Max Gimblett
Encyclopedia
Max Gimblett is one of New Zealand
's most internationally prominent and successful living artists. He is well known for his paintings, sculpture, ink drawings, works on paper, and artist’s books.
Gimblett attended Auckland Grammar School
in 1950, and left New Zealand in 1956 to travel throughout Europe until 1961, with a brief return to Auckland for a year in 1958-59. Traveling to the America's in 1962, Gimblett apprenticed with master potter Roman Bartkiw in Toronto, Canada and then worked with master ceramist Merton Chambers from 1962-1964. In 1964 he married Barbara Kirshenblatt. That same year he studied drawing at the Ontario College of Art, Toronto. In 1965 he studied painting at the San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, California.
From 1967 to 1970, he lived and painted in Bloomington, Indiana
where Barbara Kishenblatt-Gimblett was completing her PhD in Folklore Studies. From 1970 to 1972 he resided in Austin, Texas, where Barbara was an associate professor in the English department at the University of Texas, Austin.
Gimblett moved to New York in 1972 and in 1974 formed an affinity and enduring friendship with the experimental filmmaker and kinetic sculptor Len Lye
, who was a fellow New Zealander. Gimblett continued to support his work after Lye's death and in 1990 he became a trustee of the Len Lye Foundation based in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
Gimblett continued to live in New York returning to New Zealand only for brief visits. In 1979 Gimblett became an American Citizen.
Gimblett's work is rich and inventive. He is known for his great technical and stylistic range: the monochrome, geometric abstraction, the calligraphic and figurative expressionism all find a place in the work. He uses novel shaped supports: ovals, circles, and rings. However the quatrefoil is the shape he has really made his own.
“The quatrefoil is defined ...” writes Thomas McEvilley, “as ‘a compound leaf or flower consisting of four (usually rounded) leaflets or petals radiating from a common center.’ Most of Gimblett’s works in this format are geometrised, meaning that the petals of the flowers are not merely rounded in an organic sense but are composed of four perfect circles that intersect at a single point. It is a format which virtually no other modern artist has emphasized.”
Gimblett draws freely on Buddhism
, Christianity
, classical mythology, and alchemy, Jung
. His work can be understood in the context of Western Buddhism.
“The Influence of Zen,” writes Thomas McEvilley, “for example, seems natural to Gimblett, and carries with it an echo of Asia’s proximity to New Zealand, but also can be traced partly to American artists with West Coast connections such as Clyfford Still and Mark Tobey. Gimblett has made a harmonious post-war synthesis of America and Japan.”
Gimblett’s first solo painting exhibition was at Dave Hickey
’s A Clean Well Lighted Place in Austin in 1971.
In 1975 he joined the Cuningham Ward Gallery, New York where he exhibited with Ross Bleckner
, , David Reed
, John Elderfield
, and Lynton Wells.
In 1989 he was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Painting Fellowship.
In 1990 Gimblett joined the Haines Gallery, San Francisco and the Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland. Both of these galleries continue to represent him today.
In 1991 he participated in a residency at The Rockefeller Foundation, Study and Conference Center, Bellagio, Lake Como, Italy.
Gimblett was a J. Paul Getty associate at the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities, Santa Monica, in 1991-1992.
Craig Potton Publishing published his first monograph in 2002 in association with Gow Langsford Gallery (Auckland), which includes essays by John Yau and Wystan Curnow.
“Max Gimblett: The Brush of All Things”, a major survey of his work, opened at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tamaki, Auckland, New Zealand in 2004 and traveled to the City Gallery, Wellington. Thomas McEvilley and Wystan Curnow contributed essays to the catalog, which also contained an interview with Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett.
“Here is how it happened. Gimblett stepped up to the 80 inch circular canvas and while that murderous train bore down on him, he painted The Wheel in less than one minute. This is no exaggeration, in on rapturous, fearless moment, which left him with time to spare.” Wystan Curnow describes Gimblett painting The Wheel, an Enso, in his essay An Exhilaration of the Spirit, in Max Gimblett, monograph, 2002, published by Craig Potton Publishing in association with Gow Langsford Gallery, also including an essay by John Yau.
In January 2006 Max Gimblett took refuge in the precepts of Buddha.
“Gimblett’s absorption in Asian art connects him to three unique figures in American art: Morris Graves, John McLaughlin
, and Ad Reinhardt,” writes Yau, “One reason Gimblett shares a deep connection with these three seminal figures is because all of them embarked upon an intense and prolonged study of different schools of Buddhism and Buddhist art.”
