Basil Beattie

Denis O’Connor’s sculpture ranges from public monuments to the most private and intimate narratives. Since 1985 he has re-imagined the potential of stone as a material relevant to contemporary art. Collaborations with painters, architects and poets have been a crucial component of his practice.

One of New Zealand’s most established sculptors, his work is well represented in all the major art museum collections and he has received many prestigious public commissions; the most recent being ‘Raupo Rap’ on the Viaduct Basin, for the City of Auckland in 2005. Recently his exhibition What the Roof Dreamt was shown at The City Gallery, Wellington and in 2007 through to 2009 works held in the collections of Auckland and Christchurch Art Galleries were featured in their curated exhibitions, Making Worlds, Keeping Time and Painted Histories.

Internationally he is represented in Europe at the Kröller-Müller Museum in The Netherlands, the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh and University College Dublin, Ireland.

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