To mark twenty years of the Parehuia Artist Residency, McCahon House is holding a nationwide Art Union raffle with a prize that’s suitably worthy. Hard Epic (2021), is a large-scale acrylic and oil on canvas by Judy Millar, one of New Zealand’s most internationally recognised painters. A Venice Biennale exhibitor, monumental abstractionist, and the very first artist to live and work at Parehuia (McCahon House) when the programme launched two decades ago, Millar has donated the painting to ensure the residency that helped shape her career can continue to support other artists. Hard Epic was painted in 2021, during the COVID lockdowns, when the intensity of West Auckland sunsets and the strange collective stillness of that period found their way onto her canvas. It is a large work (2100 × 1500mm, acrylic and oil on canvas) and a significant one. To own an original Judy Millar is to own a piece of New Zealand art history by an artist whose works remain highly coveted.
In support of McCahon House, this year they have revived the Art Union, an old Aotearoa tradition in which a work of art was offered as a prize. Simply buy a ticket, support the next generation of artists, and you might also win an exceptional painting from one of our country’s most celebrated artists. As Millar says, “I’m now in a position to give back and help support other artists. I want to see other artists be given similar chances.”
The Parehuia residency sits beside Colin McCahon’s former home in Titirangi and has quietly supported painters, sculptors, installation artists and research-led practitioners for twenty years. Many previous residents of the McCahon House have gone on to have acclaimed national and international careers. It is the kind of programme that shapes our cultural landscape.
With only 1,000 tickets available for $100, and all proceeds going directly to the residency, this is your chance to own a Judy Millar, and the feel proud that you have contributed to keeping something creative and unique alive in New Zealand. The winning ticket will be drawn at the Aotearoa Art Fair on Sunday, 3rd May at the McCahon House booth.
Purchase your ticket here.
