PAUL DIBBLE
The Geometric Figure 24 October - 18 November 2015 www.milfordgalleries.co.nz
Milford Galleries Dunedin 18 Dowling Street (03) 477 7727 info@milfordhouse.co.nz
Putting Your Best Foot Forward (2015) cast patinated bronze, edition 1/2 + 1 AP, size: 2640 x 790 x 790 mm
1
The Calm (2015) cast patinated bronze, AP 1/1 + edition of 3, size: 1970 x 297 x 450 mm
2
Into a Southerly (2015) cast patinated bronze, edition 1/2 + 1 AP, size: 2140 x 1105 x 770 mm
3
The Second Daughter (1999) cast patinated bronze, AP1/1 + edition of 3, size: 2145 x 830 x 730 mm
4
Moving Forwards, Looking Back (2000) cast patinated bronze, edition 3/3 + 1 AP, size: 2280 x 995 x 715 mm
5
Little Sister (2014) cast patinated bronze, AP1/1 + edition of 2, size: 584 x 182 x 182 mm
6
Holding the Movement (2014) cast patinated bronze, AP1/1 + edition of 2, size: 651 x 185 x 183 mm
7
Into a Head Wind (2014) cast patinated bronze, edition 2/2 + 1 AP, size: 572 x 260 x 177 mm
8
A Quiet Space 1 (2015) cast patinated bronze, AP 1/1 + edition of 2, size: 515 x 135 x 136 mm
9
Geometric Figure 4 (2008) cast patinated bronze, edition 2/3 + 1 AP, size: 615 x 155 x 157 mm
10
A Simple Figure (2015) cast patinated bronze, AP 1/1 + edition of 2, size: 465 x 98 x 106 mm
11
Figure of Ease (2014) cast patinated bronze, AP 1/1 + edition of 2, size: 505 x 183 x 181 mm
12
A Quiet Time (Second Study) (2014) cast patinated bronze, AP 1/1 + edition of 2, size: 515 x 171 x 171 mm
13
A Quiet Space 2 (2015) cast patinated bronze, AP 1/1 + edition of 2, size: 516 x 139 x 140 mm
14
Looking Ahead (2015) cast patinated bronze, AP 1/1 + edition of 2, size: 636 x 143 x 140 mm
15
Skyscrapers (2014) cast patinated bronze, AP 1/1 + edition of 2, size: 519 x 227 x 138 mm
16
17
Headlands (2012) cast patinated bronze, AP 1/1 + edition of 2, size: 229 x 343 x 136 mm
18
Tui with Soft Geometric (2015) cast patinated bronze, unique, size: 599 x 406 x 256 mm
Flock (2015) cast patinated bronze, corten steel, unique, size: 2345 x 940 x 610 mm
19
Paul Dibble’s geometric figures are all tall and female, playful and sensuous, as well as innovative juxtapositions of classical concerns and modernist traditions. They are imbued with individual personalities and seem caught mid-movement, contain quotes from art, utilise numerous geometric symbols and shapes (such as the tapering cone), and employ suggestion, gesture and humanistic virtues as integral elements that ultimately come to mark each work apart.
This important exhibition The Geometric Figure features large scale masterworks.
Moving Forward, Looking Back (2000) reveals the pose of a dancer captured in mid-movement. There are separate narratives built by the arms and legs. Positive and negative spaces are juxtaposed, lines and curves are exaggerated and emphasised. In this major work, Dibble is (as the title states) looking back to the classical traditions of the female nude but using an idiosyncratic visual language that pauses to acknowledge modernist sculpture (and in particular Archipenko’s cubist statues) whilst portraying the naked, exposed body in a combination of various geometric shapes. This dynamic, literal, evocative work is also noticeably sexually charged.
Putting Your Best Foot Forward (2015) is likewise filled with sensuous sensations and deliberate provocations. The pose is revealingly dramatic and assertive. He uses the geometry of line and the language of curve, as well as integral
metaphors of implication and scale alteration. The nude strides forward, and therefore directly confronts and addresses the viewer outside its own space.
The central role of humour, satire and cultural stereotype in Dibble’s sculpture is well-established and unmistakable. In Into a Southerly (2015) he leans a classically inspired figure into the relentless wind. He directly addresses the uniquely New Zealand fascination with the weather as a recognisably cultural motif, utilising a conceptual pragmatism where everything else is stripped away. This work is delicate, with suggestive, soft volumes animating the figure (the belly, the bottom etc) and the angle of her lean completing the tale of the wind’s strength.
