Julian Dashper has been a key figure in New Zealand art since the mid-1980s. He died of cancer in 2009. He was just 49. He is survived by his partner, fellow artist Marie Shannon. Julian Dashper & Friends pays tribute to an artist who changed the way we think about New Zealand art history.
Dashper made art about art, about art history, about the art business—art about 'frames'. Some of his works pay homage to older celebrated artists, particularly canonical figures of New Zealand art, including Colin McCahon and Rita Angus; others address the machinery of the art system. While it was often abstract-looking, Dashper's art never aspired to be 'autonomous'. It always made its points by referring to other art.
In the beginning, Dashper explored the relation between provincial New Zealand art and the wider world of art—internationalism was a key subject. But, from the mid-1990s on, Dashper increasingly exhibited overseas—he became a practicing international artist. Today, he represents a transitional figure between the 'New Zealand painting' that preceded him and the new generation of post-nationalist, post-medium artists that followed.
Friendship was Dashper's medium. As his works were constantly in dialogue with art history, Julian Dashper & Friends presents his works in conversation with works by other national and international artists—his elders, his contemporaries, and those who followed. These include Rita Angus, Billy Apple, Daniel Buren, Fiona Connor, Colin McCahon, Dane Mitchell, Milan Mrkusich, John Nixon, John Reynolds, Peter Robinson, Marie Shannon, Imants Tillers, Peter Tyndall, and Gordon Walters. The show also features a commissioned wall painting from Dutch artist Jan van der Ploeg, whose visit was made possible by the Mondriaan Fund.
Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.
Julian Dashper; Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.
Billy Apple; Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.
Elizabeth Caldwell, Jan Van Der Ploeg, Ray Ahipene-Mercer, opening, 4 December 2015; Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.
Elizabeth Caldwell, Billy Apple, opening, 4 December 2015; Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.
Erica van Zon, George Clark, opening, 4 December 2015; Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.
Ann Shelton, Duncan Munro, Simon Morris, Dane Mitchell, opening, 4 December 2015; Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.
Opening, 4 December 2015; Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.
John Reynolds, Karl Maughan, Jan Van Der Ploeg, Riette Wamdevs, Claire McLintock, opening, 4 December 2015; Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.
Eugene Hansen and Luit Bieringa, opening, 4 December 2015; Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.
Tina Barton and Andrew Beck, opening, 4 December 2015; Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.
John Reynolds, opening day, 5 December 2015; Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.
Imants Tillers, opening day, 5 December 2015; Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.
Jan Van Der Ploeg, opening day, 5 December 2015; Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.
Robert Leonard and Dane Mitchell, opening day, 5 December 2015; Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.
Opening day, 5 December 2015; Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.
Marie Shannon; opening day, 5 December 2015; Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.
Robert Leonard, opening day, 5 December 2015; Julian Dashper & Friends, City Gallery Wellington, 2015.