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Reuben Paterson

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Reuben Paterson
Reuben Paterson in his New York studio, 2024
Born1973 (age 50–51)
Auckland, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealand
Alma materUniversity of Auckland
Known forpainting
Styleglitter

Reuben Paterson (born 1973 Auckland, New Zealand) (Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāi Tūhoe, Tūhourangi, Scottish)[1] is a New Zealand artist based in New York, United States known for using glitter in his works.

Early life

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Paterson's family comes from Matatā in the Bay of Plenty, but he grew up in Bucklands Beach in Auckland, where his father Louis Paterson was a landscaper and his mother Sue Foss enjoyed gardening.[1][2][3] He became interested in glitter as a medium in the 1990s when he was a student at Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland.[4]

Paterson graduated from the University of Auckland in 1997 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts,[5] and in the same year was one of three people awarded the Möet et Chandon Arts Fellowship to France, becoming the first Māori recipient and at the time the youngest recipient ever.[2][4] The fellowship provided Paterson with a six-week stay in France and a chance to experience art in Europe.[6] After the fellowship, Paterson spent time travelling and lived in Bath, England for two years.[4] He returned to New Zealand in 2000 and worked as a primary school teacher before becoming a full-time artist.[4][6]

Career

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Photo of a golden tree sculpture
The Golden Bearing, at Pukekura Park in New Plymouth, 2015

Paterson's father died two months after Paterson's return to New Zealand in 2000, and he created The wharenui that Dad built as a commemoration of his father. This work, which uses glitter, was included in an exhibition shown in Noumea as part of the Eighth Pacific Arts Festival.[6][7]

He won the Wallace Arts Trust Development Award in 2005.[4] In 2009 – 2010 Paterson exhibited at the Asia Pacific Triennial (APT6) in Brisbane and was honoured by having his work feature on the cover of art magazine Art & Australia.[2]

Paterson became 'artist in residence' at New Plymouth's Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in 2013, and that year created The Golden Bearing, a life-size golden sculpture of a tree. He was inspired by his father's work as a landscaper.[8] Five versions of the work have been created.[1]

In 2014 ANZ Bank began creating 'GAYTMs': ATM machines covered in artworks supporting the Sydney Mardi Gras, and later the marriage equality bill.[9] In 2015 Paterson, who is himself gay,[10] created a glitter-covered GAYTM in Ponsonby.[3][11]

In 2017, Paterson collaborated with Cook Islands tivaevae / tivaivai artist Tungane Broadbent in Today, Tomorrow and Yesterday, at Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. They collaborated again in 2022 for Nga Meka – Tui Kura in Aotearoa Art Fair,[12] and again in 2023 for Nga Meka – Tui Kura (Epilogue), Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga, Cook Islands.[13]

In 2022 Paterson was a judge at the National Contemporary Art Awards.[14]

Paterson has announced that he intends to move to New York, in May 2023, for more professional and personal freedom.[15]

Paterson references his Scottish and Māori heritage by using paisley and koru designs in his works, and has said that he is inspired by “wallpaper, Hawaiian shirts, Dad’s ties and my kuia’s party dresses”.[2] Grid designs are also used extensively.[2] As a child, Paterson spent time at Piha, and he credits the sparkling black sand and sea there as an influence on his extensive use of glitter.[1] As well as glitter, Paterson uses diamond dust and theatre foil in his works.[6] Paterson has stated:

I think of how light is a visual metaphor for spiritual ideas, how religious art used light as a metaphor for the purity of saints and of the gods. The one thing that glitter does is reflect light. So using glitter is a modern interpretation of religious paintings that have informed art's evolution and history, and my response to all of that.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Nathan, Nadine Rubin (2021-12-17). "Artist Reuben Paterson reveals the inspiration behind The Golden Bearing". Stuff. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Whakapapa: Get Down Upon Your Knees. Reuben Paterson". Tauranga Art Gallery. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  3. ^ a b Catherall, Sarah (2015-09-29). "Glitter artist Reuben Paterson dazzles Wellington". Stuff. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  4. ^ a b c d e Fox, Rebecca (2017-03-30). "His glittering career". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  5. ^ "Graduation search results - The University of Auckland". www.auckland.ac.nz. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  6. ^ a b c d e Taiāwhio II: Contemporary Māori Artists, 18 New Conversations. Wellington, New Zealand: Te Papa Press. 2007. ISBN 978-0-909010-09-6.
  7. ^ The wharenui that Dad built [pamphlet] (PDF). Manukau, New Zealand: Te Tuhi The Mark. 2000. ISBN 0908995164.
  8. ^ Lewis, John (2022-05-25). "Spreading branches bearing gold". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  9. ^ "Five lessons in innovation from GAYTMs". bluenotes.anz.com. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  10. ^ Chumko, A., "All that glitters: Major Reuben Paterson exhibition opens in Wellington, stuff.co.nz, 25 February 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  11. ^ "GayTM attacked by vandals". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  12. ^ "Aotearoa Art Fair: A celebration of Pacific art". Cook Islands News. 2022-12-03. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  13. ^ "Nga Meka Tui Kura (epilogue)". Artnow. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  14. ^ "'Red handed' artwork wins $20,000 National Contemporary Art Award - Waikato Museum". waikatomuseum.co.nz. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  15. ^ Chumko, André (2023-02-24). "All that glitters: Major Reuben Paterson exhibition opens in Wellington". Stuff. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
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