Celebrating the art of Terry Stringer

September is a busy month for art historian Associate Professor Linda Tyler, with the public release of two major – and connected – projects.

Stringer: The Art of Terry Stringer, a book edited by the University of Auckland associate professor and published by Massey University Press, comprehensively chronicles the work and creative world of one of New Zealand’s most celebrated sculptors and will be released on 10 September.

In conjunction with the book’s release, an exhibition curated by Linda opens at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery in Wellington. It’s focused on the friendship between Stringer, an Elam alumnus, and the early 20th century Modernist artist and long-time Elam teacher Lois White.

The pair first met in the late 1970s while teaching at the Auckland Society of Arts, when White was in the late stages of her career and Stringer was emerging.

At that point, White had largely been forgotten as a painter, says Linda. But after Stringer saw White’s work at her Blockhouse Bay studio, he facilitated her introduction to the well-known gallerist Peter McLeavey. The introduction was made via Stringer’s art school friend, Richard Killeen.

“As a result of that, Lois White got her very first solo exhibition in 1977 with Peter McLeavey, around age 76. She was so delighted and so grateful to Terry; they had a very sweet, warm friendship.” 

Stringer also invited photographer Marti Friedlander to White’s studio, and Friedlander’s subsequent portrait of White featured in a 1981 Art New Zealand interview with her. White’s well-known painting ‘Fleet’s In’, depicting the arrival of US troops in Auckland, also featured on the cover of the magazine. “That really put her on the map,” says Linda.

And the influence went both ways. Linda sees parallels between the geometricised figures in White’s paintings, and the Cubist faceting in Stringer’s sculptures, which also often feature the human form.

Stringer has produced sculptures depicting many famed New Zealanders, including writers and artists such as Katherine Mansfield and Rita Angus, and also of White in 1978.

“But he didn’t depict her as she was in life at that time; instead, he depicted a young Lois based on her self-portraits from the 1920s and 30s when she was incredibly ambitious,” she explains.

“He was a young artist starting out on his career, and he loved the idea of their parallel trajectory.

“I think he was thinking about the long game and was looking at examples of how you could sustain a practice over a long period of time. But in doing that, I think he also saw all these advantages he had – like a gallery network through which to sell work – which she hadn’t had.” 

Stringer’s connections to White are among the many experiences and influences explored in Stringer – a 448-page book that covers the sculptor’s 60-year contribution to New Zealand art.

Along with a substantial introductory biographical essay by Linda, the book features essays by Peter Simpson, Mark Hutchins-Pond, Mark Stocker, Andrew Douglas and Robin Woodward, each focusing on different aspects of Stringer’s body of work. It is lushly illustrated with photos of Stringer in his studio by Jane Ussher, and of the artist’s work by art photographer Haru Sameshima.

Linda met Stringer at his Auckland home and studio every Thursday for a year while working on the book. Together, they would look at different series of his works to reflect on his 60 years of practice.

At a time when many galleries have moved on from retrospective exhibitions of living artist’s work, Linda feels it’s her duty as an art historian to be involved with such projects.

“I had the chance not only to hear about the work from the artist, but to engage, ask questions and really have it explained to me. Because I’m not a maker, that really helped me understand the importance of his practice and the learning process the artist goes through when making something,” she says.

“I feel it’s a real tribute to an artist if you can do a project that encapsulates and celebrates their life’s work and conveys their contributions.”

– Caitlin Sykes