Justin Summerton

Justin Summerton was born in the Wirral , North West England, in 1968. In 1971 his family emigrated to New Zealand, where he lives presently. He completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree (1987) and a Bachelor of Arts degree (1993) at the University of Otago.
In 1990, Summerton had a studio flat at St Clair Esplanade, Dunedin, where he experimented with oils, working mainly on seascapes. The following year, he had his first solo exhibition.

Summerton is painter who depicts a dreamlike world in his work, often presenting New Zealand as a primeval landscape. In his work, Summerton reveals a fascination with New Zealand natural elements, such as the sea, volcanic cones, mountains and cloud formations, which constitute the basis of his work. His latest paintings have been described as inhabiting "a strange milieu halfway between representational landscape and surrealist dreamscape." The artist makes the landscapes his own, by rearranging and/or adapting them to his vision, obeying to symbolic or allegorical purposes.
The surrealist painter favours a utopian New Zealand: "Most of my art is related to the ecology of the world," Summerton says. "I'm not a hippy, greenie painter who rants on, but maybe I am an environmentalist. New Zeal...

Otago Boys High School 1981 - 84
Otago University
BCom 1987
BArts. 1993.

1990 O’Books Gallery, Dunedin
1993. Carnegie Gallery, Dunedin
1994. Sidewalk Cafe, Detroit, USA
1995. International Cafe, San Francisco
1998. Letham Gallery, Auckland
1999. Warwick Henderson Gallery (WHG) Auckland - ‘Primeval NZ landscapes’
2000. WHG - ‘New Work’
2002. WHG - ‘Volcanic Cones’
2003. Rushcutters Bay, Sydney - Group Show
2004. WHG. - ‘Interiors’
2005. WHG. - ‘New Works’
2006. WHG. - ‘Beaches and Islands’
2008. WHG. - ‘Oasis’
2012. WHG. - ‘Surrealists in a Dreamlike World’
2015. WHG. - ‘A Landscape Revealed’
2021. Aesthete Gallery, Hamilton, NZ -‘A NZ Road Trip’


Publications

2002. Caughey - ‘Art NZ Today’
2002. J Daily Peoples -‘ National Business Review. “Justin Summerton’s strange Milieu”
2003. Bob Harvey - ‘Rolling Thunder’
2004. Bob Harvey - ‘Westies’
2005. D Robinson. - ‘NZ’s Favourite Artists’
2008. H Pearson. - ‘Landforms in Contemporary Art’
2009. A Topp. - ‘Creating Waves’
2013. J Summerton - ‘The Last Secret Wave’ . Amazon
2015. Art NZ. - ‘A Landscape Revealed’
2015. North and South - ‘The Artist in his Studio’
2017. Warren Hawke. - ‘NZ Surf : The...