12 July – Press Release
Please join the artists Simon Kaan and Martin Poppelwell at the opening of two new exhibitions at Solander on Wednesday
14 July 5.30pm – 7.30pm
Simon Kaan; New Works On Paper
14 July – 7 August
In this new series of intaglio woodcuts Kann builds on his exploration of motifs such as the waka, moth and rainbow
floating in a mysterious pale twilight. Kaan carves into the wood block, similar to the practice of ta moko, then rubs
pigment into these scars to print both the incised line and texture of the wood within a mythological space.
Simon Kaan’s works have a certain stillness and quiet, transcendental quality.
Of dual Maori (Ngai Tahu ) and Chinese descent, Kaan clearly draws heavily from both identities. His oeuvre has
developed with a unique and distinctive appreciation of Chinese philosophy and the aesthetics of calligraphy along with
qualitative references to fundamental Maori concepts including Rangi (Sky Father), Papa (Earth Mother), whenua (land)
and moana (sea).
Kaan graduated with a Diploma of Fine Art majoring in Printmaking at Otago Polytechnic in 1993 and has exhibited widely
in New Zealand in both public and dealer galleries.
(Referenced from “Whakamaramataka” Rebecca Hamid, Gallery Director Woollastron Gallery)
What: Exhibition - Simon Kaan; New Works On Paper
Where: Solander Works On Paper, 218 Willis St, Wellington
When: 14 July – 7 August
Website:www.solandergallery.co.nz Ph: (04)9200913
Martin Poppelwell; New Works On Paper
14 July – 7 August
In this exhibition, Poppelwells screen print works show the familiar layers of text, form and surface evident in his
paintings and ceramics. Elements collide into a complex field that engages the viewer to explore and discern meaning
both literal and symbolic.
The formal grid, familiar to us in the modernist works by Malevich and Mondrian is, here in the works of Poppelwell,
appropriated but mashed through the distortion and flux of the search for meaning in the contemporary world.
Poppelwell talks about his role as “something quite different than the traditional progressive artist. I go backwards, I
replace, recreate emptiness where we know meaning exists. By describing an idea in a different way it doesn’t go forward
- it goes in a different direction than forward.”
Born and residing in the Hawk’s Bay, Martin graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland 1991 and has exhibited
widely in New Zealand in both public and dealer galleries.
What: Exhibition - Martin Poppelwell; New Works On Paper
Where: Solander Works On Paper, 218 Willis St, Wellington
When: 14 July – 7 August
Website:www.solandergallery.co.nz Ph: (04)9200913
ENDS