year New Zealand ‘celebrated’ 150 years since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, The Advance on Rangiriri draws together many of the threads that run through Shepherd’s practice including: the writing (and re-writing) of histories, social inequities and iniquities, the impact of colonialism on New Zealand. The general composition of the work directly speaks to Charles Heaphy’s contemporaneous sketch of the battlements dug by the Maori in defense of their land. Shepherd’s bold use of two-tone hatching and strongly contrasting areas of light and dark immediately bring to mind a wood- or linocut. The artist disguises his oil paint medium to a certain extent, preferring the suggested immediacy of the printing process. The bleak angles of pits and mounds possess a physicality that Shepherd appears to have gouged out of the underlying material; the faceless individuals who clamber over and into the pits where the dead fell (the artist’s red ‘X’ marks the spot) seem more shadows than men. A small, realist landscape inserted into the right panel directly links the present and past. Framing this barren landscape, Shepherd addresses the viewer directly, using the Sesquicentennial slogans “Our Country – Our Year”, “Huia, Tuia, Tui Tuia” to emphasise not only how short our historical memories are, but that history is – still – written by the victor. 1. James Belich, The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict, Auckland University Press, pp. 142–157.

EXHIBITION PRICELIST 1 Via Apia (2006)

35,000

2 The House Beneath Te Rangi (2006)

25,000

3 The Advance on Rangiriri (1990)

POA

4 A Small Bronze Object is Found in the Coromandel (Study) (2010)

3,750

5 My Ancestors, They Were Eaten (Study) (2010)

4,500

6 Military Moments (1980)

7,500

7 Still Life with Toy Parachute (1980)

7,500

8 Ihumatao (1985)

17,500

9 Large White Collar and Tie (1978)

27,500

10 Large Dark Collar and Tie (1979)

27,500

All prices are NZD and include GST; Prices are current at the time of the exhibition

MICHAEL SHEPHERD b. 1950, lives Auckland

Michael Shepherd: Ihumatao (1985)

Michael Shepherd’s paintings possess an uneasy familiarity. His subjects seem part of everyday life: a slice of land glimpsed from a car window, a curiosity stumbled upon when out walking, those bits and pieces found in a spare-room cupboard. The uncertainty engendered by his works is that these familiar, even common, objects are not necessarily tied to a particular temporal or spatial point. Shepherd blurs time and space on the canvas, suggesting that while a ‘thing’ may exist in and of itself, over time it accrues layers of history that change how it is viewed. A landscape might possess today the same outcrops and hummocks as a century ago, but the lives that have been lived on and around it colour those selfsame outcrops and hummocks with story.

Using techniques drawn from 17th century Dutch painters, the physical creation of Shepherd’s works mirror his conceptual vision. Layers of paint (often oils) and glazes are built up to reveal and simultaneously obscure what he lays down on the canvas. The translucency of the surfaces absorb and reflect light in an understated manner; New Zealand’s much-discussed, harsh clarity of light does not feature in Shepherd’s painting, they show more affinity for the muted tones of North European days.

Michael Shepherd was born in Hamilton in 1950 and graduated with a Diploma of Fine Arts (Honours) from Elam, the School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland in 1979. He has been a regular exhibitor since the 1980s and was awarded a M.N.Z.M (Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit) for services to the Arts in 2008. (1) Shepherd’s works are to be found in a number of significant public and private collections, including Te Papa Tongarewa, the Auckland Art Gallery, and the Christchurch Art Gallery. The latter hosted a solo exhibition of Shepherd’s work, Archived, in 2000. 1. www.artagent.co.nz/introshepherd.htm. Accessed 6/3/15.

