A feast for the eyeballs after our recent screen-centric lock down, Te Uru presents Down under cover, an energetic series of paintings by internationally renowned contemporary artist Philippa Blair.
In the past 50 years, Blair has been described as a traveller and a restless spirit, fluent in translating the tumultuous world around her into vibrant observations that are boldly autobiographical but also hum with the familiar rhythms of life. For Blair, the universal is the personal, as she tunes into the world around her, feeling the energy, rhythm and colour of both city streets and nature alike. Shifting light, musical scores, found objects, architectural plans, maps, memories, change, humour, motherhood, love and loss are not exempt from Blair’s all-embracing approach to painting life.
The work of Philippa Blair (b. 1945, Aotearoa) has been exhibited regularly for most of her long and distinguished career, from early shows across Aotearoa in the 1970s, to international solo exhibitions in New York in the 1980s, and significant museum exhibitions and teaching positions in the 1990s in Los Angeles, a city that became her home for twenty years (1995-2014). Down under cover is an acknowledgement of Blair’s incredible achievements, and a belated welcome home for a celebrated local artist who continues to challenge the conventional limits of painting in an image-soaked world.
Curated by Chloe Geoghegan
Image: Philippa Blair, Down under cover, 2020 (detail)