Hocken Collections Exhibition: Artists and Letters, Pictures and Words

Artists and Letters, Pictures and Words, opens to the public on Saturday, with an exhibition talk by Peter Simpson and Finn McCahon-Jones at 11am.

In Artists and Letters, Pictures and Words, artworks by Colin McCahon are hung chronologically, with some exceptions for space, and key letters between McCahon and Ron O’Reilly are displayed in cases across two galleries. The context surrounding art works and letters is expanded by the inclusion of relevant material from the Hocken’s archives, artist files and publications collections. Conceived as a study gallery, the third exhibition space draws primarily from the Hocken’s collection and offers glimpses into moments in time by focussing on the connections between the artists selected, their relationship with Ōtepoti Dunedin, with McCahon and with the Hocken and other libraries. The exhibition theme of Artists and Letters, Pictures and Words, is here broadly interpreted to include artist’s statements and comments, letters and sketches and works of art which include words and texts as a central form of expression.

Artists and Letters, Pictures and Words runs Saturday 22 June-Saturday 31 August 2024. Hocken Gallery open hours are Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm.

Image: Colin McCahon, 'William and his home by the sea', small handwritten and illustrated story for William McCahon, undated, dimensions variable, MS-4251/215, Hocken Collections Te Uare Taoka o Hākena, University of Otago Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka.
Reproduced courtesy of the Colin McCahon Research and Publication Trust.