The Calm (2015) is the only figurative work without a small spherical head. The pose is certain and upright, the exquisite figure sits somewhere between adolescence and adulthood. What is Dibble speaking of here in its title? Is it ‘the calm’ before ‘the storms’ of adulthood, the arrival of sexual awareness?
The Second Daughter (1999), directly references Nabokov’s infamous character ‘Lolita’. Visual tensions abound – the pose is ambiguous, contrasts of sexual provocation and protective gestures are delivered simultaneously. The contrapposto stance of the figure is resolute and emphatic yet there is a softness and vulnerability that belies such assertions and confidence. This complex, layered, key work accurately portrays and delves into the vast and sharp contradictions of Lolita’s (assertive and timid) personality.
Dibble’s consistent use of symbol and metaphor to explore substantial environmental stewardship concern is clearly demonstrated in Flock (2015).
This substantial exhibition also contains a suite of smaller scale new geometric figures released in editions. Dibble uses gesture, movement, paraphrase and personality to deliver each work with uniquely individual emotional qualities. There are also two soft geometric forms edition works which address earlier concerns and directly reference the Polynesian cultural dialogues which have been so significant in his career.
EXHIBITION PRICELIST 1
Putting Your Best Foot Forward (2015), ed 1/2
POA
2
The Calm (2015), AP
POA
3
Into a Southerly (2015), ed 1/2
POA
4
The Second Daughter (1999), AP
POA
5
Moving Forwards, Looking Back (2000), ed 3/3
POA
6
Little Sister (2014), AP
12,000
7
Holding the Movement (2014), AP
14,000
8
Into a Head Wind (2014), ed 2/2
12,000
9
A Quiet Space 1 (2015), AP
10
Geometric Figure 4 (2008), ed 2/3
11
A Simple Figure (2015), AP
8,500
12
Figure of Ease (2014), AP
9,000
13
A Quiet Time (Second Study) (2014), AP
9,000
14
A Quiet Space 2 (2015), AP
9,000
15
Looking Ahead (2015), AP
11,500
16
Skyscrapers (2014), AP
12,500
17
Headlands (2012), AP
9,000
18
Tui with Soft Geometric (2015), unique
19
Flock (2015), unique
9,000 12,500
14,500 POA
All prices are NZD and include GST; Prices are current at the time of the exhibition
PAUL DIBBLE b. 1943, lives Palmerston North
Soft Geometric No. 16 (2004)
One of New Zealand’s most acclaimed sculptors, Paul Dibble’s works range from small maquettes to large public pieces. Working primarily in bronze and grounded in a twentieth-century European sculptural tradition, his stylistic hallmarks include organic and sinuous curves, richly burnished patinas and a finely weighted sense of balance. Often figurative in nature, Dibble captures his subjects – often birds or humans - in a single moment but they are not frozen in time. The forms possess a tangible sense of barely contained energy and the elegant lines of the sculpture enhance the feeling of movement as the viewer’s gaze is drawn up and along and over the surfaces. This liveliness implies an ongoing narrative with which the viewer can engage, rather than presenting a solitary instant that is disconnected from a past or a future. Ideas spring from a range of sources: “The New Zealand vernacular, and folk art and writings, birds – it’s all in there.” (1) In his 2010 show ‘Bird’s Eye View’ stylised kereru, tui and piwakwaka perch on strong geometric forms made from Corten steel, the steel’s rusted finish acting as foil for the rich depth of the bronze. The huia in particular has special significance for Dibble and can be seen in a number of his sculptures as a reflection on the natural environment, and especially on the damage inflicted upon it by the heavy hand of man. Dibble works from his own studio in the Manawatu and casts his own pieces with the help of two skilled assistants, using primarily ceramic shell/lost-wax and sand casting techniques. He has a clear preference for working with bronze: “you can weld it, you can cut it, you can slash it… I use other materials as well as bronze... but I have a preference for cast metal. It’s just so pliable.”(2) Concepts are sketched, modelled in wax and often mocked up in plywood prior to developing maquettes that work both as individual artworks, but also help to assess which forms will be best for large public-scale works. One of Dibble’s most prominent works, the New Zealand Memorial ‘Southern Stand’, sits on a corner of London’s Hyde Park and was commissioned by New Zealand’s Ministry of Culture and Heritage. Unveiled in 2006, it is a collaborative work with architect John Hardwick-Smith (Athfield Architects) and references Maori pou, or markers, and iron fencing warratahs. "The front wedge is dedicated to the war, celebrating the Maori Battalion, the army, navy and air force. It depicts the flags of both countries. Then as they climb up the rise the sculptures celebrate our sport, beaches, bush, trade and literature. There are excerpts of poetry, letters sent home by soldiers and all sorts of cast images and objects affixed to the columns. These include castings of shells from Foxton Beach, a rugby ball, an oar denoting our marine heritage and a fantail perched on a ledge, denoting impending death."(3) The breadth of imagery used not only clearly identifies the work as ‘Kiwi’ but also speaks to Dibble’s strong connection with his own identity as a New Zealander. Born in 1943 in Thames and raised on a farm in Waitakaruru on the Hauraki Plains, Dibble graduated from Elam with Honours in 1967. Now based in Palmerston North, he received the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2004 and in 2007 an Honorary Doctorate from Massey University. He has numerous public sculptures across the country and his works are also held in a number of private and public collections including Te Papa Tongarewa, the Dowse Art Museum, the University of Waikato and Massey University. 1. 2. 3.
