The Persian Garden
Philip Trusttum, Artist
See full detailsObject Detail
About the Work
Within
the
first
week
or
so
of
starting
as
exhibitions
technician
at
the
gallery
a
Philip
Trusttum
exhibition
arrived
from
the
New
Vision
Gallery
in
Auckland.
This
was
my
first
introduction
to
Trusttum’s
work
and
I
was
an
enthusiastic
fan
from
that
point
on.
As director, one of the first exhibitions that I thought important to be done was a survey show of the work of Philip Trusttum – who was a major figure in New Zealand’s contemporary scene. I contacted Philip and he responded with great enthusiasm. Ultimately that show was a survey 1962–1979. In that process we discovered we were both born in Raetihi – him some eight years prior to me. We formed a connection that lasts until this day. He is my closest artist friend.
In bringing the exhibition together there were two works in particular, owned by Mr and Mrs Mason in Auckland, that we both felt were essential for the exhibition. They are the Persian Garden (After Bonnard) and The Battle Plan of Genghis Khan. The second is an absolute standout and, in my mind, perhaps Trusttum’s most outstanding work – a thought confirmed by the art dealer Peter Webb who felt it was a painting that he could easily place in MOMA. It comes from a series of paintings that Philip did evolving from his reading at the time about Persia and the central Middle East.
The Battle Plan of Genghis Khan is the size and scale of a Persian rug over which lines of colour and activity float. It in many ways sums up Trusttum’s ability to paint in a bold and graphic way, and yet at the same time present delicate and seductive detail. Amongst the many Trusttum’s I have now seen and admire, it remains the best. The Gallery considered it so important that at the close of the Trusttum survey exhibition tour both works were purchased from the Masons with the support of the Friends of the Sarjeant Gallery.
Bill Milbank, ArtZone 29 August 2019 https://www.artzone.co.nz/post/a-few-of-my-favourite-things
As director, one of the first exhibitions that I thought important to be done was a survey show of the work of Philip Trusttum – who was a major figure in New Zealand’s contemporary scene. I contacted Philip and he responded with great enthusiasm. Ultimately that show was a survey 1962–1979. In that process we discovered we were both born in Raetihi – him some eight years prior to me. We formed a connection that lasts until this day. He is my closest artist friend.
In bringing the exhibition together there were two works in particular, owned by Mr and Mrs Mason in Auckland, that we both felt were essential for the exhibition. They are the Persian Garden (After Bonnard) and The Battle Plan of Genghis Khan. The second is an absolute standout and, in my mind, perhaps Trusttum’s most outstanding work – a thought confirmed by the art dealer Peter Webb who felt it was a painting that he could easily place in MOMA. It comes from a series of paintings that Philip did evolving from his reading at the time about Persia and the central Middle East.
The Battle Plan of Genghis Khan is the size and scale of a Persian rug over which lines of colour and activity float. It in many ways sums up Trusttum’s ability to paint in a bold and graphic way, and yet at the same time present delicate and seductive detail. Amongst the many Trusttum’s I have now seen and admire, it remains the best. The Gallery considered it so important that at the close of the Trusttum survey exhibition tour both works were purchased from the Masons with the support of the Friends of the Sarjeant Gallery.
Bill Milbank, ArtZone 29 August 2019 https://www.artzone.co.nz/post/a-few-of-my-favourite-things
Measurements
1830 x 1220 x 12mm
Media
oil on board
Description
Oil painting of abstracted forms in pale blues and mauve. A vertical line down the centre of the work with two bright circle forms at the top - one red/orange, the other lemon yellow. Fine dots in a band across the bottom edge of the work with a patch of purple in the lower right corner. Most of the surface is covered with fine brushstrokes moving in multiple directions, layering different colours on top of each other, with larger shapes and transparent layers laid on top of each other.
Credit Line
Collection of the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui. Purchased with assistance from Members of the Gallery, 1985.
Collection Type
Permanent collection
Acquisition Date
Mar 1985
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Accession Number:
1985/2/20