Shane Cotton: The Hanging Sky

Overview

Acclaimed New Zealand artist, Shane Cotton, is recognised as one of the most provocative and influential painters of his time. As a Maori artist who has been active on the art scene for over twenty years, Cotton's work has played a pivotal role in the debate about place and bicentennial belonging.

Often combining Maori iconography and culture with European ideas and symbols, Cotton's paintings had long been based on sepia-toned landscapes, earthy influences and intricate inscriptions. However, in the mid 2000s, Cotton headed in a new and unpredicted direction, employing a more sombre palette of black and blue and focusing on vast, nocturnal skyscapes. Through such direction, Cotton has crafted his latest haunting collection, The Hanging Sky.

The Hanging Sky brings together the highlights of Cotton's work, including these provocative and complex skyscapes, a spectacular suite of 'target' prints and a line-up of painted baseball bats. Venture into the unknown and bare witness to art that steers through an ambiguous territory between the familiar and unknown.