Paul Dibble

Paul Hugh Dibble MNZM (born 20 March 1943) is a New Zealand sculptor.

Paul Dibble MNZM
Born	Paul Hugh Dibble 20 March 1943 Thames, New Zealand
Alma mater	Elam School of Fine Arts
Known for	Sculpture
Notable work	New Zealand War Memorial, London
Spouse(s)	1. Patricia Burke (d. 1983) 2. Fran McIntosh ​ (m. 1985)​

Biography

Born in Thames on 20 March 1943 and raised on a farm in Waitakaruru on tha Hauraki Plains,[1] Dibble was educated at Thames High School. He trained at the Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland from 1963, graduating with a Diploma of Fine Arts with Honours in 1967.[2]

Dibble was appointed to lecture painting and sculpture at the Palmerston North College of Education in 1977.[2] Between 1997 and 2002 he lectured in art at Massey University.[3] He has produced a wide range of pieces and has mounted many one-man exhibitions beginning with the Barry Lett Gallery in Auckland in 1971.[3] In 2000 he established his own bronze foundry for larger works, and is one of a small number of New Zealand sculptors who does his own large-scale casting.[4]

Ghost of the Huia

He received grants from the QEII Arts Council in 1979 and 1985, and held a residency at the Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt in 1987–88.[3] Dibble was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the arts in the 2005 New Year Honours,[5] and in 2007 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree by Massey University.[6]

Dibble's work is held in public collections in New Zealand, including that of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa,[7] the Dowse Art Museum, Te Manawa in Palmerston North, and the Christchurch Art Gallery.[3]

In 2016, the Stuart Residence Halls Council gifted Dibble's sculpture Pathways to the University of Otago, to celebrate the council's 75th anniversary.[8]

In May 2018 Dibble's sculpture The Garden 2002 was unveiled in Havelock North by Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy.[9]

Notable commissions

• New Zealand War Memorial, London

Gallery

• 
  Looking and Listening for the Sea (1992)
• 
  Pacific Monarch (1992), Te Manawa
• 
  The Nectar Eaters (2004), Palmerston North
• 
  New Zealand War Memorial (2006), London
• 
  Kowhai (2011)

Further reading

• Dibble, Fran; Dibble, Paul (2012). Paul Dibble: The Large Works. New Zealand: David Bateman. ISBN 9781869538194.
• Cook, Jeanette (2006). Paul Dibble. New Zealand: David Bateman. ISBN 9781869536527.
• Cook, Jeanette (2001). Paul Dibble. New Zealand: David Bateman. ISBN 1869535073.
• "An Interview with Sculptor Paul Dibble". tvnz.co.nz. Television New Zealand. 2012.
• "Paul Dibble: The Large Works – review". New Zealand Listener. 2012.

References

1. "Paul Dibble". Milford Galleries. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
2. Taylor, Alister, ed. (2001). "New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001". New Zealand Who's Who, Aotearoa. Auckland: Alister Taylor Publishers. ISSN 1172-9813.
3. "Paul Dibble" (PDF). Gow Langsford Gallery. 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
4. "Paul Dibble at the Gow Langsford Gallery". gowlangsfordgallery.co.nz. 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
5. "New Year honours list 2005". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2004. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
6. "Honorary graduates". Massey University. Archived from the original on 25 April 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
7. "Dibble, Paul at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa". collections.tepapa.govt.nz. 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
8. "Major artwork unveiled". University of Otago. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
9. Harfield, Ruby (4 May 2018). "Havelock North sculpture unveiled by Governor-General". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 5 April 2020.