Starkwhite presents a solo exhibition of works by New Zealand artist Gordon Walters at Art Basel Hong Kong.
In partnership with the Gordon Walters Estate, Starkwhite Gallery will present a group of important works by the pioneering abstract artist Gordon Walters (1919-1995) at Art Basel Hong Kong. Walters is a revered figure in New Zealand, recognised for a long and productive career spanning four decades. He is represented in numerous public collections and is memorialised in the bi-annual Walters Prize exhibition and award at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki.
A pioneer of modernist abstraction in New Zealand, he is best known for his paintings employing the koru, the curving bulb form from Maori moko and kowhaiwahi rafter patterns. Heavily influenced by European modernism, Walters modernised this iconic image taking it from an organic to strictly geometric form in a profound meeting of Polynesian and European art traditions.
The exhibition in Hong Kong represents Walters' first significant exhibition on the international stage. It includes a number of important works, many previously unseen including some very rare early works from the 1940s and 1950s.