Master works from McCallan

Press, 22 September 1980, Page 22

Master works from McCallan

Colin McCahcn, an exhibition of paintings at the CSA Gallery, until September 25. Reviewed by David Brokenshire.

Colin McCahon Is New Zealand’s foremost living artist. He is a painter. Although in the early days he did a variety of other .jobs in order to eat he was still a painter. I came to Christchurch in 1950 and at the first Group Show I can still recall with almost physical pain the visual shock of the totally uncompromising series, “Bridge Building — Canterbury.” In spite’of extreme poverty and,-apart from just a handful of friends, totally ignored, nevertheless he painted directly and with great force. Today his position in New Zealand art is secure yet still he paints straight from the heart and now with incredible force.

So in this centennial year of the Canterbury Society of Arts it is appropriate that again we have the opportunity to see Colin McCahon’s work.

Five series are presented. The range of colours is limited to black, white, grey, and orange. The burning heat of the desert is so exactly felt in the orange of “The Flight from Egypt” The two large paintings, “The Five Wounds of Christ,” are master works. Written description of such paintings can only be totally inadequate. You must see them for yourself. •; His man speaks like an Old Testament prophet We may dislike his directness and force, his impatiently scrawled writing, yet we cannot gainsay his authority. We turn our backs on him at our peril.