MAORI ARTIST

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33999, 13 November 1975, Page 5

MAORI ARTIST

An exhibition of paintings by the Maori artist, Buck Nin, opened on Tuesday night in the U.S.A. gallery in Gloucester Street. The twoweek show features 37 works, priced from $2O to $lOO. Mr Nin is shown above, preparing to hang one of his works, “Looking Back to Putahi” ($6O). In the background is one of his larger paintings, “Land March,” which is not for sale. Mr Nin is of Chinese and Maori ancestry, and is a member of the Ngati Ruakawa tribe. He started painting professionally in 1965, after gaining a diploma

.-lin fine arts from the University of Canterbury. in 1967, eye trouble forced 1 him to spend less time at his e I chosen work, and he took up teaching at the Bay of Islands . College, He later moved to j the Church College of New , Zealand, Hamilton, where he; J has remained. Mr Nin painted most of the works in his Christchurch '• exhibition in four to five s months. He says that he 3 spent eight to 10 hours daily ' on his work, as well as teach--1 ingHe feels that such long hours and the need to comLplete many works in a short s itime do not affect him, or jjhis art. When working fast,; qlhe says, he produces new; a 1 ideas far more quickly.

Nearly all of Mr Nin’sl works are based on Maori.l I motifs welded into themes of ; the Maori’s views of his land! i and the cities that have! ; sprung up where nature oncei reigned. He is not a newcomer to 'exhibitions, having held oneI man shows in Auckland, Wel- ’ lington, Christchurch, and San Francisco. His work was included in the contemporary Maori art tours of New Zealand and overseas in 1966 and 1969. He was also one of 30 artists in the International Young Artists’ Exhibition selected to have their works ’ hung in Japan in 1967. In {1968, he was selected to tour lin the Benson and Hedges competition.