Fruits of a Splendid Isolation

AND THIS IS MY PAINTING: A collaborative work by artists in the Fruits of a Splendid Isolation retrospective. Picture supplied

Big heads, Small Room, was the name of young Turks, John Walsh, Richard (Buck) Ro­gers, Daryl File and Kent Baddeley’s 1985 exhibition.

“They operated from the high-horse of driven, perhaps arrogant, young men prepared to criticise but also to put their work on a wall, to test ideas of what art should or could be,” say publicity notes to their upcoming exhibition, Fruits of a Splendid Isolation, 34 years later.

As high school students the lads developed their artistic trajectories under teachers Norman Maclean and Graeme Mudge. They were the school’s “arts guys”, Walsh told the Guide last year. They hung out together, they partied and painted together. Often it was the same thing. They evolved as a group of painters who created works that drew praise from themselves, each other and whoever, is the group’s irreverent self-description in the publicity notes.

“In an eddy, a side-pool off the mainstream, a light shone on a quartet of friends who drew, painted and created, individually and as a group, over a period of fifty years.”

Artists in flight

Walsh, Rogers and File were also members of Gisborne’s breakaway arts group, the Flying Moas. Their modus operandi was a perfect fit.

“They grew with an East Coast flavour, untethered to any school or style, that leaned towards the dynamic, figurative and expressive, revelling in originality and the thrust and parry of the group dynamic.”

Humour, collaboration, mate-ship: the retrospective exhibition that pulls it all together begins with the name of the show: Fruits of a Splendid Isolation. The title points to journalist Sheridan Gundry’s half-century of local history, A Splendid Isolation, as well as making a virtue of our outpost at the eastern edge of the globe.

“It’s based on the fact we’re so isolated things can happen here of their own accord,” says Rogers.

“We grew up together and went to school together, we socialised and partied together. Obviously we were interested in painting.”

As kids, and prior to becoming Boys’ High’s arts guys, they had done their own thing, says Rogers. Drawing and stuff was a thing kids did back then.

“Kids don’t do that so much now. It’s quite noticeable. They are more involved with social media. They’re good at that.”

Baddeley was a Lytton boy back then. Rogers, File and Walsh got to know him through surfing mostly.

“We hung out. He was part of the circle. He went off and did different things but we kept in close contact.”

File’s colourful life came to an end last year but he was involved in planning this retrospective some time before he fell ill. Fruits of a Splendid Isolation includes very early to recent work.

The painting featured on this page is a collaborative work and although each of the four artists have their own, clear voices, they have long collaborated on artworks.

Humour plays a big part in the four artists’ work, says Rogers.

“The humour was there all the way.”

It’s there in the featured artwork.

Walsh’s dreamtime-like darkness and luminosity dominates, but a pale figure punts a stand-up paddleboard over cobalt blue water. Beneath him, a shark-like leviathan half emerges from the depths.

“Me, John and Daryl got more into collaboration in recent times although we’ve been doing that all along,” says Rogers.

“Generally, when we’d been partying we’d get out the brushes and do stuff.”

The exhibition will also include recent work.

“It’s going to be a busy and very crowded exhibition. It’ll be a party.”

Fruits of a Splendid Isolation, a retrospective of works by John Walsh, Richard Rogers, Daryl File and Kent Baddeley, opens tomorrow at Tairawhiti Museum.