Split Level View Finder: Theo Schoon and New Zealand Art

Connecting Bauhaus modernism, Māori art, and the art of the mentally unwell, Theo Schoon (1915–85) remains a controversial figure in New Zealand art. His work was constantly in dialogue or dispute with other cultures and other artists. The first comprehensive Schoon exhibition in decades, Split Level View Finder presents his painting, graphics, photography, and jade and gourd carving, in conversation with works by contemporaries Rita Angus, Rolfe Hattaway, Paratene Matchitt, Selwyn Muru, Gordon Walters, Arnold Wilson, and Ans Westra, rethinking Schoon’s legacy for twenty-first-century Aotearoa.

Co-curators Dr Damian Skinner and Aaron Lister lead a guided walk and talk through the new exhibition 'Split Level View Finder: Theo Schoon and New Zealand Art' on its opening day (Sat 27 July) at 11am.

Join us on 17–18 August, for a weekend of talks, lectures, and conversations on Schoon and his work.