Juliet Peter, iconic New Zealand artist

Beetles c 1960

Lithograph on paper

Signed lower right

Image Size: 402 x 482mm (15.8 x 19m)

The above work although a lithograph has the feel of a soft water colour painting. I love the merging of the colours; the blues, the greens, the yellows, against the strident black outlines of the leaves and plants. The shade of blue/turquoise is softly rendered, and once again, there is a tension, a feeling of chaos and crowding and overriding business to the work. Nothing in the foreground has room to breathe: I love the choking feel to the work. The bold thickness of the black lines, the absolute physical feel to the work. I really sense the artists’ hand still to be visible, this work is almost a battleground, in that nature is at war and there is no room to move with decay as a result. I love the desperado quality, the chaos, the relief of the white showing through in the background. The top quarter of the frame is easier on the eye, far less busy, with the colouration softened. I enjoy the symbols of nature in the work, and the weightiness to the scene. This work is crowding in everything, yet I sense that editing has been done. There is a solid depth and overall my reading is of overload and the effects of humanity upon the natural realm. The black flicky lines help to convey this, the blocky colours underscoring. What a powerful vibe this image has, with an energetic, unrestrained, passionate confidence abounding.

Bibliography: Art New Zealand: A Modest Modernism, An interview with Juliet Peter (by Damian Skinner)

Issue Number 119, published, Winter 2006

Te Papa Blog, Juliet peter 1915-2010

www.FernerGalleries,, Juliet Peter, 2013

Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetu (Beetles 1960)