Matt Pine Trust

Matt Pine (Te Āti Hau-Nui-a-Pāpārangi, Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa), born and raised in Whanganui, was a pioneer of Māori minimalism and post-minimalist art in Aotearoa New Zealand. He worked across various media, including paper, photography, sculpture, and installation, often addressing conflict and ecological issues.

 

Born in Putiki Whanganui in 1941, Pine attended Whanganui Collegiate School and studied at Ilam and Elam art schools. Traveling overseas from 1963, he studied in London and was exposed to British constructivism, conceptual art, and American minimalist sculpture. These influences inspired a renewed dedication to his practice and the development of his first mature series of works, the Open Series in 1965-66.

 

 

Upon his return to New Zealand in 1974, Pine set about extending the ideas of minimalism and conceptual art into vernacular distinct to Aotearoa through the referencing of Māori and Pacific cultural forms, architecture and design. He is one of a small group of senior figures of the contemporary Māori art movement that emerged in mid 20th Century. Pine’s travels overseas and his love of architecture had a profound influence on his art-making that subsequently set him apart from his peers.

 

 

Pine had his first solo exhibition in 1977 and was the Frances Hodgkins Fellow in 1979. During his fellowship, he held eight exhibitions in his studio and six elsewhere in the country. Afterward, he actively participated in both Māori and contemporary art communities, exhibiting nationally. His first Whanganui exhibition was in 1980, marking the start of a strong relationship with the Sarjeant Gallery and its previous Director, Bill Milbank. The gallery frequently exhibited his work and produced the touring exhibition Matt Pine Selected Works. 1965 – 1985. Due to this relationship, the Sarjeant Gallery has a significant collection of Pine’s works, acquired through both purchases and gifts from the artist.

 

Prior to his passing in August 2021, Pine worked with independent curator Taarati Taiaroa to bring together his archive and start the planning for a future retrospective exhibition and monograph publication. It was important to Pine that he get his life’s work in order to ensure future generations have access to it. The Matt Pine Trust will announce the timing of this exciting project to honor him and his life’s work on this webpage in due course.