Aigantighe Art Gallery Presents Retrospective of nationally renowned printmaker

Aigantighe Art Gallery is thrilled to announce a retrospective exhibition celebrating the works of Malcolm Warr, one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s foremost printmakers. This marks the first major retrospective of his work since 2019, following a previous commercial exhibition.

The exhibition will open on Friday August 9th at 6pm and will run until September 22.

Isobel Hillman, Exhibitions Curator at Aigantighe, said that Malcolm Warr is renowned for his exceptional silkscreen prints (serigraphs) that vividly capture the serene landscapes of Aotearoa New Zealand.

“His work is distinguished by its innovative use of colour gradients and atmospheric effects, which create a distinctive sense of depth and fluidity,” she said.

“This retrospective includes thirteen serigraphs from the gallery’s permanent collection, which were originally gifted by Warr in 1983, with fifteen additional works he has loaned Aigantighe for the exhibition.”

Serigraphs are original works of art, conceived by an artist, based on a design masked out by a stencil, the image is then made by forcing pigment through the unmasked areas of the screen with the aid of a squeegee and transferred to the paper, the stencil is cleaned after each colour and further colours are printed.

The exhibition features a diverse selection of both North Island and South Island imagery, offering a comprehensive view of Warr’s celebrated prints from the 1980s.

“Malcolm has been incredibly generous with his art and time in the creation of this exhibition. Recognizing a gap in our collection, he kindly offered to send 15 South Island prints to complete the show,” said Isobel.

“It is truly exciting to present a retrospective of Malcolm Warr—a working-class artist with a commercial background who has made significant contributions to the medium of screen printing in New Zealand.”

Malcolm Warr himself has expressed his gratitude to his wife, Maree Lawrence.

“She was more than half the team… without her help I would not have made it,” He said.

This dedication highlights Lawrence’s crucial role in Warr’s success and reflects the collaborative spirit central to his artistic achievements.

Photo credit: : Malcolm Warr, Mt Ngāuruhoe, National Park 1983, Serigraph on Paper, Aigantighe Art Gallery Permanent Collection ACC 1983.44, Gifted by the Artist in 1983.