Justin Paton
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Justin Paton (born 1972) is a New Zealand writer, art critic and curator, currently based in Sydney, Australia. His book ''How to Look at a Painting'' (2005) was adapted into a 12-episode television series by
TVNZ Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"), more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, streaming service, and news se ...
in 2011.


Education

Paton studied art history and English at the
University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...
in
Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
, New Zealand.


Arts writer

After university, Paton worked as an
art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...
for New Zealand newspaper ''
The Press ''The Press'' () is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand, owned by media business Stuff (company), Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday t ...
''. He was the editor of New Zealand's oldest literary journal, ''
Landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
'', from 2000 until 2005. Paton's book ''How to Look at a Painting'' was published in 2005. It was critically well-received, being selected as the Best Art Book of 2005 by both the ''
New Zealand Listener The ''New Zealand Listener'' is a weekly New Zealand magazine that covers the political, cultural and literary life of New Zealand by featuring a variety of topics, including current events, politics, social issues, health, technology, arts, f ...
'' and ''The Press'', and won the Montana New Zealand Book Award for Contemporary Culture. ''How to Look at a Painting'' was adapted into a 12-episode television series by TVNZ, which aired in 2011. Paton presented the show. Kim Knight, reviewing the show for the ''
Sunday Star Times The ''Sunday Star-Times'' is a New Zealand newspaper published each weekend in Auckland. It covers both national and international news, and is a member of the New Zealand Press Association and Newspaper Publishers Association of New Zealand. ...
'', noted that "among the many things Paton does brilliantly is make art accessible to everyone". Christopher Moore at ''The Press'' said Paton is "one of those rare individuals in the art world who can bring an artwork to life, inspiring you to plunge into the artist's imagination; to burrow beneath the surface of the canvas, paper and paint to see what lies beneath". Paton has also written extensively about artists, including a book about Australian sculptor Ricky Swallow in 2004, and essays about New Zealand painter Kushana Bush, Argentinian sculptor Adrián Villar Rojas, New Zealand artist Ronnie van Hout, and Australian painter
Ben Quilty Ben Quilty (born 1973) is an Australian artist and social commentator, who has won a series of painting prizes: the 2014 Prudential Eye Award, 2011 Archibald Prize, and 2009 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. He has been described as one of Au ...
. In 2012, Paton was the recipient of one of New Zealand's most prestigious literary awards, the
Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship The Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, formerly known as the New Zealand Post Katherine Mansfield Prize and the Meridian Energy Katherine Mansfield Memorial Fellowship, is one of New Zealand's foremost literary awards. Named after Katherine ...
. He spent over six months living and working in Menton, France, where Katherine Mansfield lived and worked for part of her life. In the same year, his book ''De-Building'' was the winner of the Judges' Special Award at the 2012 Museums Australia Multimedia & Publication Design Awards, and was shortlisted for the Mary Egan Award for Best Typography at the Publishers' Association of NZ (PANZ) Book Awards 2012. In 2019 he published ''McCahon Country'', about the works of famous New Zealand painter
Colin McCahon Colin John McCahon (; 1August 191927May 1987) was a New Zealand artist whose work over 45 years consisted of various styles, including landscape, figuration, abstraction, and the overlay of painted text. Along with Toss Woollaston and Rita Angus ...
, marking the centenary of McCahon's birth. It was long-listed for the Illustrated Non-fiction Award in the 2020
Ockham New Zealand Book Awards The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are literary awards presented annually in New Zealand. The awards began in 1996 as the merger of two literary awards events: the New Zealand Book Awards, which ran from 1976 to 1995, and the Goodman Fielder Wa ...
.


Curator

In 1996–1997, Paton was the guest curator of ''The Harmony of Opposites'', a major touring exhibition of the work of New Zealand artist
Don Peebles Donald Clendon Peebles (5 March 1922 – 27 March 2010) was a New Zealand artist. He is regarded as a pioneer of abstract art in New Zealand, and his works are held in the collections of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the Museum of New Ze ...
, led by the
Robert McDougall Art Gallery The Robert McDougall Art Gallery is a heritage building in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was designed by Edward Armstrong and it opened in 1932. It is a Category I heritage building listed with Heritage New Zealand and is located within the Chr ...
. He wrote the text that accompanied the exhibition. Paton was the curator of contemporary art at the
Dunedin Public Art Gallery The Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, Dunedin Town Hall, and other facilities such as ...
between 1999 and 2009. In 2009 he was appointed as the Senior Curator of the
Christchurch Art Gallery The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, commonly known as the Christchurch Art Gallery, is the public art gallery of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It has its own substantial art collection and also presents a programme of New ...
. Paton was the curator of New Zealand's official presentation by Bill Culbert at the 2013
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...
. In 2014, Paton moved to Sydney to become the Head Curator of International Art at the
Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...
.


Selected works

* ''Ricky Swallow: Field recordings'' (2004) * ''How to Look at a Painting'' (2005) * ''De-Building'' (2012) * ''McCahon Country'' (2019)


References


External links


Penguin Books NZ author profile for Justin Paton

Justin Paton's blog at the Art Gallery of New South Wales

How to look at art and avoid gallery fatigue, according to Art Gallery of New South Wales curator Justin Paton
article by
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
Arts, 2 April 2019
Justin Paton's profile
at the
Arts Foundation of New Zealand The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand arts organisation that supports artistic excellence and facilitates private philanthropy through raising funds for the arts and allocating it to New Zealand artists. The foundatio ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paton, Justin 1972 births Living people New Zealand art critics 21st-century New Zealand male writers New Zealand art curators