Ralph Hotere

Hone Papita Raukura "Ralph" Hotere (11 August 1931 – 24 February 2013) was a New Zealand artist. He was born in Mitimiti, Northland and is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's most important artists. In 1994 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Otago and in 2003 received an Icon Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand.

In the 2012 New Year Honours, Hotere was appointed to the Order of New Zealand for services to New Zealand.

Early history Hotere was born in Mitimiti, close to the Hokianga Harbour in the Northland Region, one of 15 children. When Hotere was 9, his older brother Jack enlisted in the army. Jack was killed in action in Italy in 1943.

Hotere received his secondary education at Hato Petera College, Auckland, where he studied from 1946 to 1949. After early art training at the Auckland Teachers' Training College under the tutelage of J. D. Charlton Edgar, During the later 1950s, he worked as a schools art advisor for the Education Department in the Bay of Islands.

In 1961 Hotere gained a New Zealand Art Societies Fellowship and travelled to England where he studied at the Central School of Art and Design in London. During 1962–1964 he studied in France and travelled around Europe, during which time he witnessed the development of the Pop Art and Op Art movements. His travels took him, among other places, to the war cemetery in Italy where his brother was buried. This event, and the politics of Europe during the 1960s, had a profound effect on Hotere's work, notably in the Sangro series of paintings.

From the 1970s onward, Hotere was noted for his use of unusual tools and materials in creating his work, notably the use of power tools on corrugated iron and steel within the context of two-dimensional art. Black paintings

Political art

Politics were entwined in the subject matter of Hotere's art from an early stage. Hotere's Polaris series was a response to the 1984 threat of nuclear warheads due to the Polaris programme.

A documentary film of the artist's life and work, Hotere, was released by Paradise Films in 2001, in association with Creative New Zealand and the New Zealand Film Commission. Written and directed by Merata Mita, the documentary made its overseas debut at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.

Selected works

Still Life 1959 view Cruciform II from the Human Rights series 1964 view Red on White 1965 view Red on Black 1969 view Black Painting IIIa: From 'Malady', a poem by Bill Manhire 1970 view Black Window - Towards Aramoana 1981 view Untitled 1981 view Land of the Wrong White Crowd 1981 view Aramoana Nineteen Eighty Four 1984 view Blackwater 1998-1999 view Black Painting 1985-1986 view Dawn/Water Poem 1986 view Black Cerulean 1999 view

Personal life Hotere was of Māori descent (Te Aupōuri and Te Rarawa).

Hotere died on 24 February 2013, aged 81 and was survived by his daughter Andrea, three mokopuna (grandchildren) and also his third wife Mary. Other sculptors with work in the garden include Russell Moses, Shona Rapira Davies, and Chris Booth.