Geographical consciousness plays an important role in Philippa Blair’s painting. Urban structure, people, language, music, weather and other locational elements all contribute to an atmosphere that she captures in her vibrant works. Out of Place includes oil paintings created from 1995 – 2013, when Blair was based in the United States.
Moving to Los Angeles, California, her earlier works reflect aspects of a city strikingly different from the places in New Zealand where she had grown up – the high density living, spaghetti-like highways, and the frenetic pace and noise of city life. Based first in Venice, and then San Pedro, California, influences such as the hodgepodge of single-family housing, diverse racial makeup, traffic congestion caused by the unusually dense network of narrow streets, and the conversations in Spanish commonplace in the area, are all reflected in her work.
References to the strong winds and the native American presence can be seen in Chinook, painted after a road trip through Montana. A small number of works in the show reflect on memories of special places from her early life in New Zealand. Quite different influences can be seen in the five 2007 works (including the title piece, Shilin) created from her experiences during a trip to Taipei when she was one of five New Zealand artists selected for the Art of New Zealand, 2006 exhibition (curator Li-Chuan Hung) in the Chan Liu Museum, Taipei. In 2008, her works were included in a solo exhibition in Ming Jen Gallery, Kaoshiung City, Taiwan.
Born in Christchurch in 1945, Blair graduated with a Diploma in Fine Arts from Canterbury University in 1967. She has taught and exhibited internationally for over 40 years and has more than 100 solo and 300 group exhibitions to her credit. Represented in numerous public and private collections in Japan, France, Italy, Germany, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, she has works in The British Museum (London), Chan Liu Art Museum (Taiwan), National Art Gallery (Canberra), Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Auckland Art Gallery, Christchurch Art Gallery, Long Beach Museum, Ca, Riverside Art Museum, Ca, and many corporate collections in the United States including Citicorp, Citibank, General Electric, and Hong Kong and Shanghai Banks.