Richard Wolfe & Stephen Robinson, Artists @ Work, Penguin Books, 2010, p 194. ibid, p 190. http://www.artnews.co.nz/previous/26-4/26-4-studio.html, accessed 3/2/12.
Paul Dibble 2015 CV P a g e |1
Milford Galleries Dunedin
www.milfordgalleries.co.nz
PAUL DIBBLE b. 1943, lives Palmerston North EDUCATION 1963-67 2004 2007 2011
BFA (Hons, sculpture) Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland Awarded a New Zealand Order of Merit Honorary Doctorate received from Massey University, Palmerston North Fellowship received from UCOL (Universal College of Learning), Palmerston North
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
2010
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005
2004
2003
2002 2001 2000
1999 1998 1997
1996 1995
The Geometric Figure, Milford Galleries Dunedin, Dunedin The Gold of the Kowhai, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Picking Up Threads, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington A Walk in the Park, Milford Galleries Dunedin Recent Works, Black Barn Gallery, Havelock North A Decade of Sculpture, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington The Ghost of the Huia and the Orchard, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland The Watchers, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington Sources, Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science and History, Palmerston North For the Birds, Black Barn Gallery, Havelock North The Dance, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington Bird’s Eye View, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Performers, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch Thoughts about Men and Birds, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington The Geometric Figures, Black Barn Gallery, Havelock North Paradise, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Gods, Devils and Men, Black Barn Gallery, Havelock North In the Sticks, Black Barn Gallery, Havelock North Recent Bronze Sculpture, Martin Browne Fine Arts, Sydney, Australia Unfolding Model, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Martin Browne Fine Arts, Sydney, Australia Whitford Fine Arts, London, United Kingdom Building on Modernism, Black Barn Gallery, Havelock North Soft Geometrics, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Soft Geometrics, Bowen Galleries, Wellington Gorge Road Gallery, Queenstown Dibble, Black Barn Gallery, Havelock North Dibble Sculpture Exhibition, Gorge Road Gallery, Queenstown; Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Down the Line, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch Looking for Australia, Gow Langsford Gallery, Sydney, Australia Around the Firth of Thames, Bowen Galleries, Wellington Where the Owl Sits on the Water, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Dibble Down Under, Lombardii Winery with Bowen Galleries, Havelock North Paul Dibble Survey Exhibition, Te Manawa, Palmerston North Unfinished Business, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Balanced Gestures, Bowen Gallery, Wellington Opposites Attract, Michael Carr Fine Art, Sydney, Australia Works from 1999, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch Revisiting Formalism, Bowen Gallery, Wellington Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Drips and Drops, Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch Bowen Gallery, Wellington Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland City Gallery, Wellington Made in New Zealand, Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North; Bowen Gallery, Wellington
Paul Dibble 2015 CV P a g e |2
Milford Galleries Dunedin
www.milfordgalleries.co.nz
1994 1993 1992 1991
1990 1989
1988 1984 1983 1981 1979 1978 1976 1972 1971
Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Bowen Gallery, Wellington Pacific Monarch, Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North Stories from the Hinterland, Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt Recent Editions, Bowen Gallery, Wellington Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland From Reason and Myth, Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North Bowen Gallery, Wellington Hawkes Bay Cultural Centre, Hastings Fisher Gallery, Auckland Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt as part of the International Festival of the Arts Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North Wairarapa Arts Centre, Masterton Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North Studio Exhibition, Auckland Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North Barry Lett Gallery, Auckland Barry Lett Gallery, Auckland
