exhibition image

Dear Beauty, Dear Beast

Gow Langsford Gallery
share
3 – 27 March 2010

In colours commissioned especially from the glitter manufacturer Dear Beauty, Dear Beast, is a handsome show of new paintings by Reuben Paterson.

The series began for Paterson as a reaction to New Zealand's provocation debate.  In the way that previous bodies of work have honoured his whakapapa and found basis in the emotional responses to his genealogy, Paterson views these works, in part, as a personal homage to the victims of murder cases which have successfully used the provocation or "gay panic" defence.

The work suggests that in the same way that we have an underlying culture of racism, there is also an underlying culture of homophobia.

Reuben Paterson, Dear Beauty Dear Beast, Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery

Reuben Paterson, Dear Beauty Dear Beast, Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Reuben Paterson, Dear Beauty Dear Beast, Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Reuben Paterson, Dear Beauty Dear Beast, Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Reuben Paterson, Dear Beauty Dear Beast, Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Reuben Paterson, The Nether Regions, 2009-10, glitter on canvas, 2000 x 2000mm
The Nether Regions, 2009-10, glitter on canvas, 2000 x 2000mm
Reuben Paterson, Nigger, 2010, glitter on canvas, 1800 x 1300mm
Nigger, 2010, glitter on canvas, 1800 x 1300mm
Reuben Paterson, Table for Two, 2009, glitter on canvas, 1500 x 1500mm
Table for Two, 2009, glitter on canvas, 1500 x 1500mm
Reuben Paterson, The Bed’s Spread of Provocation, 2009, glitter on canvas, 2000 x 2000mm
The Bed’s Spread of Provocation, 2009, glitter on canvas, 2000 x 2000mm
Reuben Paterson, The Passion, 2009-10, glitter on canvas, 2840 x 1900mm
The Passion, 2009-10, glitter on canvas, 2840 x 1900mm

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Reuben Paterson, Dear Beauty Dear Beast, Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery

Reuben Paterson, Dear Beauty Dear Beast, Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Reuben Paterson, Dear Beauty Dear Beast, Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Reuben Paterson, Dear Beauty Dear Beast, Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Reuben Paterson, Dear Beauty Dear Beast, Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Installation view Gow Langsford Gallery
Reuben Paterson, The Nether Regions, 2009-10, glitter on canvas, 2000 x 2000mm
The Nether Regions, 2009-10, glitter on canvas, 2000 x 2000mm
Reuben Paterson, Nigger, 2010, glitter on canvas, 1800 x 1300mm
Nigger, 2010, glitter on canvas, 1800 x 1300mm
Reuben Paterson, Table for Two, 2009, glitter on canvas, 1500 x 1500mm
Table for Two, 2009, glitter on canvas, 1500 x 1500mm
Reuben Paterson, The Bed’s Spread of Provocation, 2009, glitter on canvas, 2000 x 2000mm
The Bed’s Spread of Provocation, 2009, glitter on canvas, 2000 x 2000mm
Reuben Paterson, The Passion, 2009-10, glitter on canvas, 2840 x 1900mm
The Passion, 2009-10, glitter on canvas, 2840 x 1900mm

In colours commissioned especially from the glitter manufacturer Dear Beauty, Dear Beast, is a handsome show of new paintings by Reuben Paterson.

The series began for Paterson as a reaction to New Zealand's provocation debate.  In the way that previous bodies of work have honoured his whakapapa and found basis in the emotional responses to his genealogy, Paterson views these works, in part, as a personal homage to the victims of murder cases which have successfully used the provocation or "gay panic" defence.

The work suggests that in the same way that we have an underlying culture of racism, there is also an underlying culture of homophobia.