N.Z. art overseas

Press, 19 March 1986, Page 22

N.Z. art overseas

The Maori artist Ralph Hotere will represent the nine exhibiting New Zealand artists at New York’s art expo in April. Forty-five pieces, predominantly signed and numbered works on paper, will be exhibited and offered for sale to gallery owners and dealers by a group of contemporary New Zealand artists. In addition to Dunedin’s Ralph Hotere, others will be Stanley Palmer and Claudia Pond Eyley, both of Auckland, Wellington’s John Drawbridge, Christchurch’s Barry Cleavin, Graeme Stradling from Nelson and Jeffrey Harris and Marilynn Webb from Dunedin. Robin White currently living in Kiribati is the ninth exhibitor. Hotere will be in attendance daily at New Zealand Gallery edition’s booth 1419 during this year’s art expo — to be held for the first time at the Jacob Javits conven-

tion centre. It will be _ open tb the New York public for three days. ” New Zealand’s partici- , pation is being organised

and financed by the Christchurch based firm, Peter Small, Ltd. Air New Zealand is flying the crates of cargo to Los Angeles where officials will clear the material before reloading almost immediately on to a domestic flight to New York.

Management of Art Expo, New York, have advised that interest in the New Zealand content is likely to be high, in part the result of the interest in this country stimulated by Te Maori. However, art observers in the United States of America also expect that some of the art content may attract more than passing interest if it reflects current New Zealand sensitivities to issues such as nuclear weaponry.