Transitions

In 2023, the Dunedin Public Art Gallery acquired Bill Culbert’s painting Tug, Barges, Thames(1961) for the permanent collection. This early career work was produced the year after Culbert graduated from the Royal College of Art in London, where he had spent three years studying painting (1958 – 1960), with the support of a National Art Gallery Travelling Scholarship.

Bringing together works from the Gallery’s collection, this focused exhibition places Culbert’s work in conversation with artists from Aotearoa who also studied at art schools in London between the late-1940s and the mid-1960s. These artists include Billy Apple, Melvin Day, John Drawbridge, Rona Dyer, Pat Hanly, Ralph Hotere, Joanna Margaret Paul, Matt Pine, and Susan Skerman. Together, the works in this exhibition highlight the significance of London as a hub for artists from Aotearoa during the mid-20th century.

Transitions – Aotearoa to London opens at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery on Saturday 1 June 2024.


Lauren Gutsell
Kairauhī Curator
Dunedin Public Art Gallery

[image: BILL CULBERT Tug, Barges, Thames 1961. Oil on board. Collection of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery.  Purchased 2023 with funds from the Dunedin City Council]