Things to do  |  11 Mar 2025

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An influential and beloved former sculpture lecturer is the central figure in a new exhibition now open at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetū.

Francis ‘Shurrie’ Shurrock (1887–1977) was a sculptor, teacher and cherished mentor whose art, hospitality and unconventional spirit left an indelible mark on Aotearoa New Zealand’s artistic community, says curator Peter Vangioni who has co-curated the exhibition with Felicity Milburn.

“Dear Shurrie: Francis Shurrock and his contemporaries offers an intimate look at his life and legacy, bringing together sculptures, paintings and prints by Shurrock, his contemporaries and those whose work was shaped by his influence.”

Born in England, Shurrock came to New Zealand in 1924 to take up a role at the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts, which he held for 25 years.

Alison Duff Frank Sargeson 1963. Bronze. Auckland Council Art Collection, commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand, presented to the Auckland Public Library, June 1965

“Shurrock was a rare combination of intellectual rigor and personal warmth. He fostered an environment of self-expression, convention-bending creativity, and camaraderie that extended beyond the classroom,” Vangioni says.

“Through photographs and Christmas cards – affectionately addressed ‘Dear Shurrie’ – we get a glimpse of the community Shurrock cultivated with his students alongside his wife, Elizabeth Shurrock.” 

Shurrock’s artistic style evolved throughout his career in response to social, technological, and cultural changes, as well as the international art movements that emerged alongside them.

“His students and associates included notable artists Rita Angus, Leo Bensemann, Chrystabel Aitken, Florence Akins and Jim Allen. Perhaps his biggest influence was through Jim, who also went on to teach and encouraged his students to follow their own creative vision in much the same way that Shurrie did,” Vangioni says.

“Jim, who died in 2023, was also influential for his work in post-object art, and the exhibition features several images of Contact, his ground-breaking sequence of performance and technology-based actions at Auckland Art Gallery in 1974.” 

Several portrait sculptures feature in the exhibition, including bronzes by Shurrock of British / New Zealand artist Christopher Perkins and by Alison Duff of New Zealand writer Frank Sargeson.

There are also two striking bronze animal sculptures – a horse by Mary Barrett, Leo Bensemann’s wife, and a bull by Chrystabel Aitken.

Several items from Shurrock’s personal collection will be displayed, such as his handmade kimono-inspired robe and an example from his extensive collection of ukiyo-e Japanese colour woodcut prints.

“He shared these prints freely with his students and friends, and Leo Bensemann and Rita Angus were especially influenced by them,” Vangioni says.

“At the heart of this exhibition is an unassuming modernist who shaped the careers of generations of New Zealand artists. His art, like his life, blended the traditional with the experimental – never bound by convention and always open to new ideas.”

Dear Shurrie: Francis Shurrock and his contemporaries opened on Saturday 8 March alongside John Vea: Ini Mini Mani Mou and closes on 13 July 2025.

Main image: Francis Shurrock Untitled [Architectural Piece] c. 1930. Ōamaru stone. University of Canterbury Art Collection.