He was appointed to the honorary position of Visiting Professor of Art to the National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries, Auckland University, Auckland, New Zealand in 2003.
Gimblett was the Laila Foundation Artist in Residence at HuiPress, Maui, HI in July 2008, making a suite of Enso etchings.
His work is included in the Guggenheim Museum’s upcoming exhibition for “The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860 to 1989” January 30–April 19, 2009, curated by Alexandra Munroe, the museum’s first Senior Curator of Asian Art.
Gimblett has collaborated with a number of other artists including Warwick Freeman, Lewis Hyde
, Judith Ivory
, Matt Jones (artist), Win Knowlton, Alan Loney
, Chris Martin
, Eileen Tabios
, Michael Dai Ryu Wenger Great Dragon, and John Yau
.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's most internationally prominent and successful living artists. He is well known for his paintings, sculpture, ink drawings, works on paper, and artist’s books.
Life and work
Max Gimblett was born in Auckland, New Zealand, a second generation New Zealander.Gimblett attended Auckland Grammar School
Auckland Grammar School
Auckland Grammar School is a state secondary school for years 9 to 13 boys in Auckland, New Zealand. It had a roll of 2,483 in 2008, including a number of boarders who live in nearby Tibbs' House, making it one of the largest schools in New Zealand...
in 1950, and left New Zealand in 1956 to travel throughout Europe until 1961, with a brief return to Auckland for a year in 1958-59. Traveling to the America's in 1962, Gimblett apprenticed with master potter Roman Bartkiw in Toronto, Canada and then worked with master ceramist Merton Chambers from 1962-1964. In 1964 he married Barbara Kirshenblatt. That same year he studied drawing at the Ontario College of Art, Toronto. In 1965 he studied painting at the San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, California.
From 1967 to 1970, he lived and painted in Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
where Barbara Kishenblatt-Gimblett was completing her PhD in Folklore Studies. From 1970 to 1972 he resided in Austin, Texas, where Barbara was an associate professor in the English department at the University of Texas, Austin.
Gimblett moved to New York in 1972 and in 1974 formed an affinity and enduring friendship with the experimental filmmaker and kinetic sculptor Len Lye
Len Lye
Len Lye, born Leonard Charles Huia Lye , was a Christchurch, New Zealand-born artist known primarily for his experimental films and kinetic sculpture. His films are held in archives such as the New Zealand Film Archive, British Film Institute, Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the Pacific...
, who was a fellow New Zealander. Gimblett continued to support his work after Lye's death and in 1990 he became a trustee of the Len Lye Foundation based in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
Gimblett continued to live in New York returning to New Zealand only for brief visits. In 1979 Gimblett became an American Citizen.
Gimblett's work is rich and inventive. He is known for his great technical and stylistic range: the monochrome, geometric abstraction, the calligraphic and figurative expressionism all find a place in the work. He uses novel shaped supports: ovals, circles, and rings. However the quatrefoil is the shape he has really made his own.
“The quatrefoil is defined ...” writes Thomas McEvilley, “as ‘a compound leaf or flower consisting of four (usually rounded) leaflets or petals radiating from a common center.’ Most of Gimblett’s works in this format are geometrised, meaning that the petals of the flowers are not merely rounded in an organic sense but are composed of four perfect circles that intersect at a single point. It is a format which virtually no other modern artist has emphasized.”
Gimblett draws freely on Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, classical mythology, and alchemy, Jung
Jung
Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker and the founder of analytical psychology.Jung may also refer to:* Jung * JUNG, Java Universal Network/Graph Framework-See also:...
. His work can be understood in the context of Western Buddhism.
“The Influence of Zen,” writes Thomas McEvilley, “for example, seems natural to Gimblett, and carries with it an echo of Asia’s proximity to New Zealand, but also can be traced partly to American artists with West Coast connections such as Clyfford Still and Mark Tobey. Gimblett has made a harmonious post-war synthesis of America and Japan.”
Gimblett’s first solo painting exhibition was at Dave Hickey
Dave Hickey
David Hickey is an American art and cultural critic. He has written for many American publications including Rolling Stone, Art News, Art in America, Artforum, Harper's Magazine, and Vanity Fair...
’s A Clean Well Lighted Place in Austin in 1971.
In 1975 he joined the Cuningham Ward Gallery, New York where he exhibited with Ross Bleckner
Ross Bleckner
-Life and work:"'I always absolutely thought there was a difference between being a young artist and an important young artist,' said Mr. Bleckner, who grew up in Hewlett, L.I., graduated in 1971 from New York University and earned an M.F.A...
