NEW ZEALAND’S STUART SHEPHERD: GETTING AWAY FOR A PURPOSE, TO REIGNITE A CREATIVE SPARK

AN ARTIST DISCOVERS THE GREAT VALUE OF A CHANGE OF SCENERY

by Edward M. Gómez

When Apollo was ready to get to work, how did he summon the Muses? And when the ancient Greek god of the arts found that he had lost his creative mojo, what did he do to summon it back?

Stuart Shepherd, “The Fall,” 2023, acrylic on paper, 29.53 x 21.65 inches (75 x 55 centimeters). Collection of Mitch Belgin, New York; photo courtesy of Stuart Shepherd. About this picture, the artist says, “In it, I’m investigating figures in turmoil and aiming to create ambiguous space through the tonal treatment of form.”

The artist Stuart Shepherd, a New Zealander who lives and works in a coastal town south of Auckland, is a painter and maker of drawings and ceramics who has taught art at a local university. He has also been active as a researcher and promoter of other artists’ work in the field of outsider art in New Zealand. In the past, he has shared his discoveries with art dealers and curators at home and overseas.