Outside Conventions

Christchurch Convention Centre. July 2008. Ajr

Christchurch artist Philip Trusttum is not one to be bound by conventions. His works are exuberant and generally enormous. These are two of his paintings at the Christchurch Convention Centre (and that’s a Bing Dawe sculpture in between) – the two smallest ones. His other enormous work here runs the full width of the building – the full width of a city block in fact. You can see more of Phil’s work here and at www.trusttum.co.nz

Posters & Art

"All What Trucks" (top) City Alley, Christchurch. June 2008.Ajr
Christchurch artist - and one of New Zealand's most highly regarded - Philip Trusttum is dominating the city. Not only is his show "All What Trucks" been showing at COCA Gallery, as a film clip at Rialto Riccarton and on giant city Billboards, some of the works are also keeping company with posters - all over the place. I like the way these sophisticated works merge so seamlessly with street art and advertising graphics. It goes a long way to making contemporary art more accessible to the man in the street. www.trusttum.co.nz

Bridging the Gap

Posters. June 2008 Ajr

I was out photographing street art and graffiti this morning when I came upon these posters by one of New Zealand's leading artists, Philip Trusttum. Produced as part of his current series "All What Trucks" that also includes billboards, a gallery exhibition and a film clip, the posters are pasted underneath one of the city bridges and have merged seamlessly with the graffiti and street art that has been scrawled around them. They look quite at home and I love the irony of one of our most esteemed artists 'exhibiting' with generally-scorned street artists. www.trusttum.co.nz

More Boys Toys

The photographs I took of Philip Trusttum's "All What Trucks" billboards a week or so ago were a bit 'dark and distant' (a dull day and fast moving traffic didn't make it easy), so I have visited his current exhibition at COCA Gallery, here in Christchurch. It's the first time in a while that the huge scale of the gallery has seemed 'right' because, as always, Phil's works are HUGE. They look perfect here. This is a series featuring toys from Mattell Inc, Tonka and Matchbox - the artist's preoccupation with his grandson, William's toys. Philip is only the second New Zealand artist to be awarded the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant (2001). www.trusttum.co.nz

Big Boys' Toys

Philip Trusttum City Billboards, Christchurch. 2008. Ajr
In an earlier posting several weeks ago, I talked about one of New Zealand’s most recognised artists, Christchurch-based Philip Trusttum “going large.” It’s happened and today I was out photographing Philip’s magnificent billboards strategically placed on three of the city's main arterial routes – three gigantic works from his series “All What Trucks”, a series of over 28 paintings (so far) completed in the last 16 months. Simultaneously, Riccarton’s Hoyts Theatre complex is screening a 20-second clip of his trucks prior to the main movie in Cinema 5 during May and June; and scaled down versions (compared to the billboards that is – they’re still huge in their original form) will be on show at COCA Gallery in Christchurch during May. How wonderful to see art 'escaping' from the traditional gallery format. www.trusttum.co.nz

Artist Studio 2

I photographed Phil in his studio in front of one of his huge Truck paintings yesterday
One of New Zealand’s most recognised contemporary painters, Philip Trusttum is ‘going large’ with works that straddle city billboards and a full-sized movie screen. Phil is no stranger to large works of course; his “Passport to the New Millennium” dominated the entire west wall of the Christchurch Convention Centre in 2000, running the length on one city block, taking the viewer on a 94-metre painterly journey through colour, texture and symbolism. Now he’s escaping buildings altogether and, as of May 1st, is displaying three of his (so far) 28-painting series of Trucks (“All What Trucks”) completed over the last 15 months, on gigantic billboards on three of Christchurch’s main arterial routes. At the same time, Hoyts Cinemas in Riccarton will be running a movie clip of the trucks prior to main movie in one of their theatres for two months – also from May 1st scaled down versions of these huge acrylic vehicles will be shown at COCA Gallery, Christchurch in May. It goes without saying that I’ll be photographing the billboards once they’re in place. http://www.trusttum.co.nz/