, , David Reed
David Reed
David Reed may refer to:* David A. Reed , U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, 1923–1935* David Reed , British Labour Party Member of Parliament, 1970–1974* Dave L. Reed , member of the Pennsylvania State House...
, John Elderfield
John Elderfield
John Elderfield was the Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, from 2003 to 2008.Elderfield studied the history of art at the University of Manchester and the University of Leeds...
, and Lynton Wells.
In 1989 he was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Painting Fellowship.
In 1990 Gimblett joined the Haines Gallery, San Francisco and the Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland. Both of these galleries continue to represent him today.
In 1991 he participated in a residency at The Rockefeller Foundation, Study and Conference Center, Bellagio, Lake Como, Italy.
Gimblett was a J. Paul Getty associate at the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities, Santa Monica, in 1991-1992.
Craig Potton Publishing published his first monograph in 2002 in association with Gow Langsford Gallery (Auckland), which includes essays by John Yau and Wystan Curnow.
“Max Gimblett: The Brush of All Things”, a major survey of his work, opened at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tamaki, Auckland, New Zealand in 2004 and traveled to the City Gallery, Wellington. Thomas McEvilley and Wystan Curnow contributed essays to the catalog, which also contained an interview with Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett.
“Here is how it happened. Gimblett stepped up to the 80 inch circular canvas and while that murderous train bore down on him, he painted The Wheel in less than one minute. This is no exaggeration, in on rapturous, fearless moment, which left him with time to spare.” Wystan Curnow describes Gimblett painting The Wheel, an Enso, in his essay An Exhilaration of the Spirit, in Max Gimblett, monograph, 2002, published by Craig Potton Publishing in association with Gow Langsford Gallery, also including an essay by John Yau.
In January 2006 Max Gimblett took refuge in the precepts of Buddha.
“Gimblett’s absorption in Asian art connects him to three unique figures in American art: Morris Graves, John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin (artist)
John Dwyer McLaughlin was an American abstract painter. Based primarily in California, he was a pioneer in minimalist and hard-edge painting.-Life:...
, and Ad Reinhardt,” writes Yau, “One reason Gimblett shares a deep connection with these three seminal figures is because all of them embarked upon an intense and prolonged study of different schools of Buddhism and Buddhist art.”
He was appointed to the honorary position of Visiting Professor of Art to the National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries, Auckland University, Auckland, New Zealand in 2003.
Gimblett was the Laila Foundation Artist in Residence at HuiPress, Maui, HI in July 2008, making a suite of Enso etchings.
His work is included in the Guggenheim Museum’s upcoming exhibition for “The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860 to 1989” January 30–April 19, 2009, curated by Alexandra Munroe, the museum’s first Senior Curator of Asian Art.
Gimblett has collaborated with a number of other artists including Warwick Freeman, Lewis Hyde
Lewis Hyde
Lewis Hyde is a scholar, essayist, translator, cultural critic and writer whose scholarly work focuses on the nature of imagination, creativity, and property.-Early life:...
, Judith Ivory
Judith Ivory
Judith Ivory is the pen name of Judy Cuevas, a best-sellingAmerican author of historical romance novels.-Biography:As a child, Judith Ivory liked to gather the other neighborhood children together and tell them stories. She carried a notebook with her and would often jot down poems, essays, and...
, Matt Jones (artist), Win Knowlton, Alan Loney
Alan Loney
Alan Perress Loney is a writer, poet, editor, publisher and letterpress printer. His work has been published by University and private presses in New Zealand, Australia and North America. His own presses have printed and published many of New Zealand’s most noted poets. He has also produced books...
, Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
, Eileen Tabios
Eileen Tabios
Eileen Tabios is an award-winning Filipino-American poet, fiction writer, conceptual/visual artist, editor, anthologist, critic, and publisher....
, Michael Dai Ryu Wenger Great Dragon, and John Yau
John Yau
John Yau is an American poet and critic who lives in New York City. He received his B.A. from Bard College in 1972 and his M.F.A. from Brooklyn College in 1978...
.
External links
- Max Gimblett - The artist’s website
- Auckland Art Gallery - Max Gimblett works in their collection, Auckland, New Zealand
- Works by Max Gimblett in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
- Haines Gallery - art gallery, San Francisco, California
- Gow Langsford Gallery - art gallery in Auckland, New Zealand
- Page Blackie Gallery - art gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
- Nadene Milne Gallery - art gallery, Arrowtown New Zealand
- HuiPress - printing press, Maui, Hawaii
- Max Gimblett: The Language of Drawing - a works on paper show at the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia