Rogers dives in at The Deep End

Two figures swim along the bottom of the pool in Wet Love, one of the paintings by Richard Rogers in his exhibition open now at Tairāwhiti Museum.

"Picasso once said there is nothing original in art, whether it is the work of another artist or the problem raised by an artist’s previous work, the possibility of a new work has been sparked. That has been the process that has led to the creation of many of these works,” Richard Rogers says in his artist statement for The Deep End, his exhibition at Tairāwhiti Museum.

Created over a three-year period, the works have at their heart the premise that we look at an artwork for two or three seconds then move on. Creating a surface or image that has a hook might get the viewer to pause and consider the painting in more depth.

The initial theme is centred around celebrating the role women are increasingly playing in our society and the idea that if they  had been given a greater role in our governance over the ages, we would be in a better place than we are today. The second part of the exhibition celebrates love in an aquatic environment.

Rogers uses a number of different textural patterns which he incorporates into his paintings, from small teardrop-shaped outlines to geometric forms painted on to the subject matter. His style can be described as vivid surrealism intertwined with realism.

The swimming pool is a source of great inspiration to him as he paints people floating and almost dancing underwater.

Water as a substance that is translucent holds so many possibilities, he says.

“Water is just such an amazing thing — trying to depict something that has no colour and creating the image of a sparkle or reflection is an interesting process.”

One can see the influence of British pop artist David Hockney in his aquatic-themed paintings as he explores an underwater world.

In Big Kiss two lovers kiss underwater and the black shadows they create give the work an abstract quality.

The earlier works use an earthy palette and feature montages of women. In The Beach/Glass Ceiling a number of skyscrapers symbolise the glass ceiling often imposed on women.

This work has been influenced by American painter and photographer Chuck Close, known for his massive-scale photorealism.

“His work process has always been of great interest to me especially his use of gridding. Here, I am trying to add a three dimensional aspect to the surface of the canvas.”

For Rogers the artistic process begins with a sketch which he will then map in a grid on to canvas. One picture will invariably spark another. The one called Brian Underwater features his friend who he made swim around on the bottom of a pool on a holiday in Rarotonga while he took photographs. In it he further explores ways of depicting water.

Rogers was a founding member of The Flying Moa cooperative with John Walsh and the late Daryl File and frequently exhibited alongside them.

He fondly remembers his first exhibition in the early 80s with his friends and collaborators Walsh and File at Ulverstone in inner Kaiti. The stately two-storeyed villa was a popular  events venue and gallery back then and the young emerging artists were experimenting with different styles and form.

In 2019 he was involved in a group show which included fellow artist Kent Baddeley called A Flowering Out East, Fruits of a Splendid Isolation at Tairāwhiti Museum.

The Sculptured Wall in 2020 has been his most significant sculpture show to date ,though he has taken  part in numerous group and solo shows, most recently at Verve Cafe with the Makorori Artists group.

Rogers continues to do relief teaching at Lytton High School where he was an art teacher for around 40 years.

The swimming pool continues to be a source of inspiration for him and he already has ideas percolating for his next body of work.

“The plastic quality of paint has been the driver of my work and it’s only now that I feel I am starting to get close to achieving a balance of all the factors that go towards making a harmonious painting.”