Pātaka last stop for expressionist’s two-year exhibition

A collection of 40 expressionist paintings capturing the romantic tradition of one man's battle with mother-nature are coming to Porirua's Pātaka Art Gallery and Museum.

Renowned artist Euan Macleod is bringing his touring exhibition, simply titled "Painter", to Pātaka between 2 September and 2 December.

Pātaka also marks the final stop on the exhibition’s two-year nationwide tour.

Pātaka Contemporary Art Curator Mark Hutchins-Pond said Macleod was "very much a painter’s painter" in the way he interprets figures and landscapes in his unique vigorously expressionist style.

"The exhibition is a rich combination of emotionally charged, intimate works and monumental panoramas.

"His work is an expression of the romantic tradition of a man struggling against all-powerful mother-nature."

The paintings include self-portraits, stark landscapes and human figures battling the elements on the side of a mountain and along rugged coastlines.

Hutchins-Pond said the exhibition would feature Macleod's best available work not tied up in private collections, and spanned a highly successful 30-year career.

That career included winning the prestigious Archibald prize, an honour that put him in the upper echelons of artists in Australasia.

"I saw some really powerful examples of his work two years ago, so when I heard about this touring show I was very keen to bring it to Pātaka because he is such an amazing artist.

Macleod was also one of a number of artists whose work had been influenced by the Battle of Gallipoli during the First World War, travelling to the hundredth anniversary in April 2015 to capture the moment on canvas.

ENDS

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