Euan Macleod has been regular visitor to the Haupapa Tasman Glacier in New Zealand’s South Island for over fifty years and it features in the works in this exhibition. Embracing the European tradition of the romantic sublime and reflecting on the legacy of JMW Turner, Caspar David Friedrich and Eugene von Guerard, Macleod celebrates its sublime majesty but also expresses vulnerability and fragility of both mountain and man. These enigmatic works challenge the notion of the romantic sublime; the figure is not simply diminutive and in awe of the landscape but also threatens – the dark figures creating nature’s doom, destroying the ground that they walk on. The contemporary reality of climate change is evident in the change to the glacier and whilst we appreciate its magnificent beauty the need to avert the impending tragedy is urgent.

Euan Macleod was born in Christchurch in 1956. He was awarded a Diploma of Fine Arts (Painting) by the Ilam School of Fine Arts, Canterbury University, in 1979, before moving to Sydney in 1981. He has held more than fifty solo shows in Australia and New Zealand and has numerous prizes to his name including the Archibald Prize (1999) and Sulam Prize (2001).

Euan Macleod is represented by King Street Gallery on William, Sydney; Niagara Galleries, Melbourne and Bowen Galleries, Wellington.