By the time she was seven, Susan Te Kahurangi King had stopped talking. Yet, today, she is one of Aotearoa’s most globally sought after artists. Paris, New York, Dusseldorf are just some of the locations of solo exhibitions this year.
And while Susan may be mute, boy can she draw.
Untitled, August 1961. Susan Te Kahurangi King Photo: Sam Hartnett
Extraordinary mashups of small figurative details of the life around her - motifs held within a mind bending spatial abstract mesh. A world of Te Kahurangi King’s own making and complex feelings.
Untitled, August c1970. Susan Te Kahurangi King Photo: Sam Hartnett
Te Kahurangi King is now in her 70s - and drawing again after a long period when, inexplicably, she stopped. Her work can be found in the Museum of Modern Art collection in New York, among many others.
Untitled, August c1969. Susan Te Kahurangi King Photo: Sam Hartnett
Untitled, an exhibition has recently opened at public gallery Te Uru in Tamaki Makaurau, Waitakere and in September her work is at art fair Sydney Contemporary, while Susan flies to show in New York.
Untitled, c1965. Susan Te Kahurangi King Photo: Sam Hartnett
Susan Te Kahurangi’s King’s life has also been marked by the care for her as an artist shown to her by her family.
Sister Petita Cole - an art teacher and artist herself - has had an extraordinary journey of her own as an archivist of over 5000 drawings. We recommend her instagram, and you can check out 2009 Dan Salmon's film online Pictures of Susan.
Untitled, c1970. Susan Te Kahurangi King Photo: Sam Hartnett
Susan and Petita are two of 12 children - which, as Petita tells Culture101’s Mark Amery - had its challenges.
Untitled, 2018. Susan Te Kahurangi King Photo: Sam Hartnett
