Bing Dawe

Ōtautahi Christchurch

Christchurch based sculptor Bing Dawe uses art as a vehicle for communicating his wider concerns about political, cultural, and environmental issues. Birds and fish often feature in his work as he seeks to reveal how humanity’s advancement and urban development impact the natural environment.

Upon graduating from the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts in the mid-1970s, Dawe has exhibited his drawings and sculptures extensively throughout New Zealand and overseas. Dawe has held over forty solo exhibitions, including a major survey exhibition at the Robert McDougall Art Gallery in 1999 - in this year he also won the Wallace / Visa Gold Art award. His work is represented in many public and private collections, both in New Zealand and internationally. He has gained public commissions in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Havelock North, Taupō, and Rotorua.

Dawe has also influenced subsequent generations of sculptors. He was a tutor and the programme coordinator for the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology Bachelor of Design course. Dawe retired from this role in 2017 to concentrate on his sculptural practice.