About the artist
Recently awarded the Toi Kō Iriiri Queer Arts Award by the Arts Foundation, Reuben Paterson (Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāi Tūhoe, Tūhourangi, Scottish) both dazzles and dives beyond the surface with his glitter paintings and reflective sculptures. Inspired by the glistening water and black sand on Auckland’s west coast, where he grew up, Paterson has become known for his kaleidoscopic compositions of kōwhaiwhai (rafter paintings), floral motifs and monochromatic imagery. He continually experiments, making works with diamond dust, Mylar shimmer discs and foil, but always comes back to the transformative power of light.
