Julian Dashper

Julian Dashper
Julian Dashper in his Auckland studio, 1991
Born29 February 1960
Auckland
Died30 July 2009
NationalityNew Zealand
EducationElam School of Fine Arts, Auckland University
Known forPaintings and installations
Awards2001 Senior Fulbright fellowship to study in Marfa, Texas.

Julian Dashper (29 February 1960 in Auckland, New Zealand – 30 July 2009), was regarded as one of New Zealand's most well known contemporary artists.

History

In 2001 he was awarded a senior Fulbright fellowship to be based as an artist in residence at the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas. Dashper's work from the last 25 years has recently been the subject of a major touring retrospective in America (the first ever such exhibition for a resident New Zealand artist),[1] curated by Christopher Cook and David Raskin.[2]

Dashper's work focuses on the histories, theories and more general or popular ideas of abstraction (in particular abstract painting), conceptualism and minimalism as a working methodology. The geographical positioning of New Zealand globally and how this country receives and disseminates visual information is also a core subject in Dashper's work.[3] His practice manifests itself in various forms, including paintings, unique photographs of paintings, found objects which he infuses with abstract images, various multiples plus limited edition CD and 12" polycarbonate recordings of impromptu performances he has been involved with or heavily orchestrated. He has also produced a number of video works, some of which document or describe his installations, painting and audio recordings.[4] In 2016, arts organisation Circuit commissioned George Clark to curate a programme of moving image works, titled This is not film-making, which invited artists Gavin Hipkins, Juliet Carpenter and Gregory Kan, Daniel Malone, Louise Menzies and Nathan Gray to make works that respond to Dashper's own writings.[5]

Respectful, even affectionate references to local culture and art history are always present in Dashper's work, whilst his own adaptations of abstraction, conceptualism and minimalism fully acknowledge their lineage within international art. As curator (and director of the Adam Art Gallery in Wellington) Christina Barton expresses it, Dashper has "the unique perspective of attending to an internationalist art history from a distance, enabling him to devise strategies to work around his geographical isolation whilst simultaneously articulating its effects."[6] Dashper is represented in all the major public collections in New Zealand: MCA, Sydney; Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen, Germany; Sheldon Museum of Art, Lincoln, Nebraska; The University of Auckland Art Collection; Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita, Kansas and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

Visiting scholar at the University of Sydney in 2008, Dashper lived in Auckland and travelled regularly. His first New Zealand retrospective, Julian Dashper: Professional Practice, was held at the Gus Fisher Gallery in 2010. Dashper's partner, Maire Shannon, is the mother of his son, Leo, and also collated and organized his work after his death.[7][8][9]

Selected solo exhibitions

1980

  • Motorway Schools 100m2, Auckland. Dashper’s first public exhibition was held in an artist’s gallery run by Frank Stark. The exhibition consisted of two photographs with an accompanying soundtrack.[10]

1986

1992

  • Cover Version  Artforum International Magazine January and February issues. Using the American art magazine Artforum as an exhibition space Dashper purchased space for two one-page ‘exhibitions’ one in the January edition (page 52) and one in February (page 41). The February page ran as a review of the January exhibition.[12]
  • Julian Dashper: A Survey Centre Gallery, Hamilton
  • Julian Dashper: Slide Show Christchurch Art Gallery.[13]
  • Julian Dashper’s Greatest Hits Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth,
  • The Anguses Smith's Bookshop, Christchurch. Dashper exhibited the drum kit The Anguses - a reference to the artist Rita Angus. The work would eventually form part of his installation The Big Bang Theory.[14]

1993

1994

  • Julian Dashper: Photography 1980-1994 Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North. The exhibition was curated by Athol McCredie.[16][17]

1998

2001

The Chinati Foundation, Marfa, Texas, Locker Plant Locker Plant  

2003

2005

Midwestern Unlike You and Me: New Zealand's Julian Dashper Sioux City Art Center. The exhibition, which was the first retrospective of a New Zealand artist in the United States toured to two other venues in Nebraska and Kansas.[21]

2006

  • Painting problems: the work of Julian Dashper 1990-2006 Whangarei Art Museum Te Wharetaonga o Whangarei, Whangarei.[22]  

2007

  • Julian Dashper: Untitled (the last 15 seconds of the Venice Biennale) Christchurch Art Gallery.[23]
  • To the Unknown New Zealander, Christchurch Art Gallery.[24]

2009

2010

2015

Julian Dashper & Friends City Gallery Wellington. The exhibition was curated by Robert Leonard[28] and a video of the exhibition by the City Gallery can be viewed on YouTube.

