MICHAEL HIGHT by Milford Galleries

MICHAEL HIGHT N ew Pa i nt i n g s

17 Oct - 11 Nov 2015 www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

milford galleries queenstown

9A Earl Street (03) 442 6896 qtown@milfordgalleries.co.nz

Kyeburn Station (2015) oil on linen, stretcher: 762 x 1825 x 31 mm

Slope Hill (2015) oil on linen, stretcher: 758 x 1215 x 30 mm

Cave Stream (2015) oil on linen, stretcher: 708 x 1367 x 31 mm

Parikawa (2011) oil on linen, stretcher: 760 x 1215 x 30 mm

Castle Hill Station (2015) oil on linen, stretcher: 760 x 1672 x 30 mm

Crown Range (2015) oil on linen, stretcher: 760 x 1215 x 30 mm

Mt Somers (2008) oil on linen, stretcher: 801 x 1199 x 31 mm

Kawarau River (2015) oil on linen, stretcher: 760 x 1220 x 30 mm

Tarras (2015) oil on linen, stretcher: 607 x 1115 x 31 mm

Kyeburn (2015) oil on linen, stretcher: 455 x 910 x 33 mm

Gibbston Valley (2015) oil on linen, stretcher: 455 x 910 x 33 mm

Waitaki Valley (2015) oil on linen, stretcher: 455 x 605 x 34 mm

Wharekuri (2015) oil on canvas, stretcher: 405 x 505 x 20 mm

Michael Hight's studies of the New Zealand landscape, and of the place of the ubiquitous beehive within it, are a major ongoing exploration and one of the most recognisable and important extended series of works in New Zealand art. The images themselves, whether they focus directly on the hives, on the dilapidated farm buildings and rusting machinery which surround them, or on their place amidst the land, are a paean to a slowly vanishing part of the country's rural scene. The beehive works as an extended and multiple metaphor. It represents the industry of the rural sector, and its transformative power - the alchemy of turning dull raw pollen into the refined gold of honey. The importance of this little-seen facet of the country to our overall well-being is also implied, as is the gradual change of the country from a wild, open land to one dominated by concentrations of hive-like urban dwellers. It is also no coincidence that the term "beehive" in New Zealand has a further meaning, with its implications of urban, centralised government. Hight's hives are, however, centred in the grandeur of the inland south. His pinpoint observations and depictions of rock and plant are as important to the scene as the linking compositional element of the beehives. There is a strength of place and the symbolic footprint upon it, a literal turangawaewae or place to stand, that says "this is my land". The structural composition gives the works a power and a sense of human presence, even though the images are uninhabited. In works such as Castle Hill Station and Cave Stream, the wooden frames act as a direct counterpoint to the rocky outcrops and snow covered peaks, implying a long-standing balance and harmony between the natural land and the symbiotic activities of human and bee within it.

EXHIBITION PRICELIST 1

Kyeburn Station (2015)

22,500

Slope Hill (2015)

15,000

Cave Stream (2015)

15,000

Parikawa (2011)

15,000

Castle Hill Station (2015)

21,000

Crown Range (2015)

15,000

Mt Somers (2008)

15,000

Kawarau River (2015)

15,000

Tarras (2015)

12,000

Kyeburn (2015)

8,000

Gibbston Valley (2015)

8,000

Waitaki Valley (2015)

6,000

Wharekuri (2015)

5,000

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

MICHAEL HIGHT b. 1961, lives Auckland

Haldon Station (2013)

Michael Hight is a painter, sculptor and assembler, working with paint, canvas, tin, wood and found objects. He is most well-known for his observations of the ubiquitous beehive and their individual locales. These works contain all the particularities of location – geography, vegetation, weather. More than that they convey the idiosyncratic qualities of ownership and use and allude to a wider consideration of “place”. His works “gain their intensity from attention to the minutest detail.” The beehives stand in contrast to the surrounds, providing the “elegiac lyricism” of juxtaposition. "His virtuoso skills of representation of the highest order and achieves heights of mood” and the undeniable specifics of place “that go beyond just representation.” (1) “Generally, Hight’s beehive paintings have run parallel to other work – his interest in rivers as a starting point for abstraction, in repeating patterns and his preoccupation with found objects and four main materials: ash-charcoal, canvas, wood and resin…. Most of his work has a landscape motivation as a driving force and in the past he has used found materials from a particular place fused into an abstract representation of that place. The abstract works fulfil all his needs as a painter and the representational works are simply about being more frank with respect to source, or inspiration of the abstract pieces.” (2) “The idea of transformation is embodied in what happens inside a beehive and as far as I am concerned, transformation is the key element in 20th Century art. Artists like Duchamp and Warhol have taken something that is not art and turned it into art, so in a way, these are pictures of art as well as rural spots…”(3) Born in Stratford, New Zealand, in 1961, Hight completed a Bachelor of Social Sciences at the University of Waikato in 1982. Between 1984-87 Hight travelled and spent time living and painting in London. Returning to live in Auckland, he has regularly exhibited since 1984 and has been a full time artist since 2001. He has received several QEII grants and his work is held in many New Zealand collections including Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand, The Chartwell Collection and The James Wallace Trust. 1. TJ McNamara, 'Sense of Beauty in Decay', Weekend Herald, August 21, 2010. 2. Adrienne Rewi, ‘Phantom beekeeper still buzzing over boxes’, Sunday Star Times, 7 November, 1999. 3. Michael Hight in Rewi, ibid.

