Neon artist Paul Hartigan's biggest show in 25 years opens at Tinakori Gallery on 26 July. Hartigan is widely recognised as NZ's eminent practitioner in this medium.

While in the past he has created sculptures for public spaces, this exhibition - Revolution - focuses on smaller neons for the domestic environment. Neon artist Paul Hartigan's biggest show in 25 years opens at Tinakori Gallery on 26 July. Hartigan is widely recognised as NZ's eminent practitioner in this medium.

While in the past he has created sculptures for public spaces, this exhibition - Revolution - focuses on smaller neons for the domestic environment.Hartigan's practice is drawing - with paint or light - and the new works expand this into a 'free-form' third dimension, which appear to spin up and off their tondo supports.

The works in Revolution also reference Hartigan's contemporaries and other greats in New Zealand's art historical canon, such as Milan Mrkusich, Julian Dashper and Don Driver, along with de Stijl artist Piet Mondrian.

Neon was invented for signage, yet the works in Revolution bear little resemblance to these commercial origins. Instead, by combining glass types and rare gases in unexpected ways, Hartigan produces unique, deeply subtle works with a quiet resonance. Shadows play as much of a role as the light-tube, adding further intrigue.

This amalgamation reflects the properties of the medium itself, which merges physics and art, the technical and creative, the dark and the light.

Hartigan's past works include Colony (2004) at the Faculty of Engineering, Auckland University, Pathfinder (1997) on the exterior of New Plymouth's Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and the recently reinstated Whipping the Wind (1987-88) in Wellington's CBD.

When: 26 July - 11 August 2007
Artist's reception: Thursday 26 July, 5.30pm
Where: Tinakori Gallery, 42 Victoria Street, Wellington

19/7/07