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Reuben Paterson

@reuben_paterson

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How fast can two hours go?

I recently joined Nate Heiges for The Selection Committee Radio Show, talking about art, home, New York, glitter, music and everything that somehow found its way in between.

I was also asked to bring a mixtape, which somehow became increasingly and rather patriotically Kiwi as I made it 🇳🇿 Two hours that somehow felt like twenty minutes. Thank you @stumpydarkpod for such a generous and wonderful kōrero.

The episode is available to stream from 9/1 :

https://theselectioncommittee.com/Reuben-Paterson

Kiwis, what songs would you have included?

And the mixtape:

North Island Kiwi, Birds of New Zealand
Tahi (Dance Mix), Moana And The Moa Hunters
Aua Atu Rā, Marlon Williams
Waka, Ché-Fu
Koauau (Gourd Nose Flute), Richard Nunns
Te Hokinga Mai, St. Joseph’s Maori Girls College
Ikarus, Ladi6
Juices, Parallel Dance Ensemble
(Glad I’m Not) A Kennedy, Shona Laing
I Love My Leather Jacket, The Chills
There Is No No, Orchestra Of Spheres

There Goes the Moon, 2009, sand, 98 ft 5 in. diameter. Photograph by Grant Finlay.
We are the Creatures of Constant Awe (Constellation Pavo), 2025, glitter, acrylic, Cook Islands Black pearls and Japanese fresh water pearls and jewellery wire on board, 24 x 18in. Photograph by Henry Hargreaves.
Guide Kaiārahi, 2021, stainless steel, transparent acrylic and glass, 32 ft 10 in x 2 ft 4 in x 8 ft 6½ in. Commissioned by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, owned and generously supported by the Edmiston Trust. Photograph and detail by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.
Happy Being No-one But Themselves (Constellation Orion), 2024. Glitter, Cook Islands black pearls, Japanese fresh water pearls, acrylic and jewellery wire and mixed media on board, 24 x 18in.
Photograph by Henry Hargreaves. by @reuben_paterson

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2 months ago

So happy to be part of this ❤️

Toitū: Visual Sovereignty screens at the New York City Pacific Island Film Festival on Saturday 19 September at 7:30pm at the Angelika Film Center, followed by a kōrero with @chelseawinstanley @desrayeveryday, Alfred Bordallo and me.

Very special to have Toitū here in New York. Come join us xxx

#pacificfilmfestival #toitūtoiora taken in Angelika Film Center by @reuben_paterson

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2 months ago

Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland.

You Are My Sunshine, My Only Sunshine, (2026)
Editioned, titled and signed below
Screenprint and glitter on 640gsm archival paper
1000 × 760 mm
Edition of 50

You Are My Sunshine, My Only Sunshine’ (2026) is a new screenprint by Reuben Paterson, available exclusively through Gow Langsford in this blue colourway. Rendered in Paterson’s signature glitter medium, the work transforms kōwhaiwhai-inspired forms into a luminous field of intertwined curves and spirals, balancing cultural reference, ornament and abstraction.

“Though written as a song, You Are My Sunshine has become a lullaby carried across generations. Passed from one voice to another, it speaks to the ways memory, love and care allow us all to become the ancestors of the future.” - Reuben Paterson

Te putanga kikorangi - blue edition is available through Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland.

@gowlangsford by @reuben_paterson

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3 months ago

Page Galleries, Wellington

Reuben Paterson, Please Don’t Take My Sunshine Away, 2026
Editioned, titled and signed below
Screenprint and glitter on 640gsm archival paper
1000 × 760 mm
Edition of 50

“Though written as a song, You Are My Sunshine has become a lullaby carried across generations. In Please Don’t Take My Sunshine Away, its familiar refrain speaks to the quiet vulnerability of caring deeply for something, and hoping it will remain.”
— Reuben Paterson

Te putanga whero - red edition is available through Page Galleries, Wellington.

Ngā mihi o Matariki, te Tau Hou Māori.

@pagegalleries by @reuben_paterson

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3 months ago

Melanie Roger Gallery
Tūhononga
1st July –25th July 2026

An exhibition organised by Philip Kelly for Matariki featuring new work by

SHANE COTTON (Ngāpuhi / Ngāti Rangi / Ngāti Hine / Te Uri Taniwha)
NIKAU HINDIN (Ngāpuhi / Te Rarawa / Ngai Tūpoto)
RANGI KIPA (Te Atiawa / Taranaki Iwi / Ngati Mutunga / Ngati Tama )
REUBEN PATERSON (Ngāti Rangitihi / Ngāi Tūhoe / Tūhourangi / Scottish)
LISA REIHANA (Ngāpuhi / Ngāti Hine / Ngāi Tūteauru / Ngāi Tūpoto)

‘Tūhononga’ brings together five leading contemporary Māori artists whose practices traverse painting, sculpture, installation, digital media, and customary arts. While distinct in approach, their works share a commitment to exploring the complexities of identity, whakapapa, memory, and cultural continuity within contemporary Aotearoa and beyond.

