Ten Big Paintings

Because of space and financial restraints, there have been few opportunities in New Zealand for the development and production of very large paintings. Large, in this case, is qute relative, as some American painters, particularly since about the fourth-decade of this century, have produced paintings of huge dimensions. Earlier, in the 16th century, the power and wealth of Venice was glorified in grandiose canvases of tremendous size. And a monolithic scale was felt to be a need by some European painters of the 19th century. 

In May 1969, the Exhibitions section of the Auckland City Art Gallery devised the Ten Big Paintings project. The idea behind this proposal is that scale is of paramount importance and that the works should not be a collection of small paintings hung closely together. 

Gil Docking

Text extracted from: Ten Big Paintings, Auckland City Art Gallery, New Zealand, February 1971, p.1.