Michael Parekowhai shortlisted in GoMA sculpture competition

By Design Daily Team, October 18, 2011 @ 4:24 pm

Kiwi artist Michael Parekowhai has been shortlisted to create a $1 million outdoor sculpture as a birthday present to mark 20 years of the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art. He’ll face some tough competion though, with two other artists joining him on the shortlist. They are Huang Yong Ping, a French visual artist of Chinese origin, and Argentina-born Rirkrit Tiravanija. 

Having made the shortlist, the three artists are now busy developing a detailed proposal for consideration by the selection committee, with the winner to be announced in November. The selection committee is made up of representatives from the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), Events Queensland and the Indigenous community. 

The winning sculpture will take pride of place on the banks of the Brisbane River at GoMA’s eastern corner. 

Parekowhai’s sculptural installation, titled ‘On first Looking into Chapman’s Homer’, was featured in Idealog #34. The work features two massive bronze bull sculptures sitting on top of bronze pianos and a concert grand piano that is intricately carved with Maori patterns. The installation has been a feature at the 2011 Venice Biennale.