Robin White

Dame Robin Adair White (born 12 July 1946) is a New Zealand painter and printmaker, recognised as a key figure in the regionalist movement of 20th-century New Zealand art.

Early life Born in Te Puke on 12 July 1946, White grew up in Epsom, a suburb of Auckland, the youngest of seven children.

Education White completed a Diploma of Fine Arts at Elam School of Fine Arts in 1967.

Career After art school, White moved to Bottle Creek, Paremata, in 1969, and taught art at Mana College. White became well known for these works, which often depicted scenes of small-town life, such as flat-bed trucks and fish and chip shops.

White is a member of the Baháʼí Faith, as were her parents. In 2011 White was one of nine New Zealand and Australian artists selected to take part in the 'Kermadecs' research trip and exhibition project, organised by the Pew Research Center. White's collaborative exhibition of monumental ngatu (painted tapa) works, made with Tongan artist Ruha Fifita and a group of Tongan women, showed at Pataka Art + Museum in 2014.

Notable exhibitions White has represented New Zealand at a number of international exhibitions including the sixth International Biennale of Sydney and the first Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Brisbane.

In 2009, her work with Leba Toki and Bale Jione was featured in the sixth Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art.

In 2021, White was one of the 16 artists represented in an exhibition at the Mori Art Museum, Tokyo: "Another Energy—Power To Continue Challenging; 16 Women Artists from around the World". A major criterion for selection was that the artist had to have been working professionally for at least 50 years. The exhibition ran from 22 April to 26 September 2021.

White was one of four contemporary artists invited to participate in the 2021 Art Gallery of New South Wales exhibition Matisse Alive, works made in response to Henri Matisse's visit to the Pacific in 1930. She contributed the VAIOLA project.

In 2022, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa featured an exhibition titled, Robin White: Te Whanaketanga Robin White: Something Is Happening Here, with more than 50 works from across White’s 50-year career that form what the artist describes as a ‘family reunion’, bringing together works from 22 galleries and living rooms across the country. Original collection of Alister Taylor. Fish and chips, Maketu, 1975. Oil on canvas, 609 × 914 mm. Collection of Auckland Art Gallery. 2011 Robin White, City Gallery Wellington 2014 Ko e Hala Hangatonu: The Straight Path (with Ruha Fifita), Pataka Art + Museum 2021 Another Energy—Power to Continue Challenging (with fifteen other women) Mori Art Museum, Tokyo 2021 Matisse Alive (with three other women) Art Gallery of New South Wales 2022 The Perfect Silence of the Hour exhibition of works on tapa with Ebonie Fifita, at Two Rooms Gallery, Auckland. 2022 Robin White: Something Is Happening Here, Te Papa Tongarewa The retrospective exhibition Robin White: Something Is Happening Here ran from November 2022 through January 2023 at Auckland City Art Gallery - Toi O Tamaki, and opened at Dunedin Public Art Gallery on 10 March 2023.

Honours and awards In the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours, White was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to painting and printmaking. In 2009, following the restoration of titular honours by the New Zealand government, she accepted redesignation as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

In 2012, White received a University of Auckland Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012, and an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award in 2017.