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS Spring Catalogue, milford galleries queenstown Dibble / Kihara / Williams, milford galleries queenstown Significant Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin 2013 The Review, milford galleries queenstown International Sculpture, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Summer Show, Milford Galleries Dunedin Headlands, Sculpture on the Gulf, Waiheke Island 2012 Sculpture OnShore, Takapuna, Auckland Steele, Paint, Bronze, Gallery 33, Wanaka 2011 Auckland Art Fair, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Sculpture in Central Otago, Rippon Vineyards & Winery, Wanaka 2010 Wanganui Sculpture, Wanganui River, Wanganui Summer Sculpture Exhibition, Gow Langsford Gallery and Cable Bay Vineyards Botanic Gardens Sculpture Exhibition, Botanic Gardens, Auckland A Beautiful Place, Gallery Thirty Three, Wanaka Shrunken, Brick Bay Sculpture Park, Warkworth 2009 Double Take, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Landscape, Page Blackie Gallery, Wellington Sculpture on the Peninsula, Guest Artist, Banks Peninsula, Christchurch Sources: Paul and Fran Dibble, Mahara Gallery, Waikanae Crème II, Gallery Thirty Three, Wanaka Run Rabbit Run, Gallery Thirty Three, Wanaka An Artists’ Aviary, John Leech Gallery, Auckland Slugs, Snails and Spider Tales, A Closer Look at Conservation, Te Manawa, Palmerston North Collectively Speaking, Te Manawa Art Society; the first 50 years, Te Manawa, Palmerston North 2008 Autumn Catalogue, Martin Browne Fine Arts, Sydney, Australia Melbourne Art Fair 2008, Melbourne, Australia Spring Catalogue, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland With and Object in Mind, Gallery Thirty Three, Wanaka 2007-2008 Stoneleigh Sculpture in the Gardens, Auckland Botanic Gardens, Auckland 2007 12th Annual LA Art Show, Los Angeles, USA 2006 Melbourne Art Fair 2006, Melbourne, Australia Birds: The Art of New Zealand Bird Life, Pataka, Porirua Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi Beach, Sydney and Perth, Australia 2005 Miami Art Fair, Florida, USA 2014
Paul Dibble 2015 CV P a g e |3
Milford Galleries Dunedin
www.milfordgalleries.co.nz
2004
2003 2002 2000 1999 1998
1996 1995 1994
1993 1992 1989 1984 1982 1980 1978 1974
Sculpture on the Gulf, Waiheke Island, Auckland Melbourne Art Fair 2004, Melbourne, Australia Shapeshifters, Lower Hutt Sculpture Exhibition, Bowen Galleries, Wellington Sculpture 2004, Gow Langsford Gallery, Sydney, Australia Sculpture on the Gulf, Waiheke Island, Auckland Miami Art Fair, Florida, USA Changing Spaces, Civic Square, Wellington Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia Gow Langsford Gallery, SPAN Gallery, Melbourne, Australia Australian Contemporary Art Fair 6, Melbourne, Australia (Re)visioning the Real, Lopdell House, Auckland; Robert McDougall Gallery, Christchurch; Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui NZ Real, Milford Galleries Dunedin H2O, Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt Christmas Show, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland Flowers, Bowen Gallery, Wellington Australian Contemporary Art Fair 4, Melbourne, Australia Art Fair, Korea A Breath of Fresh Art, The Bathhouse, Rotorua Gateways and Lintels, Fisher Gallery, Auckland Art in Dunedin, Dunedin Art in Boxes, Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North Hansells Sculpture Exhibition, Wairarapa Arts Centre, Masterton and toured nationally Hansells Sculpture Exhibition, Wairarapa Arts Centre Hansells Sculpture Exhibition, Wairarapa Arts Centre Selected with New Zealand sculptors as part of the Mildura Sculpture Exhibition, Mildura, Australia
SELECTED COMMISSIONS, RESIDENCIES & AWARDS 2011 2010
2009 2008 2007 2006
2005 2004 2002 2000
1999
