Max Gimblett
RECENT WORKS
17 October - 10 November
Max Gimblett is currently in New Zealand preparing for a solo show at Gow Langsford Gallery, opening Tuesday October 16. The exhibition provides an opportunity for New Zealand audiences to encounter the latest works by this accomplished artist before his debut at the Guggenheim New York in 2009.
New Zealand born, U.S based Max Gimblett has been selected to participate in a major group show at the Guggenheim Museum, New York. Scheduled to premiere in spring 2009, American Art and the East seeks to examine the impact of Asian philosophy and aesthetics on 20th century American art. While the artists included have not yet been officially released to the public, it has been established that Gimblett's work will feature alongside a number of seminal US artists of the modern Post War era many of whom have shaped the course of Western art history.
Initiated by curator and scholar, Alexandra Munroe, American Art and the East will represent Munroe's first project since being appointed the Guggenheim's first senior curator of Asian Art. Munroe's appointment signals the Guggenheim's commitment to Asia and the Pacific as a site for concentrated curatorial development and cultural exchange. The significance of the exhibition lies in the West's recognition that the influence of the Orient on Western art has reached its zenith with unprecedented growth in contemporary Asian art over last few decades, particularly that of China. "Despite this enormous shift, no major international museum of modern and contemporary art has yet established a curatorial position for Asian art. The Guggenheim is the first" states Thomas Krens, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.
Max Gimblett is among New Zealand's leading senior artists. A practising Buddhist, Gimblett has been based in New York since 1972. He regularly travels between New Zealand and the US, exhibiting consistently in both countries and internationally. A major survey show, The Brush of All Things', curated by Wystan Curnow was held at the Auckland Art Gallery in 2005 to widespread acclaim. In 2005 he was appointed the inaugural visiting Professor at the National Institute of Creative Arts and Industry (NICAI) at the University of Auckland. In this role Gimblett interacts with students and colleagues in the varied disciplines of fine arts, music, architecture and planning, dance and Maori and Pacific performing arts - promoting an indepth exchange of ideas centering on creativity.
2007 has been yet another fulfilling year for Max Gimblett. Along with being selected for the 2009 Guggenheim show, the artist has been commissioned by Granary Books to collaborate with esteemed American poet and critic, John Yau to produce a version of the Tao Te Ching. This classic 6th century Taoist text is regarded as the foundation of Chinese religion and continues to be a source of inspiration worldwide today.
In November Gimblett will participate in two major US exhibitions, Simulasian as part of the inaugural Asian Contemporary Art Fair in New York and Brush Meets Brush, a painting show to be held at the Zen Centre in San Francisco.