Colin McCahon: A Question of Faith

8 December 2002 - 9 March 2003 in the Entire Gallery
Colin McCahon: A Question of Faith spans four decades of McCahon's (1919-1987) work and features 78 works from throughout Colin McCahon's career. It was curated and organised by the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam with the organisational support of the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. Set out chronologically, it enables visitors to follow McCahon's development from the early figurative styles of the 1940s to the later abstract works. Works have been drawn from public and private collections in Europe and Australasia.

A number of works have particular resonance for New Zealand audiences, for example, the imposing Victory over Death 2 (1970), which was gifted to the Australian government, and Storm Warning (1980-1981), which was originally part of Victoria University of Wellington's collection. Other major works include Here I give thanks to Mondrian (1961); Numerals (1965); The Lark's Song (a poem by Matire Kereama) (1969); Necessary Protection (1972); and significant series such as Elias, Gate and Scared.

Curated by Marja Bloem, Senior Curator at the Stedelijk Museum, the exhibition focuses on a central aspect of McCahon's practice - the artist's spiritual quest, demonstrating how he explored questions of faith, doubt, hope and eventually despair. In this way Bloem has brought a fresh new dimension to the understanding of the artist's work.

Writing in the exhibition catalogue Colin McCahon: A Question of Faith, Stedelijk Museum Director Rudi Fuchs says: 'McCahon was the artist who gave New Zealand a powerful visual identity and for that he is revered in his homeland. That he went further, to explore and communicate through the medium of painting the universal questions and concerns of humanity, is why we, in other parts of the world, must recognise him as a great modern master.'

Principal Sponsor