Robin White (artist)

Dame Robin Adair White DNZM (born 12 July 1946) is a New Zealand painter and printmaker, recognised as a key figure in the regionalist movement of 20th century New Zealand art.[1][2]

Dame Robin White

DNZM
White in 2019
Born
Robin Adair White

(1946-07-12) 12 July 1946
Te Puke, New Zealand
EducationElam School of Fine Arts
Notable work
Mangaweka, oil on canvas
Awards
  • University of Auckland Distinguished Alumni Award (2012)
  • Arts Foundation Laureate Award (2017)

Early life

Born in Te Puke on 12 July 1946,[3] White grew up in Epsom, a suburb of Auckland, the youngest of seven children.[4] Her father, Albert Tikitu White, was a builder and World War I veteran of Ngāti Awa descent.[4][5]

Education

White completed a Diploma of Fine Arts at Elam School of Fine Arts in 1967.[2] Along with her contemporaries Richard Killeen and Ian Scott, White was taught by Colin McCahon at Elam and has cited him as an important influence on her development and commitment as an artist.[6]

Career

After art school, White moved to Bottle Creek, Paremata, in 1969, and taught art at Mana College.[4] Here White taught herself to screenprint, motivated by a desire to make her art more accessible and affordable. She has frequently reproduced her oil paintings as prints, such as Mangaweka (1973) in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.[6] While at Bottle Creek, White befriended local writers including Sam Hunt, Fleur Adcock, Alistair Te Ariki Campbell, and historian Michael King.[4]

Art historian Jill Trevelyan notes that it was while living at Bottle Creek that White developed her characteristic style, as she 'began to paint the local landscape using crisp, rhythmic outlines, strong light, and flat blocks of colours'.[7] White became well known for these works, which often depicted scenes of small town life, such as flat-bed trucks and fish and chip shops.[8]

White is also a member of the Bahá'í Faith.[9] In 1972 White moved to Portobello, near Dunedin, where she met her husband, also a member of the religion.[4] In 1982 White and her family moved to the Republic of Kiribati, living on the island of Tarawa and working with the Baha'i community.[2] Here she continued to make art, working almost entirely in woodcut prints as materials for this method were the most readily available.[6]

White returned to New Zealand in 1999 and is now based in Masterton, where she continues to work with weavers and artists from around the Pacific.[10] In 2011 White was one of nine New Zealand and Australian artists selected to take part in the 'Kermadecs' research trip and exhibition project, organised by the Pew Research Center.[11] White's collaborative exhibition of monumental ngatu (painted tapa) works, made with Tongan artist Ruha Fifita and a group of Tongan women, showed at Pataka Art + Museum in 2014.[12]

White has represented New Zealand at a number of international exhibitions including the sixth International Biennale of Sydney and the first Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Brisbane. In 2009 she was featured in the sixth Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art.

Notable works

Recent exhibitions
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Honours and awards

In the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours, White was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to painting and printmaking.[11][18] In 2009, following the restoration of titular honours by the New Zealand government, she accepted redesignation as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.[19]

In 2012, White received a University of Auckland Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012, and an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award in 2017.[2][5]

Further reading
  • Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1981). Robin White – New Zealand Painter. Martinborough, New Zealand: Alister Taylor. p. 102. OCLC 973603346.
  • Ian Wedde, 'Welcome to the South Pacific: Robin White, Richard Killeen and From Scratch', in How to be nowhere: Essays and texts 1971–1994, Wellington: Victoria University Press, 1995. ISBN 086473249X
  • Jill Trevelyan, 'The path followed', Art New Zealand, no. 146, Winter 2013, pp. 62–66[20]
  • Interview with Robin White Standing Room Only, Radio New Zealand National, 2014
gollark: ++bee you
gollark: Well, something something Wittgenstein.
gollark: <@!160279332454006795> consultation.
gollark: Is beesing a property of conscious minds? I'll consult HTech™.
gollark: μahahahaha.

References
  1. "Robin White". Find New Zealand Artists. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  2. "In conversation with Robin White". University of Auckland. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  3. Taylor, Alister, ed. (2001). New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001. Auckland: Alister Taylor Publishers. p. 936. ISSN 1172-9813.
  4. Dekker, Diana (13 December 2014). "Just Robin White". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  5. "Dame Robin White's Biography". The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  6. McAloon, William (2009). Art at Te Papa. Wellington: Te Papa Press. p. 307. ISBN 9781877385483.
  7. Trevelyan, Jill (July 2013). "If she can do it, so can I". Off the wall (2). Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  8. White, Robin (1975). "Fish and chips, Maketu". Auckland Art Gallery. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  9. Morris, Paul (15 November 2012). "Diverse religions – Bahá'ís". Te Ara. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  10. "Robin White". The Kermadecs. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  11. "Nine Artists in the South Pacific". The Kermadecs. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  12. "Robin White and Ruha Fifita". Pataka Art + Museum. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  13. Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1981). Robin White – New Zealand Painter. Martinborough, New Zealand: Alister Taylor. p. 102. OCLC 973603346.
  14. "Mangaweka". Collections Online. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  15. "Island Life: Robin White". Christchurch Art Gallery. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  16. "Robin White". City Gallery Wellington. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  17. "Siu I Moana". NGV Australia.
  18. "Queen's Birthday honours list 2003". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 2 June 2003. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  19. "Special honours list 1 August 2009". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  20. "The path followed". Index New Zealand. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
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