‘‘Studio 18D’’
(Milford Galleries Dunedin)
A visit to ‘‘Studio 18D’’, Milford Galleries’ current group exhibition, is like visiting giants, in many senses of the term. ‘‘Studio 18D’’ brings together some of the biggest names in New Zealand 20thcentury art such as Ralph Hotere, Bill Hammond, Jeffrey Harris and Robert Ellis, among others, and recent works by Dick Frizzell and Lisa Reihana. The exhibition is largely a male affair, but this can partly be explained by the historical angle, with many works made in the 1980s. ‘‘Studio 18D’’ provides an excellent opportunity for younger viewers to see these works in the flesh and for older viewers to reacquaint themselves.
This is undoubtedly an exhibition that privileges an experience of scale — and another reason for the term ‘‘giants’’. Each beckons the viewer in a different style, from Ian Scott’s meticulous geometric abstraction to Hotere’s scorched
Black Union Jack on corrugated iron, Hammond’s frenetic figures on wallpaper and Dawson’s intricate fractal steel. Among the energetic works are quieter paintings by
Michael Hight and Dick Frizzell, and Reihana’s enigmatic photograph.
It was a large unstretched canvas by Robert Ellis from 1980 (Rakaumangamanga, 20th October), however, that captured my attention. Ellis combines elements of topography, grids, abstract matte shapes in blacks and greys and gestural brushwork in two different colour palettes that nevertheless cohere to produce a singularly unique painting.