Phillippa Blair
Born in Christchurch, Phillippa Blair studied at the Canterbury School of Fine Art under the direction of Rudolf Gopas whose propensity for flamboyant abstract expressionism is evident in Blair's work. After her marriage she moved to Wairoa, where she taught art at the local college before moving, with her husband, to Australia for several years. Although now based in Auckland, Phillippa Blair has travelled extensively which has helped her revitalise her ideas and her work. She has been influenced by the work of John Olsen in Australia, de Kooning and Paul Klee in the United States. Her drip technique with vibrant colours expressively added to the canvas in a seemingly random manner is reminiscent of the work of Jackson Pollock. She has also found inspiration from the philosophy and life pattern of the American Indian which led to a series of "tipi" paintings where she painted on canvas set in tent-like shapes. Having freed her canvases from the frame she also freed them from the wall and the "cloak" series developed by folding the corners of the canvas away from the wall. Her unconventional, multi-disciplined approach to the visual arts is reflected in her desire to experience and describe sculptural and textural elements using oil on canvas. Her work, with its exuberant and rhythmic brushwork, responds to experiences and sensations in her won life and also talk of the power of the unconscious. Her work is represented in private collections and most major galleries in New Zealand and overseas.
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