John Ward Knox
John Ward Knox 2020 (photograph courtesy The Spinoff)
Born in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) in 1984, Ward Knox lives in Karitane, north of Ōtepoti (Dunedin) in New Zealand’s South Island. He has a Master of Fine Arts from Elam School of Fine Arts in New Zealand, and has been the recipient of that country’s National Drawing Award, in 2008, and the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship at Otago University, in 2015.
His practices includes sculpture and his distinctively subtle black oil paintings on silk. The transparent material allows a screened image to be seen behind the painted surface as the pigment absorbs the light. He suspends one painting in front of another and a visual shift happens. His sculptural work also embodies a delicate sense of balance and beauty. Ward Knox leans towards materials and objects that are imbued with time and patience and are rewarding to touch.
John Ward Knox has exhibited regularly since 2004. His work has been included in The Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (2020) and is included in New Zealand and Australian collections.
John Ward Knox 2020 (photograph courtesy The Spinoff)