July 1 - July 22, 2024 Chosen

The Lost Garden (2023)

Lyrical and fluid, and quite simply beautiful, the huia sits atop the metaphorical circle of life, while looking back. The Lost Garden is a powerful narrative of loss as well as a celebration of being.

Imbued with Dibble’s acclaimed unity of purpose and his singular New Zealand vernacular, the extinct huia sits in judgement on who we think we are and our past behaviours.

Combining the pathos of loss with the plural optimism of our unofficial national flower, the kōwhai, we also witness “form taking precedence” 1 where the interplay “between positive and negative space” 2 is a crucially important and contributing component in this great, moving work.

Paul Dibble (1943-2023) is acknowledged as a great New Zealand sculptor with many public commissions of considerable importance sited around New Zealand and overseas, with the New Zealand War Memorial work in Hyde Park, London, especially significant. He was awarded The Member New Zealand Order of Merit 2005, and an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, Massey University, 2007.

Listening to Stillness (2023)

Mixing sensuousness with privacy, as if caught in a moment of indecision or inner discourse, where the nuances of the body add further elements of discombobulation and emotional breadth, the compelling Listening to Stillness becomes a diverse mix of moods, presences and atmospheres.

Dibble’s career-long, confident use and adaptation of the geometric cone and ball, the role of line and flattened volume together builds these distinctive sensations and conversations: it’s as if Listening to Stillness has been drawn in space, right in front of us.

He uses portions of circles, stretched rectangles, parallel lines, flat surfaces and squeezed space to summarise and paraphrase what we know to be there, and where. The incised nipples on the chest stare back as if another face is looking out and back at us. The long arms hide and reveal, while at the same time an under-stated dream-like, time-travelling elegance and laudable dignity pervades.

Paul Dibble (1943-2023) stands as the colossus at the epicentre of New Zealand sculpture. In his long and most distinguished career, he pioneered and delivered many very notable, distinctive and unforgettable works. He is represented in all collections of importance. Numerous books on his work have been published.