B.

Lift of a gift

Behind the scenes

4 June 2014. Posted by Peter Vangioni

Staff here at the Gallery have enjoyed finally getting the opportunity to see Dust, Smoke and Rainbows (2013), a major new painting gifted by Shane Cotton, which was brought out of storage to be photographed recently.

Shane Cotton Dust, Smoke and Rainbows (2013) acrylic on linen, gifted by the artist, 2013. measures 2200x1800mm.

It won't be included in Baseland, an exhibition of recent works by Shane which opens this Saturday, because of the simple fact it doesn't fit into the building that accommodates our exhibition space at 209 Tuam street...but rest assured it will go on display when the gallery re-opens.

Thanks Shane.

Related reading: Unseen: the changing collection

Collection

Shane Cotton Dust, Smoke and Rainbows

Made following the 2020/11 earthquakes, Shane Cotton’s painting crackles with a supernatural energy. It reveals a swirling, in-between space that recalls the Māori concept of te kore, the void, a realm of potential. Within a canvas full of trailing smoke, dust clouds and gleaming rainbows, physical matter and ideas collide, allowing for connections across time and space. Cotton includes a reference to a modernist carving by Northland artist Clive Arlidge, acknowledging how earlier generations of Māori artists contribute to the whakapapa (genealogy) of today’s artists. Part-ruin, part-vision, the work is charged with echoes of the recent and distant past – and full of anticipation about what may come next.

(Absence, May 2023)