New Zealand artists on show in Paris

An exhibition at the Galerie Impaire in Paris, featuring the work of thirteen New Zealand artists and photographers, is causing a stir among the city’s “art brut”  (self-taught art/outsider art) community.

Curated by Wellington artist, academic and curator Stuart Shepherd, Grown: New Work from New Zealand will run throughout May. It features the work of Andrew Blythe (Auckland); Martin Thompson (Dunedin); Sarah Jane Parton, John Lake, Robert Rapson, Reece Tong, Colin Korovin, Ray Ritchie, Daniel Phillips (all Wellington); James Robinson (Wanganui); the late Jim Dornan (Wairoa); and Peter Wareing  and Maia MacDonald (New Plymouth).

Galerie Impaire is a branch of the Creative Growth Art Centre in Oakland, California, which Shepherd describes as the “most established and progressive art workshop” in North America.

“Being associated with the Creative Growth Art Centre  is an honour,” he says. “It’s also a valuable connection for creative spaces and self-taught artists in New Zealand.”

Shepherd also hosted the New Zealand stand at the 2009 New York Outsider Art Fair in January, which was attended by European, North American and Asian dealers and collectors.

Most of the New Zealand artists profiled at the New York fair sold work. For instance, all of Rapson’s ceramic ships were sold and he received 15 commissions for new work.

“Robert Rapson is hot,” Shepherd says. “Before the Paris exhibition even opened, a big-time British collector bought all of Robert’s work that I had with me. Because of this exhibition, he now has a permanent outlet at the Galerie Impaire.”

Robert Rapson, Reece Tong, Colin Korovin, Ray Ritchie and Daniel Phillips are all clients of the Creative Business Support Service, a partnership between Arts Access Aotearoa and the Ministry of Social Development. The aim of this pilot service is to create income opportunities for artists dependent on Work and Income New Zealand benefits within the Wellington region.
  
Marianne Taylor, Executive Director of Arts Access Aotearoa, says the Creative Business Support Service has been extremely fortunate to have had Stuart Shepherd driving this international market opportunity.

“Stuart’s commitment to profiling and marketing the work of New Zealand self-taught artists in the international arena is amazing,” she says.
 
Shepherd says the nostalgic quality of Rapson's work appealed to New York buyers. "They were delighted by the authenticity and detail of his reproductions, and the obvious knowledge and affection that Robert feels for his subjects.

"The fact that Robert can do commissions for people is a bonus. It provides personal connections between the buyer, the artist and the work, often encapsulating memories of family travel."