Colin McCahon
‘A way through’ – Colin McCahon’s Gate III
25 August – 20 October 2019
As part of the Colin McCahon centenary year, McCahon’s epic 1970 mural, Gate III, made its first appearance in Auckland since it was originally commissioned for Auckland City Art Gallery’s Ten Big Paintings exhibition in 1971.
Gate III was painted in Auckland, drawing on a combination of west-coast views, rural landscapes and religious texts. It returns to the ‘I Am’ motif that he first painted while living in Titirangi in the 1950s and anticipates the grand works he would paint from his new studio in Muriwai. The painting is atypically large for art in 1970s’ Aotearoa, made possible through the Auckland City Art Gallery’s patronage. It is an urgent address to McCahon’s public.
Implicit in the painting is McCahon’s acknowledged ambition to make a statement against the nuclear threat, a statement that would reach even the most sceptical viewer of modern art. Given humanity’s indefatigable and self-centred quest for power, this message still resonates today.
Immediately following the nationwide tour of Ten Big Paintings, Gate III was purchased for the Victoria University of Wellington Art Collection. Since 1972 it has been on permanent public display at the University.
Literally a ‘one painting’ exhibition, ‘A way through’ offers three thematic entry points into McCahon’s work: addressing its material history as a commissioned artwork destined for a university collection; locating it within McCahon’s artistic output; and as a lens on the fraught socio-political times in which it was painted. These themes are drawn out in the accompanying archival material especially gathered for the occasion.
Co-curated by Director Christina Barton, Gallery Intern Nina Dyer, and Curator Collections Sophie Thorn.
Developed and toured by Te Pataka Toi Adam Art Gallery. Supported by Dame Jenny Gibbs.
Installation view, ‘A way through’ – Colin McCahon’s Gate III, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, 2019. Photo: Sam Hartnett.
Colin McCahon, Gate III, 1970, acrylic on canvas, Ngā Puhipuhi o Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington Art Collection, purchased with the assistance of Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, 1972. Installation view, ‘A way through’ – Colin McCahon’s Gate III, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, 2019. Photo: Sam Hartnett.
Installation view, ‘A way through’ – Colin McCahon’s Gate III, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, 2019. Photo: Sam Hartnett.
Colin McCahon, Gate III, 1970, acrylic on canvas, Ngā Puhipuhi o Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington Art Collection, purchased with the assistance of Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, 1972. Installation view, ‘A way through’ – Colin McCahon’s Gate III, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, 2019. Photo: Sam Hartnett.
Ans Westra, Ten Big Paintings exhibition at the National Art Gallery, Wellington, 1971, black and white photograph, courtesy Alexander Turnbull Library and {Suite}, Wellington.
Installation view, ‘A way through’ – Colin McCahon’s Gate III, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, 2019. Photo: Sam Hartnett.
Documentation of the installation of Colin McCahon’s Gate III at Auckland City Art Gallery for Ten Big Paintings, four black and white photograph, exhibition file 42, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū.
Documentation of the installation of Colin McCahon’s Gate III at Auckland City Art Gallery for Ten Big Paintings, four black and white photograph, exhibition file 42, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū.
Installation view, ‘A way through’ – Colin McCahon’s Gate III, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, 2019. Photo: Sam Hartnett.
Detail from Colin McCahon, Gate III, 1970, acrylic on canvas, Ngā Puhipuhi o Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington Art Collection, purchased with the assistance of Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, 1972. Installation view, ‘A way through’ – Colin McCahon’s Gate III, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, 2019. Photo: Sam Hartnett.
Detail from Colin McCahon, Gate III, 1970, acrylic on canvas, Ngā Puhipuhi o Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington Art Collection, purchased with the assistance of Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, 1972. Installation view, ‘A way through’ – Colin McCahon’s Gate III, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, 2019. Photo: Sam Hartnett.
Detail from Colin McCahon, Gate III, 1970, acrylic on canvas, Ngā Puhipuhi o Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington Art Collection, purchased with the assistance of Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, 1972. Installation view, ‘A way through’ – Colin McCahon’s Gate III, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, 2019. Photo: Sam Hartnett.
Detail from Colin McCahon, Gate III, 1970, acrylic on canvas, Ngā Puhipuhi o Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington Art Collection, purchased with the assistance of Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, 1972. Installation view, ‘A way through’ – Colin McCahon’s Gate III, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, 2019. Photo: Sam Hartnett.
Colin McCahon, Gate III, 1970, acrylic on canvas, Ngā Puhipuhi o Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington Art Collection, purchased with the assistance of Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, 1972. Installation view, ‘A way through’ – Colin McCahon’s Gate III, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, 2019. Photo: Sam Hartnett.
Installation view, ‘A way through’ – Colin McCahon’s Gate III, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, 2019. Photo: Sam Hartnett.
Installation view, ‘A way through’ – Colin McCahon’s Gate III, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, 2019. Photo: Sam Hartnett.
Colin McCahon, Gate III, 1970, acrylic on canvas, Ngā Puhipuhi o Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington Art Collection, purchased with the assistance of Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, 1972. Installation view, ‘A way through’ – Colin McCahon’s Gate III, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, 2019. Photo: Sam Hartnett.