Brett a'Court explained

Brett Ramon a'Court
Birth Date:15 March 1968
Birth Place:Christchurch, New Zealand
Education:Glendowie College
Occupation:Artist
Known For:Painting
Spouse:Rachel a'Court
Children:2
Website:http://www.brettacourt.com/

Brett a'Court (born 1968) is a New Zealand artist who has lived and painted in Waipu, Northland since 1995, and exhibits regularly in New Zealand, including 11 solo exhibitions between 2002 and 2022. His work can be found in both private and public collections throughout the country.

Early life

A'Court was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1968, and went to school in the Auckland suburb of Glendowie. He moved to rural, coastal Waipu in 1995 after he married, and worked in ceramics and painted, mostly in oils.[1]

Work

A'Court's first solo show was called Lectio Divina, and was exhibited at the Letham Gallery, in Ponsonby, Auckland in 2002. It sold well and he left his ceramics job to paint full time.

A'Court struggled financially for the next four years. He said as a Christian he trusted in God, and channelled his fears and sacrifices into his work. Influenced by Colin McCahon's major works, Renaissance icons and other iconography, a'Court looked at the human figure and beyond to our "spiritual anatomy", he sold some pieces, and created his second solo exhibition, Lingua Sacra, shown at a former church hall in the Parnell Community Centre, Auckland in 2006. The work was noted for its darkness and theme of sexuality colliding with the spiritual.

Some art galleries and reviewers struggled with the sexual Christian content and complexity of a'Court's 2008 Do Not Fear solo show at the Wallace Gallery, Auckland. Others were more comfortable with the simpler, contemporary Christian mysticism found in his 2008 Beyond the religious image show, also at the Wallace Gallery. In this work a'Court sought to extend the "spiritual truths" he saw uncovered by McCahon.[2]

A'Court's 2007 oil on canvas, Manu-Kahu, referring to the New Zealand harrier hawk which is connected to the divine by Māori, received praise for combining traditional European-style Christian imagery with Māori indigenous forms and McCahon-style speech bubbles.[3]

In 2018, his first Northland solo show, Sheep, goats and other introduced spirits, at Whangārei's Hangar Gallery, a'Court continued his complex blending of Christian iconography with his life as a contemporary, rural Pākehā New Zealander, depicting the land, colonisation, introduced animals, human anatomy, and the tradition of vanitas.

A'Court was runner-up and winner of the Hugo Charitable Trust Award in Waikato Museum's 2021 National Contemporary Art Award, for Rua Kēnana and Pinepine Te Rika’s descent from Mt Maungapōhatu, which depicts the historical Māori prophet Rua Kēnana and his wife Pinepine Te Rika at the sacred mountain in Te Urewera.[4]

In his 2022 solo show, Shadow of the Epiphany, also at the Hangar Gallery, a'Court continued to explore Christian mysticism and iconography, incorporating his research into the histories of Māori prophets from the Taranaki region's Ringatu and Ratana movements, and others. Many of the works were painted on stretched woollen blankets, which reference British colonisation's "disease, infestation, inequity, technology, trade, but also warmth and comfort".

Personal life

A'Court has lived at his home studio in Waipu, with his wife Rachel, since they married in 1995. They have two children.[5] [6]

Collections and awards

Exhibitions

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Brett a'Court . 2022-05-31 . www.facebook.com . en.
  2. Hannah . Kate . October 2008 . Do Not Fear, Brett a'Court . CS Arts . 31 . 45.
  3. Web site: ArtWay.eu . 2022-05-31 . www.artway.eu.
  4. Web site: Hamilton's National Contemporary Art Award – EyeContact . 2022-05-31 . eyecontactmagazine.com.
  5. Web site: Crothall . Peter . June 2008 . The CS Arts magazine: and interview with Brett a'Court . 2022-05-31 . www.cs.org.nz . en.
  6. Web site: BRETT A'COURT - MEDIA . 2022-05-31 . www.brettacourt.com.
  7. Web site: Brett a'Court . 2022-05-31 . Chambers Art Gallery . en-US.
  8. Web site: Brett A'COURT . 2022-05-31 . Wallace Arts Trust Collection Online . en.
  9. Web site: National Contemporary Art Award 2021 - Waikato Museum . 2022-05-31 . waikatomuseum.co.nz.
  10. Web site: National Contemporary Art Award 2022 - Waikato Museum . 2022-08-13 . waikatomuseum.co.nz.
  11. Web site: Painting & Drawing Finalists 2023 . 2023-02-11 . Molly Morpeth Canaday Award . en.
  12. Web site: ARTISTS 2023 . 2023-02-11 . Craigs Aspiring Art Prize . en-US.
  13. Web site: 2023 NZ Painting and Printmaking Awards - Waikato Society of Arts . 2023-04-15 . wsa.org.nz . en-NZ.
  14. Web site: National Contemporary Art Award - Waikato Museum . 2023-05-27 . www.waikatomuseum.co.nz.
  15. Web site: WINNERS . 2024-01-21 . Craigs Aspiring Art Prize . en-US.
  16. Web site: Spiritual anatomy laid bare in art . 2022-05-31 . NZ Herald . en-NZ.
  17. Web site: INZART - Libraries and Learning Services - The University of Auckland . 2022-05-31 . collections.library.auckland.ac.nz.
  18. Web site: Brett a'Court . 2022-05-31 . www.satellitegallery.co.nz.
  19. Web site: 2010-03-23 . The Crucifixion Show - In respect and response . 2022-05-31 . The Big Idea . en.
  20. Web site: Brett A'Court: Visions of Reality - Depot Artspace . 2022-05-31 . en-US.
  21. Web site: Paintings about life and death . 2022-05-31 . NZ Herald . en-NZ.
  22. Web site: zimmerman . 2022-03-31 . Zimmerman Art Gallery - April 2022 - HUIA: a group exhibition . 2022-05-31 . zimmerman.co.nz . en-gb.
  23. Web site: Brett a'Court . 2022-05-31 . Boyd-Dunlop Gallery . en.
  24. Web site: Shadow of the Epiphany . 2022-05-31 . Hangar Art and Framing . en-NZ.
  25. Web site: zimmerman . 2022-08-03 . Zimmerman Art Gallery - August 2022 - BONES - a group exhibition . 2022-08-23 . www.zimmerman.co.nz . en-gb.
  26. Web site: Works - Brett a'Court: Redemption Songs . 2022-10-16 . Scott Lawrie Gallery . en.
  27. Web site: Zimmerman Art Gallery - Exhibitions . 2023-03-12 . www.zimmerman.co.nz.
  28. Scott LawrieGallery, Brett a'Court: Two Prophets, Two Angels, 20 May – 10 June 2023, Exhibition Overview & Price List
  29. Web site: zimmerman . 2024-01-31 . Zimmerman Art Gallery - DEEP - a group exhibition . 2024-02-03 . www.zimmerman.co.nz . en-gb.

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