Art donated to fund charity

Wānaka charity Kāhu Youth could benefit from the work of a renowned New Zealand artist when a painting goes up for auction next month.

Christchurch-based Darryn George (Ngapuhi) said he released the large oil on canvas painting, called Takuta #6 2012, as a way to support Kāhu Youth’s mission.

“I love the long-term vision they have for the future: the kāhu bird soaring high and looking out over the landscape.

“If you invest in youth, in students, for the future, then that is an important matter for me.”

George, head of the art department at Christ’s College, said the work was part of a series of paintings he completed shortly after the Christchurch earthquakes.

“I just wanted to make a series of paintings that radiate hope.

“I have this pattern that goes all the way through — a butterfly shape. It’s a moko design that I designed myself.

“For me, the butterfly has always represented resurrection, new life, new beginnings. After all this destruction, something good will come out of it.”

Other works from the series are held in the collections of Te Papa Tongarewa, Christchurch Art Gallery, Canterbury University, Kunstwerk Stuttgart, Canberra Parliament Building, the Beijing High Commission and the Singapore Embassy, ​​among others.

The piece will be auctioned at the Forsyth Barr Winter Wonderland Ball in partnership with Kāhu Youth, at the Lake Wānaka Centre on August 24.

All proceeds above the reserve will go towards the establishment of the new Kāhu Youth Centre in Paetara Aspiring Central.

George also donates a percentage of the proceeds to the Kāhu Youth Trust.

The piece’s estimated value is between $30,000 and $40,000.

The work will be on display at Tussocks Homeware at 71 Ardmore St. from this week until the event date.

Anna Sutherland, Kāhu Youth’s director of operations, said the painting’s message of resilience and hope “aligns so beautifully with the community organisation’s mission and values”.