Remembering Christine Hellyar (1947-2026)
The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery acknowledges with sadness the passing of artist Christine Hellyar, one of Aotearoa New Zealand's most original and influential contemporary artists.
Born in New Plymouth, Hellyar maintained a lifelong connection to Taranaki. Across more than five decades of practice, she developed a distinctive artistic language that drew from the natural world, domestic life, collecting, and the complex relationships between people and their environments. Since the late-1960s, Hellyar explored the sculptural potential of varied materials including latex, cast bronze, textiles and found objects.
Hellyar belonged to a generation of women artists whose contributions were not always afforded the visibility or recognition they deserved. Through determination, intelligence, and an unwavering commitment to experimentation, she helped redefine the possibilities of contemporary sculpture and installation practice in New Zealand. Hellyar also influenced a generation of artists through her work as an educator, teaching at Elam School of Fine Arts between 1981 and 1996.
Her work Country Clothesline remains one of the most significant works in the Govett-Brewster collection. When the Gallery acquired the work in the 1970s, its presentation of everyday clothing transformed through rubber latex challenged conventional ideas of sculpture and prompted considerable debate within the local community and media, while later art histories have recognised its feminist and conceptual dimensions and its importance in the development of New Zealand contemporary art.
Today, that debate stands as a timely reminder of the important role artists play in questioning assumptions and our understanding of how we come to know and engage with the spaces we inhabit. Hellyar's ability to find meaning, beauty, and complexity within ordinary materials helped shape the course of contemporary art in Aotearoa and opened pathways for future generations of artists.
The Govett-Brewster is honoured to hold Christine Hellyar's work in its collection and to continue sharing her legacy with audiences. We extend our heartfelt condolences to her whānau, friends, colleagues, and the many people whose lives were enriched by her creativity, generosity, and vision.
E moe mai rā, Christine. Your work continues to challenge, inspire, and endure.
Chrstine Hellyar, Country Clothesline, 1972. Installation view in Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. Govett-Brewster Art Gallery collection.