Michael Shepherd 2015 CV P a g e |1

Milford Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

MICHAEL SHEPHERD b. 1950, lives Auckland EDUCATION 1979

Diploma of Fine Arts with Honours, Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2015 2014 2013 2011 2010 2009 2007/08 2007 2006 2005/06 2003/04 2003 2000 1997 1993 1992 1991

1989

1988 1986 1985 1982 1981 1980

The Social Fabric, Milford Galleries Dunedin The Land of Cockayne, Two Rooms Gallery, Auckland Anathoth, Whitespace, Auckland Loose Leaf / Pharm, Mark Hutchins Gallery, Wellington Scrabble with Janet, Jane Sanders Art Agent, Auckland Score (Upon the electronic music of Douglas Lilburn), Jane Sanders Art Agent, Auckland Traveller to an Antique Land - An Aspect of War in North Africa, Army Museum, Waiouru Depth of Level, 40 George Street, Auckland Michael Shepherd – The Early Years – 1975-1931, Rotorua Museum of Art & History Michael Shepherd – The Early Years – 1975-1931, Whangarei Art Museum Michael Shepherd – The Early Years – 1975-1931, 40 George Street, Auckland Michael Shepherd – The Early Years – 1975-1931, Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui New Paintings, 40 George Street, Auckland Still Lies, Robert McDougall Contemporary Art Annex, Christchurch Michael Shepherd, University of Canterbury, Christchurch Still Lifes from the Edge of the Wasteland, Claybrook Gallery, Auckland Regional - History and the Landscape, Claybrook Gallery, Auckland Our Country - Our Year, Claybrook Gallery, Auckland Our Country - Our Year, Janne Land Gallery, Wellington. Also exhibited in Te Mihaia Hou Maungapohatu and the Prophet Rua Kenana, group exhibition at the Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton. Souvenirs of Time, Contemporary Centre for Art, Hamilton; Rotorua Museum of Art and History Souvenirs of Time, Janne Land Gallery, Wellington. The year's work travelled with the exhibition New Zealand Images of War, curated by Tony Martin of the Manawatu Art Gallery and toured to all the major centres from 1989-1993. Also included in the exhibition Whatu Aho Rua curated by Rangihiroa Panoho which was part of the 1992 Adelaide Festival, and shown at both the Canberra School of Art and the Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney, Australia Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Landscapes, Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland Large Still Life, Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland

GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2013 2011 2010/11 2010 2008 2007 2005/06 2003/04

An Excellent Vintage, Whitespace, Auckland Summer Catalogue Collection, Mark Hutchins Gallery, Wellington Wood for the Trees, Lopell House Gallery, Auckland Where Are We?, Lopdell House Gallery, Auckland Selection 010-011, Jane Sanders Art Agent, Auckland TE AHI KA ROA, TE AHI KATORO Taranaki War 1860–2010: Our Legacy — Our Challenge, Puke Ariki, New Plymouth Taranaki Whenua, Life-Blood-Legacy, Puke Ariki, New Plymouth Land Wars Part 2: Build, Te Tuhi Centre for the Arts, Auckland Cultivating Nature, 40 George Street, Auckland Nature Culture, 40 George Street, Auckland Parihaka - The Struggle for Peace, Puke Ariki, New Plymouth Symbols of Sovereignty – Flagworks, Pataka, Porirua Main Trunk Lines – New Zealand Poetry, National Library Gallery, Wellington

Michael Shepherd 2015 CV P a g e |2

Milford Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

2003 2002 2001

2000/01 2000

1999 1998

1997 1995

1994 1993 1989 1983

Small World, Big Town: Contemporary Art from Te Papa, Recent Acquisition Exhibition, City Gallery, Wellington Waikato and Beyond - A Selection from Trust Waikato and other Collections, Waikato Museum of Art & History, Hamilton. Cultivating Paradise - Aspects of Napier's Botanical History, Hawke's Bay Museum, Napier Te Maunga Taranaki: Views of a Mountain, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth Bright Paradise, The 1st Triennial, New Gallery, Auckland Art Gallery European Painting/Simulation (Julian Dashper, Jean Baudrillard, Michael Shepherd, Jan van der Ploeg, Guiseppe Romeo), The New Zealand Census, Ramp Gallery, Department of Media Arts, The Waikato Polytechnic, Hamilton Parihaka, City Gallery, Wellington What's New: The Latest in Art at Te Papa, Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington The Waikato Landscape From Mercer To Waitomo, Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton Shrinking Worlds - A Web Project, The Physics Room, Christchurch Still Life - Contemporary Still Life, Hawke's Bay Cultural Trust, Hastings Dream Collectors - One Hundred Years of New Zealand Art, Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington; Dunedin Public Art Gallery; Robert McDougall Contemporary Art Annex, Christchurch; Auckland Art Gallery Re-visioning The Real, Lopdell House Gallery, Auckland; Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui Group Show (Stanley Palmer, Johanna Pegler, Seraphine Pick, Jude Rae, Michael Shepherd, Terry Stringer), Anna Bibby Gallery, Auckland Theodolites - Measuring and Mapping, Lopdell House Gallery, Auckland The Persuasion of the Real, Hawke's Bay Museum; Gisborne Museum and Arts Centre; Manawatu Art Gallery; Lopdell House Gallery A Very Peculiar Practice, Wellington City Art Gallery. The Nervous System, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth; Wellington City Art Gallery The Nature of Things - Contemporary Still Life, Artis Gallery, Parnell, Auckland Real Vision - An exhibition of Historical and Contemporary Realist Painters, Robert McDougall Contemporary Art Annex, Christchurch Elam 1890-1990, University of Auckland, Auckland Acquisitions 1982-83, National Art Gallery, Wellington Elam 1950-1983 an Auckland University Centenary Exhibition, Auckland City Art Gallery

