Toi Māori: Shane Cotton opens 'must-see' solo exhibition

Gesture - 2021. Photo: Shane Cotton

Contemporary artist Shane Cotton (Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Hine, Te Uri Taniwha) is set to open a major exhibition at The Dowse Art Museum, marking his first public show in Te Awakairangi Hutt Valley, the place he was raised.

Te Puāwai, opening July 17, introduces a new body of never-before-displayed work and is said to be a must-see exhibition.

It's part of the Dowse Art Museum's 50th Anniversary programme which continues the museum's commitment to highlighting contemporary toi Māori.

Cotton grew up in Upper Hutt in the 60s and 70s, and with extensive whānau still living there, this exhibition holds a special connection for him.

The now Kororāreka Russell-based artist is creating more than 15 new works for the exhibition, which will sit alongside existing pieces, most of which have never been seen before.

It will include familiar imagery from Cotton's practise, as well as spanning painting, works on paper and sculptural works, including a series of pou.

Dowse director Karl Chitham says Cotton's work will "allow visitors to create their own responses or impressions of the works and what they might represent".

"The stories in Te Pūawai are not fixed.

"Like those threads of memory that are hard to grab hold of, Cotton's works offer a series of moments that are uncertain and shifting.

"But these moments can also be filled with limitless potential, leading to new ideas and ways of thinking.

"This is Shane's first solo public exhibition since 2013, and we're excited to host it here at the Dowse, and so close to where he spent his formative years."

Cotton has exhibited around the world and was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the visual Arts in 2012, the Laureate Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand (2008), the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship (1998) and the Seppelt Contemporary Art Award (1998).

Alongside new works, the heart of the exhibition features a hand-crafted boat, the namesake of the exhibition Te Puāwai, recently shown in Auckland Art Gallery exhibition Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art.

Shane Cotton - Te Puāwai is on display from July 17 - November 14.