Malcolm Harrison

Malcolm Harrison first became interested in fabric while working as a window dresser at a department store in Christchurch. He took classes in pattern making at night after work, dreaming of becoming a dress maker. When he was 19, he was a finalist in the New Zealand Gown of the Year competition, and the following year he came second with an embroidered and beaded gown titled Scheherazade. During the 1960s, Malcolm had a successful career in Auckland working as a designer, creating gowns, bespoke suits and ready-to-wear originals. He made the transition to textile art in the 1970s and received important early encouragement and support from the art dealer Denis Cohn. Arguably best remembered for his vibrant quilts, Harrison used the seemingly soft, tactile medium to address aspects of New Zealand history along with more personal narratives, including those involving queer relationships. In the late 1980s he contributed a panel to the New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt, a collaborative artwork commemorating communities and individuals affected by HIV and AIDS. In the early 1990s, Harrison received an important commission from New Zealand Parliament Buildings in Wellington, creating These are Matters of Pride and Whanaungatanga, a large textile-based installation for the glass-covered Galleria.