The constellation of Matariki (the Pleiades star cluster) implies a system of close relationships. The kupu tūhononga may describe interpersonal connections or a literal cluster of objects. It acts as a guiding principle for this collection of artists to celebrate the new year in the Māori calendar.

Together these artists challenge fixed understandings of Māori art, demonstrating its capacity to engage with ancestral knowledge while responding to contemporary social, political, and technological realities. Through diverse visual languages, they navigate relationships between land and sky, tradition and innovation, personal narrative and collective history. Their works invite viewers to consider how cultural knowledge is transmitted, transformed, and reimagined across time.

There Will Be No More Crying, 2026. Glitter and acrylic on canvas, 80 x 80 cm / 31.5 × 31.5 in.

Te Waerenga o Matariki: The Journey of Matariki (Constellation Taurus), 2025. Glitter, acrylic, Cook Island black pearls, Japanese freshwater pearls and mixed media on board
76. 2 × 116 cm / 30 × 46 in.

How Slow the Sea, 2025 (Constellation Matariki), 2025. Glitter, acrylic and iridescent finish on glass and mixed media on board, 86. 4 × 58.4cm / 34 × 23 in

Courtesy of Gow Langsford Gallery, installation images by @samuel_hartnett

@melanierogergallery @gowlangsford taken in Melanie Roger Gallery by @reuben_paterson

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3 months ago

Pat Hanly Creativity Awards Exhibition is on view at @aucklandartgallery from 8 August-13 Sept
Young Gallery Night event to celebrate the opening of the exhibition on Friday 7 August from 6-9PM, public event

A call out to schools and teachers across Tāmaki Makaurau.
This year I’ve had the privilege of being invited as the studio artist for the Pat Hanly Creativity Project at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, following the incredible work of @raukura.turei and @anioneill
Over three weeks, we worked with more than 1,000 students from 29 secondary schools, exploring the histories of Tarawera and Te Arawa through drawing, printmaking, light, and storytelling, inspired by #guidekaiārahi The journey continues with the Pat Hanly Creativity Awards Exhibition, on view at Auckland Art Gallery from 8 August–13 September, celebrating the creativity and talent of the next generation.
At a time when creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking feel more important than ever, programmes like this help keep art and art history alive, relevant, and connected.
Ngā mihi nui to @marleen.hartjes , @kendrastonerart , @a.yamyam , @norahwilsonbooks my @spark_ruby @annalisegriima , nataliecouch and all the education facilitators the Auckland Art Gallery team, the teachers, and especially the students who brought such energy and imagination to every workshop.

If you’re a teacher interested in learning more about the programme, please contact Kendra Stoner at kendra.stoner@aucklandartgallery.com.

Photos by @dstgeorgephoto courtesy Auckland Art gallery Toi o Tamaki
Mural Photography by @henry_hargreaves_photo

#arthistory #ephmeral #marbling by @reuben_paterson

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4 months ago

Some works don’t just hang on a wall. They move you.

Now is your chance to own exceptional works by 2025 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureates Séraphine Pick, Kate Newby and Reuben Paterson.

Explore lots 4, 5 & 7 in our famous Digital Auction.

The best works don’t wait. Now is the time to bid boldly via the link in bio.

A huge mihi to @seraphinepick, @kate__newby and @lettthomasgallery, @reuben_paterson, @gowlangsford and John Leech Framing workshop for your generous contributions. by @reuben_paterson

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4 months ago

Feeling very grateful reflecting back on receiving a Taumata Distinguished Alumni Award from Waipapa Taumata Rau, @universityofauckland

To stand alongside such extraordinary fellow recipients @raelenecastle , John Dudley, Justice Ellen France and @moses_mackay was deeply humbling. Huge congratulations to you all.

Heartfelt thanks to Vice Chancellor Professor Frank Bloomfield, Chancellor Cecilia Tarrant, and the entire team who held and supported us all so generously, Annushka Gunatilleke, Nikki Addison, James Fyfe, Stuart Angel and Fiona Scanlan.

And to the generations of friendships and conversations that came through the academic staff of Elam School of Fine Arts, @fiona_jack_ @gavin_hipkins @j.speers @kaakaa_studios and so many others, thank you @elamartists . Simply being allowed to exist in that environment of making, questioning and dreaming had an enormous impact on my life. Thank you for presenting the award @brittanywalkersmith

Maybe that says something about Elam. Dreams spoken there seem to have a way of finding their own path.

As a young student, New York felt impossibly far away. To now be living there, I store so carefully the black sands, sparkling waters and communities that shaped me in Aotearoa.

Ngā mihi nui to everyone who has supported the work, the chaos, the uncertainty, the risk, the glitter and the dreaming along the way. ✨ by @reuben_paterson

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5 months ago

Aotearoa Art Fair
@bergmangallery - Booth 16
30 April - 3 May
Viaduct Events Centre, Auckland

Adorned with Cook Island black pearls and Japanese freshwater pearls, these works draw on Pacific creation narratives in which pearls are celestial tears, shed by stars grieving the ocean’s darkness. Falling into the water, they become points of light within it.

