Born in 1970 in Christchurch, Darryn George (Nga Puhi) graduated BFA (Painting) from Ilam School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury, in 1993, gained his Diploma of Teaching from Christchurch College of Education the following year, and graduated MFA (Painting) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1998. He has been exhibiting since 1994 and, in 2009, he was a finalist in the Wallace Trust Art Award.
George’s creative process involves manipulating on the computer screen the various components of his work – numbers, lettering (Maori words), simple or complex stacked or angled rectangles, and the patterns of moko, koru and kowhaiwhai. At times he incorporates lettering on its side, creating an abstract reading until the written word is deciphered and its meaning grasped. His palette mainly consists of the traditional Maori colours of red, black and white, and the iterated rectangles in his striking works lends them a rhythm both visual and intuited. George has always been interested in scale, and his works range from domestic-sized paintings on canvas to installations of towering wall works created to his design by signwriters, and which create spaces of architectural proportions that enclose the viewer. For further information, contact one of George’s galleries, or visit his website.
GALLERIES
Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland
Brooke/Gifford Gallery, Christchurch
Peter McLeavey Gallery, Wellington
The Gallery at Woollaston, Nelson
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Paton, Justin ‘Devotional Signs on a Cross-Cultural History’, The Press, 25 May 1994
Johnstone, Jocelyn ‘Art teachers aiming to make big impression’, Sunday Star Times, 5 July 2000
McCormick, Deborah Scape; Art and Industry Urban Arts Biennial 02, Catalogue, pp 1-5, 10, 2000
George, Darryn Evisible: A Millennium Art Project, Christ’s College, Christchurch, 2000
Moore, Christopher ‘Arena of Abstract Art’, The Press, 28 June, 2000
Rewi, Adrienne ‘Art Teachers studying modern in traditional setting’, Sunday Star Times, 18 June 2000
Milburn, Felicity Hiko! New Energies in Maori Art. Robert McDougall Art Gallery
Pauli, Dorethee ‘Demanding Hip Hop’, The Press, 22 August 2001
Brown, Deidre ‘Navigating Te Kore – Maori Artistic Identity in the Digital Age’, Techno Maori: Maori Art in the Digital Age (Exhibition CDRom Catalogue) City Gallery, Wellington, 2001, pp. 1-9
Amery, Mark. ‘Tauiwi’, Techno Maori: Maori Art in the Digital Age, (Exhibition CDRom Catalogue), City Gallery, Wellington, 2001, pp. 1-16
Highfield, Smith Pushing the Boundries-Eleven Contemporary Artists in Aotearoa New Zealand, Giltedge Publishing, 2004, pp 18-23
Jonathan Mane-Wheoki ‘Tipuna’, Catalogue for Span Galleries Show, 2004
Brown, Deidre ‘The Whare on Exhibition’, in Lydia Wevers and Anna Smith, On Display: New Essays in Cultural Studies, Victoria University Press, Wellington, 2004, pp. 65-79
Boyce, Roger ‘Lines of Descent’, Art News, Spring, 2005
Kedgeley, Helen The Koru Club, Pataka Art Gallery catalogue, 2005
Gregory O Brien ‘Bro Town Boogie Woogie’ FHE Galleries catalogue, 2005
Baker, Jonathan ‘Matapihi; Darryn George’, (Review), CS ARTS, Issue 26, March 2006, p11
Tipa, Moana Unfolding Language, Chrysalis Seed publication, 2006
Darryn George, essays by Lara Strongman and Dr Deirdre Brown. Pub: Gow Langsford Gallery, 2010