16 August 2008 - 22 March 2009

Steel Jungle - Don Ramage

16 August 2008 - 22 March 2009

Steel Jungle, screenprint, 1972 by Don Ramage image by permission of the artist

In Dedication
Don Ramage wishes to dedicate this exhibition to Joan, his wife and companion for 60 years.

“She was always at my side to encourage me and her love and support enabled me to engage in so many activities within the arts and crafts. Joan was my inspiration, our bond will be everlasting.”
Don Ramage

Napier- born artist and designer Donald James Ramage is the latest modernist designer to be rediscovered by the Hawke’s Bay Museum & Art Gallery, Napier. Ramage, a painter, printmaker and commercial designer, has had a significant career which until now has gone largely unrecognised by New Zealand art historians.

Don Ramage was a square peg in the round hole of 1960s New Zealand art world, spending much of his career exploring industry, technology and progress; themes at odds with the New Zealand regionalist landscapes popular at the time. Raised in conservative heartland New Zealand in the 1930s and drawn into the Second World War at 18, Ramage was deeply affected by what he saw on the battlefields of Europe. His post-war works reflected the destruction of war and the rebirth of industry, both of which were to become significant themes of Ramage’s work.

Alongside his printmaking, Ramage worked as a graphic designer with strong links to the New Zealand ballet, New Zealand Opera, and Downstage Theatre. His work for these companies is evidence of a progressive, innovative and internationally aware designer. He became more involved in industry collaboration later in his career: from 1961 onwards Ramage was designing commercial carpets, fabrics and floor and wall coverings.

Don Ramage was a design educator from the mid 1950s through to the late 1980s. He was the art master at Wellington College from 1947 until 1961 when he was appointed to the founding staff of the Wellington Polytechnic School of Design – New Zealand’s first tertiary design school. Ramage developed the Wellington Polytechnic graphic design and textile design courses and in 1977 was appointed Head of School. He retired from teaching in 1981 and has since returned to live in Napier. His contemporaries include E. Mervyn Taylor, Guy Ngan, Roy Cowan, and Juiliet Peter.

In summary, Ramage’s commitment to printmaking techniques sets him aside from his contemporaries. His practice represents an important period in the development of New Zealand modernist printmaking and design.

Donald James Ramage was born in Napier in 1923, the second child of James & Margaret Ramage. He was educated in Napier and in 1940 enrolled at Victoria University, Wellington, to study history. Like many of his generation the Second World War interrupted his studies and in 1941, aged 18, Ramage was whisked into the New Zealand Army where he remained in active service until 1946.

This exhibition was curated and toured by The Hawke's Bay Museum & Art Gallery, Napier, all text is courtesy of The Hawke's Bay Museum & Art Gallery, Napier.