Each pearl is plotted to the exact position and scale of Southern Hemisphere constellations, drawing on imagery captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. Yet this lens introduces a quiet tension, reflecting a persistence of colonial frameworks, where ancestral skies and knowledge are seen through an imposed, global gaze.

In maritime folklore, the ninth wave marks a moment of culmination, where the sea gathers its strength before renewal. This echoes the nine stars of Matariki, long used for navigation and remembrance. Here, the constellation of Scorpio is mapped instead, linking oceanic rhythms with the celestial systems that guide journeys across Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa.

For as Long as You Want Me, I’m Yours, (Constellation Orion), 2026. Pacific Island black pearls, Japanese freshwater pearls, cabochon pearls, glitter and acrylic on canvas, each panel 48 x 48” / 121.92 x 121.92 cm, overall 97.57” / 247.84 cm. Photograph by Henry Hargreaves.

The 9th Wave (Constellation Scorpio), 2026. Pacific Island black pearls, Japanese freshwater pearls, glitter and acrylic on canvas, 34 × 23” / 86.4 × 58.4 cm. Photography by@henry_hargreaves_photo

#constellationscorpio #constellationorion #the9thwave @aotearoaartfair #coral #rarotonga taken in Aotearoa Art Fair by @reuben_paterson

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6 months ago

Aotearoa Art Fair Sculpture Trail presented by Viaduct Harbour
Auckland’s waterfront from 10 April - 4 May
Viaduct Harbour

In 2021, Paterson’s 10-metre-tall sculpture Guide Kāiarahi was unveiled outside Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. At the blessing a pūmoana (shell trumpet) was blown, enacting te wheiao, a period of time before the world as we know it emerged. This is a moment when chaos becomes calm, and the spiritual and physical worlds collapse into one.

Named in honour of Paterson’s grandfather Jack, and also acknowledging his great grandfather John, Koro is an embodiment of whakapapa. Jack was a sand miner who supplied the building industry. John was a builder responsible for many of Wellington’s early buildings, including the Town Hall in Civic Square.

Koro is both a deep dive into nostalgia and memory, and an articulation of the interconnectedness of relationships across time and space. Sand in all its forms plays an essential role. As the base ingredient of concrete, asphalt, glass and steel, sand is the foundation of modern cities — and this sculpture. It is also the glittering shore made from stone, minerals and shells, and it is the ultimate bearer of light.
Text by @karlchitham

Koro, 2023, cast aluminium, with automotive two pot, concealed concrete anchor from Te Whare Whakarauiki Wellington Town Hall and cut-glass crystal,
739 x 679 x 1352 mm

Photography by @jlock_ho
Details by @marktantrum

@aotearoaartfair @gowlangsford @hawkesoars #koro #sand @uapcompany by @reuben_paterson

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6 months ago

Auckland Art gallery Toi o Tāmaki
Archive Display Mezzanine Level

Te Ara Mārama | The Path of Light
Curated by Freya Elmer, Philippa Robinson
Fri 27 Feb 2026 — Fri 12 Jun 2026

This display draws on Reuben Paterson’s digital archive and the Gallery’s records to trace the whakapapa of Guide Kaiārahi. Preparatory research sits alongside plans, fabrication images and installation details, revealing how the work embodies both ancestral knowledge and contemporary practice.

These items speak to traditions of waka building, narratives of navigation and migration, and connections to place. They link the whenua of Tarawera with the whenua at Toi o Tāmaki, where Guide Kaiārahi acknowledges the Horotiu Stream flowing beneath Queen Street. Paterson has whakapapa to Ngāti Rangitihi (Te Arawa) waka, which brought his people to Tīkapa Moana and Tāmaki Makaurau, in a respectful relationship of mauri tuku iho.

At the heart of the display, crystals illuminate the case, connecting the story of the phantom waka with the mana and mauri carried by Guide Kaiārahi.

‘He operates in light, he is acknowledged in light, seen in light, possessed in light, made beautiful by light.’
— Reuben Paterson

Also come and see the vitrine display in the E H McCormick Research Library reading room. A selection of ephemera from our Reuben Paterson artist file represents some exhibitions of his shimmering, kaleidoscopic canvases, sculptures and installations.
Photography by Auckland Art Gallery
With thanks to Freya Elmer, Philippa Robinson, @uapcompany @nathanpohio @aucklandartgallery taken in Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki by @reuben_paterson

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6 months ago

The Pillars
Page Galleries, Wellington, New Zealand.
March 12 – April 4, 2026

‘In literature, writers like Gabriel García Márquez and Ben Okri have long used the method of magical realism to convey truths that exceed the limits of plain realism. In One Hundred Years of Solitude and The Famished Road, the supernatural is simply part of the world. Ancestors return. Spirits walk alongside the living. Time bends, loops, dissolves. These are expressions of reality itself. In Aotearoa, Witi Ihimaera’s The Whale Rideroccupies a similar space, where whakapapa, the non-human world, and the presence of ancestors move through the everyday without needing to be declared as extraordinary’.

Extract from the exhibition text Thresholds by @ms.interpretedd

Installation photography by @rbmccauley

@pagegalleries #thepillars by @reuben_paterson

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6 months ago