AWARDS 2008 1982

1978

Awarded MNZM (Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit) for services to the Arts Awarded a major Queen Elizabeth Arts Council Travel Grant. Travelled in Europe to study 17th century Dutch painting materials and techniques at the Central Research Laboratory attached to the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam) Winner, Painting Faculty Prize, Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland

COLLECTIONS Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington Auckland Art Gallery Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton Chartwell Collection The Sarjeant, Wanganui City Art Gallery Fletcher Challenge Collection, Auckland United Collection The University of Canterbury, Christchurch Robert McDougall Contemporary Art Annex, Christchurch The University of Auckland Prospect Collection Pere Collection, Auckland

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 2013

Rankin, E, ‘Anathoth’ Exhibition Catalogue, Whitespace, Auckland

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Milford Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

1995

1993 1992 1991

1990

1989 1988 1981

Thomas, Nicholas, ‘Weeds and Monuments’, Art and Asia Pacific Quarterly Journal, Vol 2 No 3, pg 102-107 Brown, Warwick, ‘100 New Zealand Paintings by 100 New Zealand Artists’, Godwit, Auckland, 1995, pg 81 Smith, Allan, ‘A Very Peculiar Practice - Aspects of Recent New Zealand Paintings’, exhibition catalogue, City Gallery, Wellington Pitts, Priscilla& Smith, Allan, ‘The Nervous System - Twelve Artists Explore Images and Identities in Crisis’, exhibition catalogue, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth and City Gallery, Wellington Roberts, Neil, ‘Real Vision - An Exhibition of Historical and Contemporary Realist Painters’, exhibition catalogue, The Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch Smith, Allan, ‘Troubled Histories’, exhibition catalogue, Claybrook Gallery, Auckland Smither, Elizabeth, 'Paintings & Places - Signatures of Place at the Govett-Brewster’, Art New Zealand, No 61, Summer 1991/92, pg 46-49 Dunn, Michael, ‘A Concise History of New Zealand Painting’, David Bateman Ltd, Auckland & Craftsman House, Australia, pg 98-99 Tyler, Linda, ‘Te Mihaia Hou - Maungapohatu and the prophet Rua Kenana - contemporary art about the prophet Rua and the Maori millennium’, exhibition catalogue, Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton Pound, Francis, ‘Signatures of Place - Paintings and Place Names’, exhibition catalogue, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth Dunn, Michael & Docking, Gill, ‘Two Hundred Years of New Zealand Painting’, David Bateman Ltd, Auckland, pg 224 Daly-Peoples, John, ‘Elam 1890 – 1990’, Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland Smith, Allan, ‘Two Cultures - One River - Towards a poetic place in the art of Michael Shepherd’, Landfall 171, Vol 43 No. 3, September 1989, pg 296-331 Fraser, Ross, ‘Fragments from the Structure of Recollection - The Still-Life Paintings of Michael Shepherd’, Art New Zealand, No 48, Spring 1988. pg 52-57 Pound, Francis, ‘Some New Realists - Michael Shepherd’, Art New Zealand, No 19, Autumn 1981, pg 18-21 cont. 61

Michael Shepherd: The Advance on Rangiriri (1990)

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Milford Galleries Dunedin