Paul Dibble
Soft Geometrics, Water’s Edge, Maritine
2009
Bronze
Paul Dibble’s Soft Geometrics derive from a rich and diverse history of both European and Pacific cultures. One senses in the strong sculptures the voices of Arp, Brancusi and Gordon Walters, integrated with traditional Maori and Pacific Island forms: the koru, a fish, the prow of a waka canoe. The work emerged through an abstraction of the human figure, simplifying human limbs and heads into spheres and gentle stretching curves. Formally, the contrasting positive and negative shapes create dimension and tension.
Paul Dibble lives in Palmerston North and casts his work from a dedicated foundry with a small team of highly skilled assistants. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons) from Elam School of Fine Arts at Auckland University in 1967. In 2004 he was awarded a New Zealand Order of Merit and in 2007,an Honorary Doctorate from Massey University, Palmerston North. He has received two QE II Council Grants (1985 and 1979). His work is in significant collections throughout the country. Highlights of Dibble's career include major survey exhibitions and the commission of The New Zealand Hyde Park Corner Memorial in London.