Sculpture for Palmerston North Public Sculpture Trust site outside the Regent Theatre in the central city Sculpture for Hauraki District Council commemorating the Pioneers for the Ngatea Memorial Gardens Two sculptures for Upper Hutt City Council installed on roundabouts at either end of the city’s CBD Sculpture for Iona College, Havelock North Runner up in the Situate Competition for a sculpture in Forrest Place, Central Perth Sculpture for Moore Wilson, Wellington to mark the site of the original artesian spring Second sculpture for Lindisfarne College, Hastings Sculpture commission memorial to John Britten for the Dyslexia Experience Project in Christchurch The New Zealand Hyde Park Corner Memorial in association with John Hardwick-Smith from Athfield architects, opened on Armistice Day, November 11th by the Queen and attended by the Prime Minister of Britain and of New Zealand and by many members of the Royal Family Sculpture for Waikato University to celebrate their 40th anniversary Sculpture for Christensen Estate Winery, Waiheke Island Sculpture for UCOL (Universal College of Learning), Palmerston North Fourth sculpture constructed for The Point, Residential development, Auckland Lindisfarne College, Hastings Commissioned by IMOVE/Wellington Sculpture Trust, to produce sculpture for Wellington Airport round-about, Wellington Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna, Auckland Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, large wall piece, Auckland Wanganui Collegiate School, Wanganui Three large sculptures constructed for The Point, Residential development, Auckland. Part of the America’s Cup development project
Paul Dibble 2015 CV P a g e |4
Milford Galleries Dunedin
www.milfordgalleries.co.nz
1996
1995 1994
1993 1987/88 1985 1991 1979 1972 1970-77
Major piece purchased by the Robert McDougall Gallery to be mounted outside the Gallery entrance Commissioned to produce a large lintel, 3m high for the new Palmerston North library Moore Family, Wellington Sturtvant Family, Palmerston North Steel relief sculpture designed and made for the Globe Theatre, Palmerston North The Tuna’s Song, Michael Camp QC, Wellington Bronze work for Dunedin Police Station A work celebrating the Centennial of the Palmerston North Hospital Dohmel Family, Vienna, Austria Residency, Dowse Art Museum during International Festival of the Arts QEII Arts Council of NZ Grant Commissioned to make Pacific Monarch 4.5m high bronze for outside the Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North QEII Arts Council of NZ Grant Dr Neville Hogg, Dargaville Completed many religious sculpture commissions (crucifixes, tabernacles and candlesticks) for Architect James Hackshaw for churches, private chapels & catholic schools.
SELECTED COLLECTIONS Hawkes Bay Museum’s Trust, Hastings Waikato University, Hamilton International Pacific College, Palmerston North Te Papa Tongarewa, Museum of New Zealand, Wellington Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt Hawkes Bay Cultural Centre, Hastings Robert McDougall Art Gallery and Annex, Christchurch Te Manawa (formerly Manawatu Art Gallery), Palmerston North Massey University, Palmerston North Massey University, Albany, Auckland Saatchi and Saatchi, Wellington Colenso, Auckland Colenso, Wellington James Wallace Trust Collection, Auckland Lambton Quay Harbour Board The New Zealand Memorial, London
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 2012 2010 2002
2002
2001 1996
1992 1980
Dibble, Fran, Paul Dibble: The Large Projects, David Bateman publishers Wolfe and Stephen Robinson, Richard, Artists @ Work, New Zealand Painters and Sculptors in the Studio, Penguin Books, pg 184 - 195 Dunn, Michael, New Zealand Sculpture A History, Auckland University Press, pg 95 - 97 Caughey & John Gow, Elizabeth, Contemporary NZ Art 3, David Bateman publishers, pg 38 41 Rabbitt, Lindsay, Behind Every Strong Woman; The Hard Graft of Manawatu Sculptor Paul Dibble, NZ Listener 13 April 2002, pg 52 - 53 Vial, AKC Petersen, Gordon H Brown, Dorothea Pauli, Alexa Johnson & Fran Dibble, Jane, Paul Dibble, David Bateman Publishers, reprinted in 2006 with an extra chapter Big Art Trip Television Series, TV 1, Saturday 28 July Brown, Warwick, Another 100 NZ Artists, Godwit Publishing, pg 28 O’Brien, Gregory, Free / Standing - Paul Dibble in Wellington, Art New Zealand, Issue 80, Spring 1996, pg 48 - 50 Sloane, Debra, Inner Strength, NZ Listener, 29 June 1992, pg 44 - 45 Cape, Peter, Please Touch, Collins publishing, pg 50 – 52
Paul Dibble 2015 CV P a g e |5
Milford Galleries Dunedin
www.milfordgalleries.co.nz