Selected works

  • Anglican Church at Matauri Bay 1985 view
  • Cass Altarpiece 1986 view
  • Cass 1986 view
  • Mural for a Contemporary House No 4 1988 view
  • Untitled 1991 view
  • The Woollastons 1992 view
  • The Drivers 1993 view
  • Untitled 1996 view
  • Untitled [6-25] 1997 view

Untitled (The Warriors) 1998. Vinyl on drumheads with junior drumkit. Dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist, Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland and Kaliman Gallery, Sydney. Photo by Ashley Barber.

Copyright Julian Dashper

This is a two-dimensional representation of a copyrighted sculpture, statue or any other three-dimensional work of art. As such it is a derivative work of art, and per US Copyright Act of 1976, § 106(2) who owns copyright of the original has the exclusive right to authorise derivative works. Per § 107 it is believed that reproduction for criticism, comment, teaching and scholarship constitutes fair use and does not infringe copyright. It is believed that the use of a picture to illustrate the three-dimensional work of art in question, to discuss the artistic genre or technique of the work of art or to discuss the artist or the school to which the artist belongs on the English-language Wikipedia, hosted on servers in the United States by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, qualifies as fair use under United States copyright law. Any other uses of this image, on Wikipedia or elsewhere, might be copyright infringement. To the uploader: please add a detailed fair use rationale for each use as well as copyright information on the original artwork.

  • Abstract Abstract 1998 view
  • Untitled 2000 view
  • Untitled 2005-2006 view
  • The Grey in Grey Lynn 2006 view

References

  1. ^ Wolgamott, L. Kent (7 February 2006). "Julian Dashper' retrospective is about ideas more than objects". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
  2. ^ Raskin, David (2005). "Flat" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2006. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
  3. ^ Taylor, Larry (2006). ""Midwestern Unlike You and Me: New Zealand's Julian Dashper" 6 August – 6 November, 2005, Sioux City Art Center, Sioux City, IA". Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture. 6 (4). ISSN 1547-4348. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
  4. ^ Clifford, Andrew. "Julian Dashper: Something is Going to Happen". Circuit. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  5. ^ "This is not film-making. Artists work for cinema". Circuit. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  6. ^ Klaasmeyer, Kelly (6 November 2003). "Image-Free Art". Houston Press. Village Voice Media. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
  7. ^ Fox, Rebecca (27 July 2017). "Emphasising normality". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  8. ^ "When Artists Die". robertleonard.org. Winter 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  9. ^ Tappenden, Alice (20 September 2016). "The Rooms in the House: Marie Shannon". Circuit Artist Moving Image. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  10. ^ Gifford, Adam (8 August 2009). "A Few Words on a Mate". NZ Herald. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  11. ^ Trevelyan, Jill; McLeavey, Peter (2013). Peter McLeavey: the life and times of a New Zealand art dealer. Wellington, New Zealand: Te Papa Press. p. 441. ISBN 978-0-9876688-4-4.
  12. ^ a b Leonard, Robert. "Julian Dashper and Friends". Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Julian Dashper: Slide Show". Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Smith's Bookshop". Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Julian Dashper: What I'm Reading at the Moment". Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Julian Dashper: Photography 1980-1994". Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  17. ^ Leonard, Robert. "Dashper as a Photographer". Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  18. ^ The Twist. Hamilton: Waikato Museum of Art and History. 1998. ISBN 0959798471.
  19. ^ "Blue Circles". City Gallery Wellington. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  20. ^ "I am Nature". Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  21. ^ Cook, Christopher; Raskin, David (2005). Midwestern Unlike You and Me: New Zealand’s Julian Dashper. Sioux City: Sioux City Art Center. ISBN 0-9763457-0-6.
  22. ^ "Painting Problems: the Work of Julian Dashper1990-2006". Art Daily.
  23. ^ "Julian Dashper: Twinset". Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  24. ^ "Julian Dashper: to the Unknown New Zealander". Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  25. ^ "Julian Dashper: Blue Circles". Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  26. ^ "Julian Dashper: it is Life". Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  27. ^ "Julian Dashper: Professional Practise". Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  28. ^ McKee, Hannah (1 December 2015). "Van der Ploeg among artists in City Gallery's Julian Dashper & Friends". Dominion Post. Retrieved 23 December 2023.