John Coley | |
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| Born | John William Coley 1935 (age 88–89) Palmerston North, New Zealand |
| Alma mater | Canterbury College School of Art |
| Known for | Painting, art criticism, curation and art administration |
| Notable work | Abacus series |
John William Coley MBE (born 1935) is a Christchurch painter and art critic. He was director of the Robert McDougall Art Gallery (now known as the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu) from 1981 to 1995.
John William Coley was born in 1935 [1] in Palmerston North. [2] He went to Palmerston North Boys’ High School along with evening art classes at the city's Technical School. Coley’s first job was as a cadet reporter on the Manawatu Evening Standard. [3] In 1955 he was a student at the Canterbury College School of Art in Christchurch being taught by Russell Clark and Bill Sutton along with fellow students Ted Bracey, Pat Hanly, Gil Tavener (Hanly), Hamish Keith and Bill Culbert. [4] During their time at the art school it moved from its city site to Ilam. [5] Coley graduated in 1957 and went on to teach at Papanui High School and later in the art department of the Christchurch Teachers’ College. [6] In 1959 Coley had his first solo exhibition at Gallery 91 the Christchurch Press art critic Nelson Kenny writing that Coley had ‘the gift of a colourist’ and a ‘good unforced feeling for paint.” Kenny added, ‘…it’s a measure of Mr. Coley’s talent that he is most successful in his larger paintings. It is a very skilful essay in the use of colours which few painters will attempt to use – orange and purple, the warmest and coolest colours.’ [7] The following year he was invited to exhibit with The Group which he continued to do annually, with the exception of 1966 and 1968, until the last Group show in 1977. [8] Coley received a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council Grant in1964 and used it to visit the USA. [9] On his return from the States Coley, along with a number of other young Canterbury artists he knew from student days, helped form 20/20 Vision. [10] One project involved creating a set of artist prints commercially screen printed, an affront to the hand-made culture of printmaking at the time, and sold for only two dollars each. Artists that contributed to the series included Greer Twiss, Derek Mitchell, Don Peebles and Coley himself. [11] In 1967 Coley painted the first of his Abacus series that would become his signature work. You can see an example of one of these paintings here at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. [12]
At the beginning of 1981 the director of the Robert McDougal Art Gallery in Christchurch Rodney Wilson left the gallery and the job was passed on to John Coley. Wilson, as a challenge to the incoming director noted that ‘Christchurch deserves a bigger and better gallery than it has - it deserves the sort of programme that would result from the provision of more gallery space and spaces better suited to contemporary works.’ [13] Coley would be Director of the gallery for the next 15 years, his arrival described by artist Steve Furlonger as, ‘the kiss of life.’ [14] A year after his appointment Coley purchased Colin McCahon's As There is a Constant Flow of Light. [15] The decision was not well received. [16] A previous painting Tomorrow will be the same but not as this is, shown at Gallery 91, caused an uproar when the City Librarian Ron O'Reilly attempted to have it donated to the gallery. [17] Coley remained a champion of McCahon and in 1986 after a visit to that National Gallery of Australia and discussions with its first director James Mollison arranged the loan of an Arthur Boyd painting to the Robert McDougall Art Gallery. In exchange for McCahon's The Crucifixion According to St Mark which would feature in the new Australian National Gallery's inaugural installations. [18] During his time at the gallery Coley paid particular attention to contemporary art and the art of younger artists. [19] To further highlight this focus he created the Robert McDougall Contemporary Art Annex.
The Annex opened in 1988 in the Arts Centre that was formally University of Canterbury's town location. The programme was set out to focus on local and international touring exhibitions ‘with an emphasis on Canterbury Art’ [20] In keeping with its name the opening exhibition Here and Now included the work of 12 emerging Canterbury artists Joanna Braithwaite, Gary Collins, William Dunning, Neil Frazer, Jason Greig, Linda James, Grant Lingard, Philip Price, Richard Reddaway, Grant Takle, Bianca van Rangelrooy and Tracey Wilson. [21]
The Contemporary Art Annex would remain open for 12 years closing in 2000. [24] Coley left the gallery in 1995, he was replaced by Tony Preston. In 2007 he moved to Auckland with his wife.
Coley has a long record of exhibitions as a painter and regularly showed in dealer galleries throughout New Zealand.
For a good part of the 1970s, Coley was an art critic for the Christchurch Star. [31] For a short period in the early 1980s, before taking up the directorship of the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, he was also a critic and writer for Art New Zealand . In 2000 Coley had two books published: Jane Evans , an overview of the work of the Nelson based artist published by Hazard Press, and Charles Luney: The Building of a Lifetime also published by the Hazard Press. [32] Luney was the builder of many of Christchurch’s best known structures including the Miles Warren Town Hall and the James Hight Library at the University of Canterbury.
