24Jun

20Aug

Relative Reciprocity | Lonnie Hutchinson and Reuben Paterson

Lonnie Hutchinson and Reuben Paterson

Relative Reciprocity

24 June – 20 August 2017

Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery

West Auckland

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Exhibition Details

Provocative pairing play with darkness and light

Te Uru is pairing two highly acclaimed artists in a new exhibition, Relative Reciprocity,
24 June – 2 August, to coincide with Matariki celebrations. This exhibition brings
together to the work of Lonnie Hutchinson and Reuben Paterson to explore the
recurring aesthetic, political and spiritual use of light and darkness that runs through
their work.

Hutchinson (Ngāi Tahu, Samoan) and Paterson (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Rangitihi, Scottish)
are renowned contemporaries; two artists who have firmly embedded Māori and
Polynesian world-views and visual languages into their practices.

Lonnie Hutchinson’s practice recalls Māori and Polynesian craft and decorative
histories to explore how spaces are defined and distributed, with a particular interest in
spaces that occupy a middle ground between time, people and place. Though she is
most well known for her decorative cut-outs made from black builders paper,
Hutchinson’s practice spans many disciplines, from architecture to sculpture to digital
animation.

Reuben Paterson’s work, from paintings to large-scale public installations, is
immediately recognisable for his use of glitter and diamond dust. These materials are
deployed by Paterson not just as a playful transformation of recognisable decorative
motifs — including kōwhaiwhai patterns, retro floral textile designs, and geometric
tessellations — but also a deliberate exploration of glitter’s optical potential and the
socio-political connotations of sparkly adornment.

However, the exhibition isn’t a simple case of black and white. On the topic of
blackness, writer Stephanie Oberg notes, “if we’ve learnt anything from painters like
McCahon and Hotere, it is that where there is light (and white), there are many, many
shades and reflections of blackness.”

Both Hutchinson and Paterson are aware of the breadth of meanings connected to
black, from its significance in mythology to its use in both protest movements and pop
culture and the niggling relationship between blackness and race. Light too has its own
range of qualities. It’s the interplay between light and dark – and the continuum that
exists between – that the exhibitions most fully embrace, from the suspended spark of
a firework to the glimpses of light that exist between form.

Relative Reciprocity features new works made this year by both artists. In addition to
showing work within the gallery, Hutchinson and Paterson will also be featured in Te
Uru’s window space, a street-facing gallery space visible throughout the day and night.

Relative Reciprocity runs at Te Uru from 24 June – 20 August

Opening: Saturday 24 June, 4pm

Lonnie Hutchinson and Reuben Paterson will give an artist talk on Saturday 24 June at 3pm preceding the official opening celebrations from 4pm.

About the artists:

Lonnie Hutchinson has been described as a ‘trail-blazing’ Pacific woman artist. She has
been exhibiting steadily, both nationally and internationally, for nearly 20 years. She has
been included in significant international exhibitions, such as Paradise Now?:
Contemporary Art from the Pacific (2004), Asia Society New York and Pasifika Styles
(2006-8), University of Cambridge Museum, that have served to raise awareness in the
USA and UK of Pacific artists and art. She has also produced major, temporary and
permanent, site-specific installations – most recently for the new justice precinct in
Christchurch.

Reuben Paterson is a dynamic artist known for his creations in glitter and diamond dust.
Along with exhibitions at public institutions throughout New Zealand, highlights of his
international career include inclusion in shows at the Musee du quai Branly, Paris,
France (2011), Cambridge University of Anthropology and Archaeology Cambridge,
England (2007), and the International Biennale of Contemporary Art, National Gallery,
Prague (2007).

About Te Uru
Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery is West Auckland’s regional gallery. We
present a diverse programme of contemporary exhibitions, events and
activities, including art, craft and design, to reflect and strengthen the full diversity of
cultural identities, interests and potential of our community. As a destination gallery, Te
Uru operates from an award-winning, purpose-built building that is part of the recently
re-opened Lopdell Precinct. Te Uru receives core funding from the Waitakere Ranges Local Board of Auckland Council.

Hours: 10am – 4.30pm daily
Address: 420 Titirangi Road, Titirangi, Auckland
Website: www.teuru.org.nz

Image: Reuben Paterson, Arousers, 2017

For more information, contact:

Te Uru 09 818 8087
info@teuru.org.nz
www.teuru.org.nz