Paul Cullen was born in Te Awamutu in 1949. He attended the University of Auckland and graduated with a B.Sc. in 1971, before continueing on to study Fine Arts at Canterbury University, where he completed a Diploma of Fine Arts with Honours in Sculpture.

In 1975 Cullen held his first solo exhibition at the Centre Gallery Christchurch and was a finalist in the Hansells Sculpture Awards, held in Masterton at the Wairapa Arts Centre. Since then he has exhibited throughout New Zealand and internationally, including Avize, France, in 1996 as the recipient of the Moet et Chandon Artist fellowship.

In 2000 Cullen completed his MFA (1st Class Honours) at Auckland University. In 2002, he received a MIT Research grant to attend Documenta 11 in Kassel, and Manifesta 4 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He was also selected as a Judge of the NZILA Biennial National Landscape Awards.

Paul Cullen featured in the very first headland SCULPTURE ON THE GULF exhibition in 2003 with ‘Observatory” [pictured]. Most recently Paul has bacame a  Senior Lecturer in Visual Arts, at AUT University, Auckland.

Bio adapted from content from http://www.artagent.co.nz/paulcullenintro.htm

headland SCULPTURE ON THE GULF artist Stephen Mulqueen has spent a great deal of time acquainting himself with Waiheke working on his culminative exhibition Making History as the 2008 Artist in Residence at Waiheke Community Art Gallery.

Arriving on Waiheke in early June, 2008 Mulqueen quickly set about researching the histories of places, place names and natural histories responding to the unique location of Waiheke Island and wider Hauraki environs.

The artist says “on arrival to the island in early June (2008) my broad plan was to find a way into the Waiheke/Hauraki fabric via the aperture of ‘place’ as named histories. I had been given an introduction to the work of Historian Paul Monin through my Dunedin friend and Irish Historian Rory Sweetman prior to the residency and had read ‘Waiheke a History’ as a prelude to my arrival. However I discovered Paul’s more recent publication ‘Hauraki Contested’ during my first weeks here which I readily consumed and it is from this work that I have been able to draw out a poetic metaphor regarding the shared bi-cultural history in Hauraki – Toroa/Albatross, which has become a major focus for this exhibition.” (more…)

Born in Christchurch, Pauline Rhodes lived in Wellington, Westport and also abroad in Nigeria and England before returning to Christchurch in 1970. She obtained her Diploma of Fine Art in Sculpture at the University of Canterbury in 1974.  Rhodes became one of New Zealand’s early environmental sculptors when in the mid 1970’s she began working outdoors and incorporating elements of nature into her work. Exhibiting in galleries throughout New Zealand, Rhodes also holds the distinction of being the first recipient of the Olivia Spencer Bower Award in 1987.

Her alterations of the landscape are often colourful, gentle and temporary, frequently opting to work in remote, isolated and seemingly uninhabited land, placing rods and other materials that she has brought with her to the site. Rhodes photographs her works before removing the display, and may at times be the only eyes to see the physical sculpture.

Pauline Rhodes exhibited at the last headland SCULPTURE ON THE GULF exhibition, erecting a colourful sculpture entitled ‘treebody’ from aluminium tubing and fabric high in a tree overhanging the coastal walkway. [pictured above] (more…)

Not long now till headland SCULPTURE ON THE GULF 2009 - New Zealand’s premier outdoor sculpture exhibition. Here’s the latest video mash-up from past events.

Like it? Why not make your own and post to the headland SCULPTURE ON THE GULF YouTube Group

See you on the Island!