Individual Artists

Vincent O'Sullivan's compelling, nuanced portrait of the great New Zealand artist Ralph Hotere brings the man and his art to life. Ralph Hotere (Te Aupouri and Te Rarawa; 1931-2013) was one of Aotearoa's most significant modern artists. Hotere invited the poet, novelist and biogr...apher Vincent O'Sullivan to write his life story in 2005. Now, this book - the result of years of research and many conversations with Hotere and his fellow artists, collaborators, friends and family - provides a nuanced, compelling portrait of Hotere: the man, and the artist.
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Christchurch in the 1920s was the cultural hub of New Zealand, a base for alternative art movements and radical politics. Into this world moved Rita Angus, an experimental and visionary painter and illustrator whose paintings were to become iconic images of New Zealand's visual h...istory. In 2020 an ambitious exhibition of Angus's work opens at the Royal Academy. This publication, written by the artist's biographer Jill Trevelyan, presents the full range of her paintings and drawings, which often have a deeply spiritual element. Her self-portraits - the most numerous and experimental of any New Zealand artist - form a significant part of her oeuvre and have been compared in their complex symbolism to those of Frida Kahlo. A life-long socialist and pacifist, in later life Angus used her paintings to reflect her vision for the future of New Zealand. Her radical politics were clear throughout: in court, during her trial for conscientious objection in the Second World War, she said: As an artist, it is my work to create life and not to destroy. AUTHORS: Jill Trevelyan is a curator and author who specialises in 20th-century New Zealand art. She is considered the leading expert on the art of Rita Angus. Adrian Locke is Senior Curator at the Royal Academy of Arts. SELLING POINTS: Rita Angus is one of the greatest New Zealand artists of the 20th century and an icon in her native country This book accompanies a major exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 18 October 2020 to 24 January 2021, the first to bring her pioneering vision beyond New Zealand Her remarkable career has parallels to other fiercely independent and political women including Frida Kahlo, Alice Neel and Emily Carr 120 colour illustrations
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This first biography of Cy Twombly, one of the most important and least understood American artists of the 20th Century, explores the enduring mysteries of his work and life.

Brilliantand cosmopolitan, John Singer Sargent was notorious for his portraits of illustrious men and women of the time. Nevertheless, he is the artist of many important works including oil paintings, watercolours and drawings, all retracing the steps of this born explorer. From ...Venise to Florida, even passing through the Middle-East, Sargent reinvented realism by modernising and enhancing it.
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Fatu Feu'u is an internationally recognised Samoan-New Zealand artist. He has been pivotal in shaping the interest in contemporary Pacific art globally and nurturing a generation of Pacific artists locally, leading to his reputation as the Father of contemporary Pacific art. In t...his book, Fatu shares his story, from wilful Samoan-village boy, to New Zealand factory-worker immigrant, to leader in his home communities and the global art world. His thoughts on art and life are woven into an inspiring tale that helps us understand not only what drives this artist, but what's behind his art - how the bright colours, the frangipani, ta-tatau and siapo designs create a narrative of his past, present and future.
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