Elizabeth Newman

Elizabeth Newman’s works After Ellsworth Kelly, Celebrate the Modern and Untitled (2006), were first seen as reproduced images in the publication More than what there is, Elizabeth Newman, published by 3-ply Melbourne in association with Neon Parc, Melbourne. Melbourne- based gallery Neon Parc shows Newman’s work and they had sent the book to Chartwell following its publication. In 2013, a selection of Newman’s works were presented in a temporary installation in Auckland by the Wellington based Hamish McKay Gallery.

Newman’s use of fabric references modernist colourfield painting, whilst simultaneously diminishing the premise of oil-on-canvas superiority. They reference the history of fabric use in art in both international and antipodean contexts. Of particular interest to the Chartwell Collection is the affinity Newman’s practice has with the loose canvases of Colin McCahon, and the relationship that can be made with the fabric works of Don Driver and Mikala Dwyer. The acquisition of Newman’s works for the Collection reflects and acknowledges the importance of art fairs and relationships between trans-Tasman private dealer galleries which enable artworks by NZ artists to show in Australian dealer galleries, and Australian artists to show through NZ dealer galleries.

(Rebecca Ward, 2014)

http://hamishmckay.co.nz/
http://neonparc.com.au/