It has been a year of Rita Angus fever – there has been a documentary made, a biography written and now the largest ever retrospective of her art is opening at Te Papa – nearly 200 works, spanning four decades and spread over 10 rooms.
2008 is the centenary of her birth, and Angus enthusiasts are calling the recognition long overdue.
Angus' works offer an insight into an artist who is not only attributed with changing the face of New Zealand art, but also the way Kiwis see New Zealand.
"There's something in her works that is very easy to relate to," says co-curator William McAloon. "She's an artist who's shaped the way we see New Zealand, the way we look at our landscape.
"It's very hard to drive through the Hawkes Bay without seeing Rita Anguses all around you."
Along with her paintings, the exhibition includes other sketches, studies and unfinished work that make up the life of a woman who lived for her one passion.
"She was dedicated to her art, and that was a dedication that was at the expense of other aspects of her life," says McAloon.
"She had a vocation I guess you could say, a calling as an artist."
Even if art is not your calling, McAloon has some obvious, but insightful advice for viewing this exhibition.
"I think what she asks us to do is what she herself did and that's just look, look really intently and it's that intensity of looking that you see in her work."
The pieces have come from throughout New Zealand and overseas, and from both public and private collections.
Rita Angus: Life and Vision opens at Te Papa in Wellington tomorrow. A slightly smaller version will then continue on to other centres from October.
3 News
source: newshub archive
