Superpartner is proud to announce an upcoming solo exhibition by Peter Robinson (Ngāi Tahu/Pākehā).

The exhibition centres on a large-scale sculptural work that transgresses the gallery’s functional and architectural constraints. Suspended in spectral dialogue above the parenga awa (river bank) of Kā-Muriwai, the installation traverses the quiet interior of a relocated 1860s timber chapel, extending the exterior  and e noho tahi ana me te hau o te whenua (living together with the air of the land). In this measured presentation, Robinson plays with the tension between the rigid and the ephemeral, inviting a contemplative engagement with space and form, and the contested qualities of occupation.

The exhibition at Superpartner will overlap with Peter Robinson: Charcoal Drawings, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, 2 August – 23 November 2025

Peter Robinson, Ngāi Tahu/Pākehā (b. 1966, Hakatere), is one of New Zealand’s most significant artists. Robinson’s practice explores formalist, conceptual, and relational art to examine identity and the habitation of space. Through a broad selection of materials and methods, Robinson’s art navigates personal experience and shared memory, confronting the legacies of historical narratives and cultural displacement. His installations often provoke a dialogue between tradition and modernity. Viewers are challenged to reconsider the constructs of heritage and belonging, reflecting on the ongoing effects of colonisation and the struggle for cultural identity.

Recent exhibitions include: Differences in kind and rhythm (with Giorgio Griffa), Te Uru, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland (2025);  Charcoal Drawing, Whangārei Art Museum (2024), Priorities, Artspace Aotearoa, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland (2024); Kā Kaihōpara, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Ōtepoti Dunedin (2023); Driftwood, Coastal Signs, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland (2023); Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki (2020).

Robinson has also participated in important international exhibitions, such as, 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (2018);  Jakarta Biennial (2015), 5th Auckland Triennial (2013); 13th Istanbul Biennale (2013); 11th and 18th Biennale of Sydney (1998/2012).

In 2001 Peter Robinson  was New Zealand’s representative at the 49th Venice Biennale.

His works are held in multiple public collections including,  Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa; Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery; Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū; the Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney; Musée d'Art Contemporain de Lyon; Fonds régional d'art contemporain Alsace;  Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; and the Denver Art Museum.

Robinson has received the New Zealand Arts Foundation Laureate Award (2016) and the Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tāmaki Walters Prize.