A new exhibition and book will celebrate the 50-year parallel careers of Roy Good as both a designer and painter. Parallel Universe: The Art and Design of Roy Good will be launched at Te Uru in Titirangi, Auckland on Saturday 1 December.

Parallel Universe draws attention to Good’s pioneering work for New Zealand television from the late 1960s, alongside his early forays into modernist abstract painting, as well as featuring paintings from the last decade – a highly productive period of renewed energy and innovation.

“Roy Good has been devoutly beholden to the influence of modernism across all activities,” says Te Uru Director, Andrew Clifford. “It is the cross-disciplinary interplay between art, architecture and design that is the focus of Parallel Universe, with the history of the latter having had scant attention here in Aotearoa New Zealand.”

The exhibition highlights Good’s continuing commitment to modernism and the Bauhaus ideals that link art, architecture and design as related aesthetic endeavours. 

“It is an important priority for Te Uru that a wide range of creative endeavours are acknowledged and nurtured,” says Clifford. “A project such as this is no exception, with its weaving together of design and art history to demonstrate that there is more to modernism than the reductivist reputation it has acquired.”

Good’s designs had a high profile, says exhibition curator, Ed Hanfling. “As a designer, he was an instrumental figure in the early days of New Zealand television, creating graphics and sets for a medium with the widest possible audience. He went on to design logos not just for national events and institutions but for New Zealand’s participation in the colossal international expos that were a big thing right up until the early 1990s.”

Parallel Universe: The Art and Design of Roy Good is accompanied by a generously illustrated book, authored by Hanfling with contributions by Andrew Paul Wood and Clifford. The publication features over 100 colour plates of Good's art and design, printed with vegetable-based inks on certified FSC paper stocks, section-sewn and glued with blind embossed cover features.

The exhibition opening and book launch will begin with a gallery talk from curator Ed Hanfling and artist Roy Good at 2pm on Saturday 1st December.

Parallel Universe: The Art and Design of Roy Good runs at Te Uru from 1 December 2018 – 10 February 2019.

Hours: 10am – 4.30pm daily
Address: 420 Titirangi Road, Titirangi, Auckland
Website: www.teuru.org.nz

For high-resolution images or for further information, contact: James Anderson, james@teuru.org.nz. For retail enquiries, contact info@teuru.org.nz