Robin White (artist)

Born in Te Puke on 12 July 1946,[3] White grew up in Epsom, a suburb of Auckland, the youngest of seven children.[4] Her father, Albert Tikitu White, was a builder and World War I veteran of Ngāti Awa descent.[4][5]

White completed a Diploma of Fine Arts at Elam School of Fine Arts in 1967.[2] Along with her contemporaries Richard Killeen and Ian Scott, White was taught by Colin McCahon at Elam and has cited him as an important influence on her development and commitment as an artist.[6]

After art school, White moved to Bottle Creek, Paremata, in 1969, and taught art at Mana College.[4] Here White taught herself to screenprint, motivated by a desire to make her art more accessible and affordable. She has frequently reproduced her oil paintings as prints, such as Mangaweka (1973) in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.[6] While at Bottle Creek, White befriended local writers including Sam Hunt, Fleur Adcock, Alistair Te Ariki Campbell, and historian Michael King.[4]

Art historian Jill Trevelyan notes that it was while living at Bottle Creek that White developed her characteristic style, as she 'began to paint the local landscape using crisp, rhythmic outlines, strong light, and flat blocks of colours'.[7] 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.[8]

White is also a member of the Baháʼí Faith.[9] In 1972 White moved to Portobello, near Dunedin, where she met her husband, also a member of the religion.[4] In 1982 White and her family moved to the Republic of Kiribati, living on the island of Tarawa and working with the Baháʼí community.[2] Here she continued to make art, working almost entirely in woodcut prints as materials for this method were the most readily available.[6]

White returned to New Zealand in 1999 and is now based in Masterton, where she continues to work with weavers and artists from around the Pacific.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]

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 she was featured in the sixth Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art.

• Mangaweka, 1973. Oil on canvas, 1016 × 1016 mm. First exhibited at Barry Lett Galleries, Auckland, August 1973 $475.00. Purchased by Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in 1994 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds, described in citation.[13] Original collection of Alister Taylor.[14]
• Fish and chips, Maketu, 1975. Oil on canvas, 609 × 914 mm. Collection of Auckland Art Gallery.[8]

• 2005 Island Life: Robin White, Hocken Collections, Dunedin, Auckland Art Gallery and Christchurch Art Gallery[15]
• 2011 Robin White, City Gallery Wellington[16]
• 2014 Ko e Hala Hangatonu: The Straight Path (with Ruha Fifita), Pataka Art + Museum[12]
• 2016 Siu I Moana (with Ruha Fifita), National Gallery of Victoria[17]

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.[11][18] 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.[19]

In 2012, White received a University of Auckland Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012, and an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award in 2017.[2][5]

• Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1981). Robin White – New Zealand Painter. Martinborough, New Zealand: Alister Taylor. p. 102. ISBN 9781877385483. OCLC 973603346.
• Ian Wedde, 'Welcome to the South Pacific: Robin White, Richard Killeen and From Scratch', in How to be nowhere: Essays and texts 1971–1994, Wellington: Victoria University Press, 1995. ISBN 086473249X
• Jill Trevelyan, 'The path followed', Art New Zealand, no. 146, Winter 2013, pp. 62–66[20]
• Interview with Robin White Standing Room Only, Radio New Zealand National, 2014