Jeff Thomson

For background on the artist and works, see below.

Current Works

About the Artist

Unconventional, humorous, challenging, iconic and ironic, the sculpture of Jeff Thomson has given a whole new perspective of corrugated iron in the New Zealand landscape and in art. His corrugated iron cows, elephants and animals appeared in the early 1980s, transforming one of the most ubiquitous materials in the Kiwi landscape and making us think twice about art at the same time.

Despite fame, Thomson remains real and grounded, just like his corrugated iron Holden, in the collection of Te Papa Tongarewa, the National Museum. Thomson’s work is keenly sought after by collectors in New Zealand and overseas, and he has had major exhibitions in Australia and Germany as well as New Zealand. His work never stands still, and he continues to be recognised as one of our leading and most original contemporary artists today. A major retrospective exhibition began touring NZ galleries in late 2013, coinciding with a new book on Jeff Thomson’s art.

Recent Works

New Threads of Old and New Iron

Various animals (including chickens, fantails, wetas, sheep etc) and objects such as woven kete, native plants, and feathers are available on commission using both screenprinted or ‘found’ corrugated iron. Please enquire for images and prices.

The Feather series has an enduring following, each one individually crafted from used iron, with its own unique personality. Larger than human scale, these are usually 2-3 metres from tip to quill, made of layered corrugated iron, and range from beachy to fiercely coloured works, some transformed through fire.

His recent abstract works defy the practical connotations of domestic objects and materials – such as mats, woven material and fabrics, a complete contradiction of practical and impractical when created out of corrugated steel and iron. His long-held interest in maps, as visual designs and as markers of our ‘place’, surfaces in a new way, with strips screenprinted, corrugated, and woven to play with ideas about our links to place. It could be read as how, no matter where in this country we come from, our lives are interwoven in unexpected ways.

These are all are indicative of Thomson’s ability to shrug off expectation and classification, and explore new challenges and conundrums in metal. His trademark corrugations remain, but here the viewer is challenged with how a material deemed functional or heavy can become an object of beauty and elegance. They are intriguing both in their craftsmanship and keenly observed philosophy.