In the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours, Coley was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to art. [33]
Colin John McCahon was a New Zealand artist whose work over 45 years consisted of various styles, including landscape, figuration, abstraction, and the overlay of painted text. Along with Toss Woollaston and Rita Angus, McCahon is credited with introducing modernism to New Zealand in the mid-20th century. He is regarded as New Zealand's most important modern artist, particularly in his landscape work.
Sir Mountford Tosswill "Toss" Woollaston was a New Zealand artist. He is regarded as one of the most important New Zealand painters of the 20th century.
Dame Louise Etiennette Sidonie Henderson was a French-New Zealand artist and painter.
Jeffrey Harris is a New Zealand artist. Harris started his career in Christchurch, moving to Dunedin, New Zealand in 1969. In the early 1980s he worked briefly in the United States, before moving to Melbourne, Australia in 1986. In 2000 he returned to Dunedin, where he still lives. Largely self-taught, but mentored by notable New Zealand artists such as Michael Smither and Ralph Hotere, he has painted full-time since 1970.
The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, commonly known as the Christchurch Art Gallery, is the public art gallery of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It has its own substantial art collection and also presents a programme of New Zealand and international exhibitions. It is funded by Christchurch City Council. The gallery opened on 10 May 2003, replacing the city's previous public art gallery, the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, which had opened in 1932.
William Alexander Sutton was a New Zealand portrait and landscape artist.
Doris More Lusk was a New Zealand painter, potter, art teacher, and university lecturer. In 1990 she was posthumously awarded the Governor General Art Award in recognition of her artistic career and contributions.
Leo Vernon Bensemann OBE was a New Zealand artist, printer, typographer, publisher and editor.
The Group was an informal but influential art association formed in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1927. Initially begun by ex-students from Canterbury College of Art, its aim was to provide a freer, more experimental alternative to the academic salon painting exhibitions of the Canterbury Society of Arts. The Group exhibited annually for 50 years, from 1927 to 1977, and it was continuously at the forefront of New Zealand art's avant-garde scene.
Avril Elizabeth Zanders, generally known as Beth Zanders, was a New Zealand artist.
Helen Margaret Rockel is a New Zealand artist.
Donald Clendon Peebles was a New Zealand artist. He is regarded as a pioneer of abstract art in New Zealand, and his works are held in the collections of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and Christchurch Art Gallery.
Justin Paton is a New Zealand writer, art critic and curator, currently based in Sydney, Australia. His book How to Look at a Painting (2005) was adapted into a 12-episode television series by TVNZ in 2011.
Ten Big Paintings was a 1971 art exhibition developed by the Auckland City Art Gallery which toured throughout New Zealand.
Ronald Norris O'Reilly was a librarian who promoted and exhibited contemporary New Zealand art. He served as Christchurch city librarian from 1951 to 1968, and director of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery from 1975 to 1979.
The Brooke Gifford Gallery was a dealer art gallery focusing on contemporary New Zealand art that opened in Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand in 1975. It was run by Barbara Brooke and Judith Gifford and closed in 2011.
Raymond Wallace Thorburn was a New Zealand artist, art educator and museum director.
Barbara Brooke was a contemporary art dealer and partner in Gallery 91 and the Brooke Gifford Gallery in Christchurch. She was also the co-founder and co-editor of the art magazine Ascent from 1967 to 1969 and a key supporter and advocate for contemporary art and craft in New Zealand.
Quentin Manners Macfarlane was a New Zealand artist known for his abstract marine paintings.
Pleasure Garden (1932) is a watercolour painting by Frances Hodgkins that sparked considerable controversy when it was rejected as a gift to the Robert McDougall Art Gallery in Christchurch, New Zealand. Hodgkins, born in New Zealand, had permanently relocated to the United Kingdom in 1927. After she died in 1947, with many prominent British galleries holding her work, there was a desire to have some of her works held by the Robert McDougall Art Gallery. The Canterbury Society of Arts (CSA) organised for some paintings to come to New Zealand on loan, including Pleasure Garden. The CSA sent Hodgkins' works back, having decided against purchasing any. The artist Margaret Frankel organised a fundraising campaign to purchase Pleasure Garden and to gift it to Christchurch City Council as the owner of the Robert McDougall Art Gallery. It took a year-long campaign before the painting was accepted, with Auckland City Art Gallery meanwhile having offered to purchase the painting.
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