Chris Booth (born 30 December 1948) is a New Zealand sculptor and practitioner of large-scale land art. He has participated in numerous land art projects and exhibitions internationally and created significant public sculpture commissions in NZ, Australia, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Italy, Denmark, France and Canada.

Early life

Booth was born in Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands. He studied at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

School of Fine Arts before taking two years of specialist study in the United Kingdom with sculptors Dame Barbara Hepworth, Denis Mitchell, and John Milne in St Ives; and Quinto Ghermandi in Verona, Italy. Some of Booth's earliest works were inspired by the clearing of scrubland in

Northland Region Northland (), officially the Northland Region, is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 regions of New Zealand, local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout t ...

and his concern for how this affected the balance of nature.

Style

Chris Booth works closely with the land, earth forms, and indigenous peoples of the region(s) where he creates his monumental sculptural art works. His way of working emphasises communication and exchange between indigenous and colonial cultures and the creation of meaningful environmental art works. A major current project is the SLS (Subterranean Living Sculpture) which Booth is developing in association with the

Eden Project The Eden Project () is a visitor attraction in Cornwall, England. The project is located in a reclaimed china clay clay pit, pit.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS Explorer Map 107 – Fowey, Looe & Lostwithiel''. . The complex is dominated by two h ...

in Cornwall, UK. The major focus is to educate about the importance of lower plants and fungi for survival and the effect of climate change. Plans are underway to establish the SLS in New Zealand.

Critical reception

Canadian author and curator John Grande commented, "What is more remarkable are the various forms of sculpture he has gone on to produce, entirely unique. While Booth's sculpture sometimes draws upon indigenous Maori and Aborigine characteristics, they remain unique, and capture aspects of topography, natural history, and landscape forms already extant in the places he works."

Awards and honours

In 2011 Booth was awarded Honorary Fellow at Northtec Tai Tokerau Wānanga for 'outstanding and distinguished contribution to society'. In 1982 Booth was the recipient of the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship at the University of Otago, NZ.

Public sculptures and exhibitions

*''Waljin Beela'' , The Farmer Market River, Western Australia KMM Booth

*''Transformation Plant,'' VanDusen Botanical Gardens, Vancouver, Canada *''Kaitiaki,''

Rotoroa Island Rotoroa Island (formerly known as Ruthe's Island) is an island to the east of Waiheke Island in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. It is just over an hour away by ferry from the Auckland Ferry Terminal, Auckland ferry terminal. It covers . H ...

, Auckland, New Zealand *''Wurrungwuri'',

Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney is a heritage-listed major botanical garden, event venue and public recreation area located at Farm Cove on the eastern fringe of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government are ...

, Australia *''Te Whiringa o Manoko'',

Kerikeri Kerikeri () is a town in the Bay of Islands, in the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the head of Kerikeri Inlet, a northwestern arm of the Bay of Islands, where fresh water of the Kerikeri River enters the Paci ...

, New Zealand *''Waka and Wave'',

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...

, New Zealand *''Echo van de Veluwe'',

Kröller-Müller Museum The Kröller-Müller Museum () is a national art museum and sculpture garden, located in the Hoge Veluwe National Park in Otterlo in the Netherlands. The museum, founded by art collector Helene Kröller-Müller within the extensive grounds of ...

, Netherlands *''Nga Uri o Hinetuparimaunga'',

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, New Zealand *''Peacemaker'', Wellington Botanic Gardens, Wellington New Zealand *''Taurapa''

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand *''Wiyung tchellungnai-najil (Keeper of the light)'', Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia *''In Celebration Of A Tor'', Grizedale Forest Park,

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, United Kingdom *''Gateway'', Albert Park, Auckland *''Kinetic Fungi Tower,'' Sculpture On The Gulf,

Waiheke Island Waiheke Island is the second-largest island (after Great Barrier Island) in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its ferry terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is from the central-city terminal in Auckland. It is the most populated island ...

(2017) *''Te Haa o Te Ao (The Breath of the World),''

, New Zealand. (2023). Kinetic sculpture on the theme of climate change created with Tom Hei Hei

Print, film, and media

Booth was the subject of ''Woven Stone-'' a ''monograph'' published in 2007 by Random House, New Zealand. Publications include: 'Public Art and Ecology, International Public Artists' Discourse on Ecology', Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, China, 2011, 'New Zealand Sculpture: A History', Michael Dunn, 2002; 'Chris Booth – Sculpture in Europe, Australia & New Zealand', Edward Lucie-Smith, Ken Scarlett and Gregory O'Brien, 2001; 'Chris Booth Sculpture', David Bateman 1993. Films include: 'When a Warrior Dies', 1992, Valhalla Productions, Wellington, NZ; Director: Michael Hardcastle; 'Respecting the Earth', 2005, Director: Libby Hakaraia, Maori Television Kete Aronui series III; The Making of Wurrungwuri, 2013, Director: David Stalley, Brain in Hand Productions.

Website

http://www.chrisbooth.co.nz/
Map of Sculptures by Chris Booth

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Christopher 21st-century New Zealand sculptors People from Kerikeri 1948 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand sculptors 20th-century New Zealand male artists 21st-century New Zealand male artists