Over 60 works by Dennis K Turner on display at museum
5 May 2014
Rotorua Museum's A Continuous Line exhibition is the first large scale survey of Dennis K Turner's (1924-2011) work.
It showcases more than 60 works by the expat New Zealand artist, and has been curated by renowned art historian Richard Wolfe.
An accomplished painter and illustrator, Turner was fascinated by subjects that described the experience of living in New Zealand. He illustrated Barry Crump's books, made murals for the trade unions, celebrated Maori culture and traditions and depicted the colourful life of the shearing gang.
As a conscientious objector during World War II, Turner showed early on that he was a renegade describing himself as an unrepentant New Zealander. This was again illustrated in 1951 when he became the only New Zealand artist to have ever been arrested and convicted for painting on a Sunday.
In the 1960s Turner emigrated to the United Kingdom in order to make a living from his art. He returned briefly in 1992 to Wanganui to undertake the Sarjeant Gallery, Tylee Cottage Residency. As a result he produced one of his last major bodies of work called the Tiki Series. Made up of over 50 watercolour works on paper these paintings re-ignited the debate over issues of cultural appropriation and cemented Turner's place as a significant New Zealand artist.
A Continuous Line features twelve works from the Rotorua Museum collection which hold over fifty examples of paintings and drawings by Turner. The exhibition is being toured by the Gus Fisher Gallery at The University of Auckland.
The exhibition is on at Rotorua Museum until 8 June 2014.