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Woman in Room; Richard Killeen; 1968; 2024.003

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New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata

This painting does not depict any specific individual. The image was taken from a magazine, and comes from Richard Killeen's interest during this period in "interiors, local environments and social commentary about living in a city." Verna Adams notes, "this lower-half of a woman tells one a great deal about the subject. She is self-consciously posing in her accordion-pleated skirt, one foot forward in the approved modelling style, in her living room. Richard Killeen was 22 years old when he painted this; oil on glass is a rather rare technique, so it is a young artist experimenting - an artist who later became famous for his cut-out works." This work belongs to a series of ten smaller paintings, five with figures, mostly only partially in-frame. This one is the only work that focuses on the lower half of the body thus anonymising its subject. All the works display an interest in the relationship between people and the spaces they occupy and call home. By 1972 human figures became extremely rare in Killeen's work and would continue to be uncommon for the rest of his long career.

Ngā whakamārama -
Details

  • Title

    Woman in Room; Richard Killeen; 1968; 2024.003

  • Maker

    Richard Killeen

  • Date made

    1968

  • Additional information

    Oil on glass, 187 x 187mm

  • Rights

    All rights reserved

  • View source record for this item

    https://ehive.com/collections/3272/objects/2085423

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  • Text adapted with permission from Te Papa and Digital NZ

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