New Exhibitions At Solander

New Exhibitions At Solander

Solander is delighted to host exhibitions of new work by two of New Zealand’s outstanding artists; Michel Tuffery and Simon Kaan opening on Wednesday 17 June, 2009.

Michel Tuffery: New Works

Solander: works on paper

17 June – 11 July

Michel Tuffery is an established sculptor, printmaker and painter who draws on his Samoan, Rarotongan and Tahitian heritage to produce innovative pieces exploring the ever changing Pacific.

In this exhibition, Michel Tuffery M.N.Z.M introduces us to a new collection of works inspired by nostalgia around his childhood memories of the postage stamp. He recalls the memories of receiving packages from Taranaki bearing a collage of stamps. This nostalgia is heightened by the onset of the digital age and how this has directed a dimensional shift in how we communicate.

Through this new work, Tuffery translates historical iconic stamps from around New Zealand into a more contemporary media using graph stencil and plays on the composition, colour and text to trigger our own visual memories.

In 2008 Michel Tuffery became the youngest recipient of the New Zealand Merit of Order for services to the Arts. Tuffery has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions and his work features in many public and private collections internationally.

Simon Kaan: New Works

Solander: works on paper

17 June – 11 July

Dunedin artist Simon Kaan, renowned for his peaceful works featuring a layered land and seascape, exhibits new intaglio woodcuts at Solander.

Land, sea and sky still dominate Kaan’s new works, but the familiar waka shape that we are used to seeing, are replaced by moth, waterfalls and rainbows. The spaces are fragmented by floating, indeterminate horizon lines, which create a sense of rhythm and movement. Kaan conveys the building up of time through the layering of print upon print and fine whorls of detail over streaked sky.

Simon Kaan is of Chinese, Ngai Tahu and Pakeha ancestry. He graduated with a Diploma of Fine Art majoring in Printmaking at Otago Polytechnic in 1993 and has exhibited widely in New Zealand in both public and dealer galleries. In 2007 Simon Kaan undertook the Red Gate Gallery Residency in Beijing with the support of Creative New Zealand. Recently he has been included in Warwick Brown’s book ‘Seen this Century: 100 Contemporary New Zealand Artists - A Collector’s Guide’ published by Godwit.

Special Event

There will be an artist talk prior to the exhibition opening, beginning at 5pm on Wednesday 17 June - all welcome.

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