Julian Dashper: Professional Practice

23 July – 28 August 2010

Julian Dashper (1960-2009) once commented that it takes courage to write ‘artist’ as one’s occupation on forms. It was a statement of encouragement to the generation of students that he taught, but also a statement of his own position.

Over nearly 30 years as an exhibiting artist, Dashper built a significant body of work that is one of New Zealand’s most diverse and intriguing. Dashper’s words and works also express a lifelong engagement with New Zealand’s distance from the ‘centres’ of artistic production in Europe and America, and the consequential traffic of materials and ideas. Dashper himself became one of New Zealand’s most well-travelled artist, making frequent trips to and organising shows in Australia, Europe and the United States of America, and developing an extensive network of colleagues internationally.

Images have been reproduced with permission from the artist’s estate.