Past Exhibition
18 November 2022 — 21 May 2023
Discover stories of identity, history and mythology through a selection of stunning lithographs and etchings by New Zealand-based artist Marian Maguire.
Marian's detailed works combine British, Māori and ancient Greek cultures to create a visual conversation that touches on colonialism, memory, cultural interaction, history and myth.
Accompanied by an Exhibition Companion that includes added historical context from Hellenic Museum curators, viewers are invited to consider how these factors interplay, and contribute to the construction of identity on a personal, cultural and national level.
Featuring works from several of Marian's series, including The Odyssey of Captain Cook, The Labours of Herakles, Titokowaru’s Dilemma and A Taranaki Dialogue.
About the Artist
Marian Maguire is a practicing artist from New Zealand, best known for her lithographs and etchings.
From the late 90s her work began to include motifs which melded diverse mythologies with recent historical and social events. The amalgamation of ancient Greek vase paintings and New Zealand colonial history culminated in a set of etchings titled Southern Myths (2002) which reflected the narrative development of the Iliad.
Her subsequent works have expanded to themes which place landscapes and figures from 19th century colonial prints within the framework of past and ongoing tensions within New Zealand biculturalism, using ancient Greek mythology as a vehicle for discourse.
Marian has exhibited across New Zealand, Australia and Europe. Her works hang in significant public and private collections around the world.
Top: Ko wai koe? (Who are you?), 2003 from The Odyssey of Captain Cook series
Centre: What is History?, 2011 from A Taranaki Dialogue series
Right: the artist pictured with artwork Ko wai koe? (Who are you?) at the Hellenic Museum. Photograph by Harper St Clair.