Michael Hight 2015 CV P a g e |1

milford galleries queenstown

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MICHAEL HIGHT b. 1961, lives in Auckland EDUCATION 1980 - 82

University of Waikato (B.Soc.Sc)

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010

2009 2008 2007 2006

2005 2004

2003 2002 2001 2000 1999

1998

1997 1996

1995

1992 1991

New Paintings, milford galleries queenstown The Miniature Garden, Page Blackie Gallery New Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin Crossing the Line, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Recent Work, milford galleries queenstown Forty-nine Rivers, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington Dreams of Children, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Recent Work, Milford Galleries Dunedin Reliquary, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington Recent Paintings, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington Wakatipu, milford galleries queenstown From Waimarino to Red Jacks, John Leech Gallery, Auckland The Road to Erewhon, Milford Galleries Dunedin Paintings, Judith Anderson Gallery, Napier Paintings, John Leech Gallery, Auckland Notes from the Waikato, Janne Land, Wellington Recent Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin Manuherikia, Janne Land Gallery, Wellington Recent Work, John Leech Gallery, Auckland Taieri, Milford Galleries Dunedin Recent Works, milford galleries queenstown Manuherikia, Janne Land Gallery, Wellington Manawatu, Janne Land Gallery, Wellington Wandering Eye, Milford Galleries Dunedin Recent Abstract Works, milford galleries queenstown Land of Milk and Honey, John Leech Gallery, Auckland Janne Land Gallery, Wellington Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Duologue, Milford Galleries Dunedin Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Janne Land Gallery, Wellington Recent Work, Milford Galleries Dunedin Recent Work, Judith Anderson Gallery, Hawkes Bay Jonathon Jensen Gallery, Christchurch Recent Work, Janne Land Gallery, Wellington Recent Work, Campbell Grant Gallery, Christchurch Recent Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin Maungakaramea, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Gazetteer, Janne Land Gallery, Wellington Campbell Grant Gallery, Christchurch Current Abstraction, Milford Galleries Dunedin City Gallery Wellington, Wellington Campbell Grant Gallery, Christchurch Four Strong Winds, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Four Strong Winds, Janne Land Gallery, Wellington In Trust, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Govett Brewster Gallery, New Plymouth Seven Rivers, Janne Land Gallery, Wellington Heartland Trinkets, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

Michael Hight 2015 CV P a g e |2

milford galleries queenstown

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

1990 1989 1988

1987 1986

Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland 33 1/3 Gallery, Wellington Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland 33 1/3 Gallery, Wellington Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Jonathan Jensen Gallery, Christchurch 3/3 Gallery, Wellington Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland 33 1/3 Gallery, Wellington Falcon Gallery, London The Foyer Gallery, Hampstead, London

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2014

2013 2012

2011 2010 2009 2008

2007 2006 2005

2004 2001 1999 1998 1997

1996 1995 1993 1992 1991

Hight / Orjis / Waldrom, milford galleries queenstown Significant Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin New Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin The Review, milford galleries queenstown Significant Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin Hight / Frazer / Hunt, milford galleries queenstown New Year, New Works, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Parallel, Milford Galleries Dunedin Gems, milford galleries queenstown Small Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin Frieze, Gow Langford Gallery, Auckland Southern Landscape, milford galleries queenstown Masterworks, milford galleries queenstown Drawings, John Leech Gallery, Auckland Taranaki Gate, Percy Thompson Gallery, Stratford Te Turinga: Turning Point, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington Location South, Milford Galleries Dunedin The Southern Landscape, Milford Galleries Dunedin Landscape Show, Lopdell House, Waitakere The North Western Line, Corban Estate Art Centre, Auckland Recent Landscapes, Milford Galleries Dunedin Wild Season, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington Crossed Out, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Recent Acquisitions: Chartwell Collection Auckland Art Gallery City Gallery Wellington, Wellington The Northern Line, Corban Estate Art Centre Abstraction & Still Life, Milford Galleries Dunedin Is as Landscape as Metaphor, Milford Galleries Dunedin Found Objects, Outreach, Auckland Gift of The Artist, Artspace, Auckland Pacific Traces, 33 1/3 Gallery, Wellington Big Pictures Show, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Outcrop, Govett Brewster Gallery, New Plymouth

AWARDS 2000 1999 1997 1989 1989 1988

Finalist Visa and Wallace Art Awards, James Wallace Arts Foundation Visa & Wallace Art Awards, James Wallace Arts Foundation, Auckland Finalist Visa Gold Award, Auckland City Gallery & City Gallery, Wellington QE11 Art Council Creative Projects Scheme QE11 Arts Council Grant QE11 Arts Council Direct Support Grant

COLLECTIONS ABN AMRO Collection Pukeiti Collection, New Plymouth Fletcher Trust Collection Colenso, Wellington Michael Hight 2015 CV P a g e |3

milford galleries queenstown

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

Chartwell Collection Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Sky City Grand Hotel Collection Coopers & Lybrand Collection James Wallace Trust Private Collections in Germany, UK, Australia and U.S.A

SELECTED ARTICLES 2004 2004 2002 1999 1996 1995/96 1995 1994

Knox, Elizabeth, Wandering Eye, catalogue, Milford Galleries Dunedin O’Brien, Gregory, Land of Milk and Honey, catalogue, John Leech Gallerym Auckland Green, Paula, Omarama, Place of Light, catalogue, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Caughey, Elizabeth & John Gow, Contemporary New Zealand Art 2, David Bateman Ltd, Auckland, p66 Green, Paula, Four Strong Winds, catalogue, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Green, Paula, Walking in the World, Michael Hight’s Trust in Place, Art New Zealand No.77, Summer, p77-79 Brown, Warwick, 100 New Zealand Paintings by 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit Publishing, Auckland, p36 Mannion, Robert, ‘Painting a Bright Future’, The Dominion, Saturday October 22

Mt Hutt Station (2014)

Michael Hight 2015 CV P a g e |4

milford galleries queenstown