Pick of the Week: 'Rocks Revisited' Series by Michael Smither

Following Belinda Wiley's informative talk around Art Collecting in Whangamata it seems fitting to feature well established artist Michael Smither and look at his dramatic new print series 'Rocks Revisited'.  This new series has only just been released and will be in the gallery this coming weekend. 

 

 

With confident brushstrokes Michael highlights the drama of rock next to rock, showing how everything is connected and how each rock supports the other with touch points that allow them to balance together.  The colours are pared back with no unnecessary features allowing the viewer to focus on the points of contact and the shapes defined.  There is also something alluring about the form of the rocks and the viewpoint which may lead the viewer to see the formation as looking down into the rocks' cleavage.

"When making the popular series of rock & rock pools, in the 60’s, I came to recognise the dynamic points of contact that maintained the balance of rock on rock.  On returning to Taranaki in the 70’s I decided to express these critical points of contact in a series of calligraphic & gestural works, so the title ‘Rocks Revisited’.", says Michael.

Michael continues to challenge us with his conceptual work and we are constantly amazed by the diversity of styles in his work from hyper realism through to the abstract.  This is one of reasons why he is perhaps one of the most collectable New Zealand artists in modern times.

This series would look stunning as a set either mounted together to create a large work or as three separate pieces to allow the view to take each one individually.

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