Ronnie van Hout (born 22 January 1962) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

artist, living in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

. He works across a wide variety of media including sculpture, video, painting, photography, embroidery, and sound recordings.

Early life and education

Born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

on 22 January 1962, van Hout attended the

Ilam School of Fine Arts The Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury was founded in 1882 as the Canterbury College School of Art. The school became a full department of the university in the 1950s, and was the first department to move to the suburban Ilam ...

at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

between 1980 and 1982, where he majored in film. In 1999, he gained a Master of Fine Arts from

RMIT University RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city ...

, Melbourne.

Exhibitions

Van Hout has exhibited extensively, in Australia, New Zealand and internationally, at private and public galleries. Major solo shows *2012 ''Ronnie van Hout: I've Seen Things'',

The Dowse Art Museum The Dowse Art Museum is a municipal art gallery in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Opening in 1971 in the Lower Hutt CBD, The Dowse occupies a stand-alone building adjacent to other municipal facilities. The building was completely remodelled in 2 ...

, Lower Hutt *2011 ''Ronnie van Hout: Who Goes There'',

Christchurch Art Gallery The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, commonly known as the Christchurch Art Gallery, is the public art gallery of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It has its own substantial art collection and also presents a programme of New ...

*2004 ''Ronnie van Hout: I've Abandoned Me'',

Dunedin Public Art Gallery The Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, Dunedin Town Hall, and other facilities such as t ...

and

City Gallery Wellington City Gallery Te Whare Toi is a public art gallery in Wellington, New Zealand. History City Gallery Te Whare Toi began its life as the Wellington City Art Gallery on 23 September 1980 in a former office block located at 65 Victoria Street, now ...

*2003 ''No Exit, Part 2'', Physics Room, Christchurch

Public sculptures

Van Hout has also produced a number of large-scale or permanent public art works, including ''Fallen Robot'' near The

Dowse Art Museum The Dowse Art Museum is a municipal art gallery in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Opening in 1971 in the Lower Hutt CBD, The Dowse occupies a stand-alone building adjacent to other municipal facilities. The building was completely remodelled in 20 ...

, ''Comin' Down'' for the Christchurch Art Gallery, ''Boy Walking'' installed in Potters Park in Auckland, and ''

Quasi Quasi (phonetics 'kwa - zee') is an American indie rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1993 by former spouses Sam Coomes (vocals, guitar, rocksichord, various keyboards, bass) and Janet Weiss (vocals and drums). Joanna Bolme performed and ...

'', a hand sculpture currently at

Awards and recognitions

*2004 nominated for the

Walters Prize The Walters Prize is New Zealand's largest contemporary art prize. Held biennially since 2002, the prize aims to 'make contemporary art a more widely recognised and debated feature of cultural life'. The prize is named in honour of New Zealand ab ...

held at

Auckland Art Gallery Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

. *2004

Creative New Zealand The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government, investing in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes and developing markets ...

Berlin Visual Artists Residency at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

*2005 recipient of a Laureate award from the

Arts Foundation of New Zealand 'The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand arts organisation that supports artistic excellence and facilitates private philanthropy through raising funds for the arts and allocating it to New Zealand artists. The concept ...

. *2008

Rita Angus Residency The Rita Angus Residency in Wellington, New Zealand, is an opportunity for artists to live in the former home of Rita Angus, one of New Zealand’s best-known painters, while creating a body of new work. About the Residency The Rita Angus Cottage ...

, Wellington

Collections

Van Hout's work is held in many public collections including th
Auckland Art GalleryMuseum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaChristchurch Art Gallery
and th
Public Art Gallery

Further information

*Anthony Byr

''Art New Zealand'' 126, Autumn 2008 *John Hurrell
Review of ''Who Goes There''
EyeContact, 27 September 2009 *John Hurrell
Review of ''The Other Mother''
EyeContact, 28 June 2011 *Tom Cardy
Van Hout's latest hits the Dowse
The DominionPost, 12 July 2012 * Robert Leonard
Unnerved: The New Zealand Project
''Eyeline'', no. 73, 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:van Hout, Ronnie 1962 births New Zealand artists 21st-century New Zealand sculptors 21st-century New Zealand male artists People from Christchurch Living people Ilam School of Fine Arts alumni RMIT University alumni New Zealand embroiderers