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Wall work studies
Photoshop mock up
2019

Looking at the three works above I can’t help but think the practicalities to efficiently execute them.

The yellow one is the simplest, but the blue and orange pieces will require an awful lot of tape and masking. For both works it’s the long continuous outside edge which causes the biggest challenge.

In deciding which works to use (or not) I have to consider not only the practicalities of both the install and de-install times but also the way the different works relate to each other in the show and how everything works as a whole.

Something I made on the weekend at an enjoyable “Swiss Repeat” pattern workshop with Greta Menzies at Toi Pōneke.

It’s raining outside – a perfect day to stay indoors, type and drink some more coffee. Meanwhile, this week has been one of those where I’ve spent most of my time doing non-making art related things.

This has included:

• Going through my contact list and slowly cleaning it up.

• Reviewing what I’ve written about my work over the last few months before I write some more words for my upcoming show New Old Forms.

• Attending a talk at Enjoy around developing an emerging practice.

• Going to the Greta Menzies opening at Toi Pōneke last night, where I really enjoyed some of the drawings.

• Reviewing and processing some of the topics from conversations I had the previous week.

As someone who enjoys making things it’s easy to feel I’m letting my practice slip if I haven’t made anything during the week, yet I know a break can be (and often is) beneficial.

The reality is making is only part of a practice. It’s easy for me to overlook the drawing I have done this week. However small it may be it keeps moving the work and ideas along. And sometimes that’s enough.

1. The paintings of Bernard Piffaretti

Bernard Piffaretti
Untitled (2005)
acrylic on canvas
38 1/8 × 57 3/8 × 7/8 inches
© Bernard Piffaretti

I’ve been aware of Piffaretti’s work before now and reading this article brought them to my attention again. I can’t help but look and keep looking at his work – it’s a spot-the-difference game coupled with the how-did-he-make-it question. And then there’s the language of gesture, of impulse and expression being undermined by the careful but not a one hundred percent accurate repetition – you see drips and small differences. They’re clever paintings and leave me wanting to know more.

2. I’ve got the moves by Habibi

YouTube

A great little song. And yes, I’m adding I’ve got the moves to my list of titles – just got to find the right work for it.

3. Gordon Walters at Te Papa

Untitled (X) 1989
Private collection, Auckland
Courtesy of the Gordon Walters Estate

Good to finally see some of Walters’ work in the flesh at Te Papa. It helped me put some of Simon Morris’ early work in context for me. I also felt very aware of my European heritage when looking at Walters’ work. My art history and exposure is, not surprisingly, different to my New Zealand peers – I’ve mentioned before how only after spending three months exploring the the landscape of the South Island did the work of Colin McCahon begin to make sense to me.

In this instance, while Walters is perhaps best known for his koru works, it was the works talking to European and American minimalism and abstraction which resonated with me.

A stocky, blocked black, white, and grey work of considered and subtle proportions reminded me of Sean Scully’s work. It had a real nice weight and presence to it.

A quiet, pale lilac / grey and white work of horizontal stripes with, I think, four asymmetrical interventions was gorgeous. I’m sorry I can’t find an image of it.

And a smaller canvas, pictured above, from the Transparencies works caught my too. Those colours, that blue for the overlap, are perfect.

There’s a speed and ease in working at this size. I feel I understand how the scale of the marks work in relation to the canvas. In such a small work the energy of the marks becomes compressed and intensified. On larger surfaces this energy, being less contained, can easily dissipate. Marks and gestures often need to be much larger to carry a similar intensity, but it’s not just a question of scale. There seems to be a different relationship at work between the marks, the canvas and the larger space within it – it’s challenging to manipulate and manage these relationships.

Back to this small work and the challenge is to decide if it’s complete or not. Time for me to live with it, look at it, and see if it needs something more.