Simon Kaan; New Works On Paper

12 July – Press Release

Please join the artists Simon Kaan and Martin Poppelwell at the opening of two new exhibitions at Solander on Wednesday 14 July 5.30pm – 7.30pm

Simon Kaan; New Works On Paper
14 July – 7 August

In this new series of intaglio woodcuts Kann builds on his exploration of motifs such as the waka, moth and rainbow floating in a mysterious pale twilight. Kaan carves into the wood block, similar to the practice of ta moko, then rubs pigment into these scars to print both the incised line and texture of the wood within a mythological space.

Simon Kaan’s works have a certain stillness and quiet, transcendental quality.
Of dual Maori (Ngai Tahu ) and Chinese descent, Kaan clearly draws heavily from both identities. His oeuvre has developed with a unique and distinctive appreciation of Chinese philosophy and the aesthetics of calligraphy along with qualitative references to fundamental Maori concepts including Rangi (Sky Father), Papa (Earth Mother), whenua (land) and moana (sea).

Kaan 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.

(Referenced from “Whakamaramataka” Rebecca Hamid, Gallery Director Woollastron Gallery)
What: Exhibition - Simon Kaan; New Works On Paper
Where: Solander Works On Paper, 218 Willis St, Wellington
When: 14 July – 7 August
Website:www.solandergallery.co.nz Ph: (04)9200913

Martin Poppelwell; New Works On Paper
14 July – 7 August

In this exhibition, Poppelwells screen print works show the familiar layers of text, form and surface evident in his paintings and ceramics. Elements collide into a complex field that engages the viewer to explore and discern meaning both literal and symbolic.

The formal grid, familiar to us in the modernist works by Malevich and Mondrian is, here in the works of Poppelwell, appropriated but mashed through the distortion and flux of the search for meaning in the contemporary world.

Poppelwell talks about his role as “something quite different than the traditional progressive artist. I go backwards, I replace, recreate emptiness where we know meaning exists. By describing an idea in a different way it doesn’t go forward - it goes in a different direction than forward.”

Born and residing in the Hawk’s Bay, Martin graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland 1991 and has exhibited widely in New Zealand in both public and dealer galleries.

What: Exhibition - Martin Poppelwell; New Works On Paper
Where: Solander Works On Paper, 218 Willis St, Wellington
When: 14 July – 7 August
Website:www.solandergallery.co.nz Ph: (04)9200913

ENDS

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