CHRISTINA PATAIALII (b. 1988, Auckland, New Zealand) graduated with her Master of Fine Arts from Whitecliffe, had her first solo public art gallery show, and won two major awards. First was the 2018 residency for a New Zealand artist at Gasworks, London, and secondly, Pataialii is the recipient of the newly established Rydal Art Prize. The Rydal is the newest major contemporary painting prize administered by the Tauranga Art Gallery Toi Tauranga, awarding Pataialii $20,000.
Common in Pataialii’s paintings is a sense of immediacy. With her direct mark making, building, erasing and scraping the surface, she works across multiple surfaces simultaneously. Pataialii’s painting practice isn’t limited to the canvas but can merge from canvas, on to the walls, occupying space as is needed. Central is Pataialii’s experimentation with painting mediums and the use of common materials. Alongside the use of acrylic paint, spray paint and charcoal, Pataialii often uses house paint to create a spatial push and pull between depth and flatness. She has a closeness with the material—her father was a house painter. We are witness to nostalgia, pop culture, an alternative telling of tales and history. However, the question is whether we will recognise what we are seeing. Pataialii incorporates culturally specific codes, playing on a range of visual languages, and enjoys the ambiguity and layered interpretation that her work can bring, both by medium and composition.
Selected recent exhibitions include Asia Pacific Triennial; Hard Day’s night, QAGOMA, Brisbane, QLD, AUS (2021); New Museum Triennial: Soft Water, Hard Stone, New Museum, NY, USA (2021); Home by Dark, McLeavey Gallery, Wellington (2020) and 19 Gallery: Relocating Francis Hodgkins, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland (2019).
PUBLIC & PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
- James Wallace Arts Trust Collection
- Private collections throughout New Zealand and globally