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The Art World in Focus
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Denys Watkins

DENYS WATKINS

If these walls could Talk Jhana Millers 5 August–11 September 2021 Wellington
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Press Release

Denys Watkins is a highly respected contemporary artist with a career spanning 5 decades. In the early stage of his career, he was widely regarded as one of New Zealand’s finest printmakers, a media since superseded by painting and watercolour. Watkins’ distinctive and ingenious abstract paintings show a keen fascination and curiosity about the world. While lately his attentions have focused more on environmental concerns, over his career he has drawn on a wide visual encyclopedia of cultural references, taking source inspiration from any area deemed relevant or necessary to a particular composition or series. These include abstractions of coral; billowing mushroom clouds; Hindu Monkey Gods; the tangled roots of orchid plants; and an obscure lyric from a 1970s song.

The paintings in this new solo exhibition If these walls could Talk, bring together recent paintings, supplemented by works from the last few years, that complement and extend Denys’ visual language.

Watkins taught as a senior lecturer at Elam School of Fine Arts from 1980-2011 and his work is held in several major collections throughout Australasia, including the Australian National Gallery, Te Papa Tongarewa, The Govett-Brewster, The Chartwell Trust and many others. He began his studies at the Wellington Polytechnic School of Design from 1962-64, and then in London at both the Central School of Art in 1967, and the Royal College of Art from 1968-70. He has been awarded multiple scholarships throughout his career, and was the recipient of the Artist in Residence programme at the Canberra School of Art in 1985, and the Sanskriti Foundation Residency in India, 2003. Recent exhibitions include a retrospective of his paintings from 2004 — 2016, Dynamo Hum, at COCA, Christchurch, Gus Fisher, Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland, and the Seargant gallery Whanganui.

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About the Artist

Denys Watkins is a contemporary artist. Born in 1945, he lives in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. Watkins is a highly respected contemporary artist with a career spanning five decades. In the early stage of his career, Denys was widely regarded as one of Aotearoa’s finest printmakers, a media since superseded by painting and watercolour. He was a long serving teacher of 31 years at Elam School of Fine Arts in Tāmaki Makaurau.

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Also Exhibiting at Jhana Millers

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Group Exhibition
GROUP EXHIBITION Made Jhana Millers 21 May–13 June 2026 Wellington
About the Gallery

Jhana Millers Art Gallery was established in 2018 in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington to showcase compelling and innovative contemporary art and promote emerging local talents. Housed in the listed Mibar Building, fitted with large windows and a concrete ceiling, the gallery provides space for solo and curated group exhibitions.

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Address
Level 1, Mibar Building
85 Victoria Street
Wellington
New Zealand
Opening Hours
Wednesday–Friday: 11am–5pm
Saturday: 11am–4pm
or by appointment
(1)
Wellington Level 1, Mibar Building, 85 Victoria Street
Jhana Millers contemporary art gallery in Wellington New Zealand
Jhana Millers
Level 1, Mibar Building, 85 Victoria Street, Wellington, New Zealand
0211670896
http://www.jhanamillers.com

Opening hours
Wednesday–Friday: 11am–5pm
Saturday: 11am–4pm
or by appointment
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