Rudolf Gopas

Rudolf Gopas (née Hopp,[1] 13 December 1913 – 23 July 1983) was a New Zealand artist and art teacher. He was born in Siluté, Germany (present day Lithuania) on 13 December 1913.[2] Gopas' works are held in the collections of the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki,[3] the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa,[4] Christchurch Art Gallery[5] and the Hocken Library.[6]

His second wife was the radio broadcaster Airini Nga Roimata Grennell.[2]

Early life

Gopas was born in Siluté, Germany (present day Lithuania) in 1913. His parents were Pranas Gopas, a machinery merchant, and Marte Plauschin. Gopas' birthplace was near Nidden, a fishing village with a popular artists colony.[7]

Education

Gopas studied painting at the School of Fine Arts in Kaunas from 1933 to 1938. While studying, Gopas travelled in Germany, Austria, Italy, Latvia and Greece.[2]

Career

During the occupation of Lithuania by German military during World War II, Gopas served in the German army. He married Natalija (Natascha) Seeberg in 1942, in Ventspils, Latvia, and their daughter Sylvia was born in 1944. When the Russian army invaded later that year, the Gopas family fled to Germany. From 1944-1948, they lived in a refugee camp at Ehrwald, and Gopas made a living producing portrait and landscape paintings. In June 1949, Gopas, his wife, daughter and mother-in-law (Marte Seeberg) travelled to New Zealand on an Irish boat, the Dundalk-Bay, which brought New Zealand Government-assisted immigrants from central and eastern Europe. The family arrived in Wellington on 27 June 1949, and were housed temporarily at the Pahiatua refugee camp. They were resettled in Dunedin, and Gopas found work as a photo-processor with Coulls Somerville Wilkie Limited.[7]

Once settled in New Zealand, Gopas began to re-establish himself as a painter. From 1949-1953, Gopas exhibited works at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington, and from 1951, he began to exhibit at the Otago Art Society.[2] In 1951, Gopas and others formed The Independent Group, in response to The Group in Christchurch. Gopas was a regular exhibitor with The Group until its cessation in 1977.[2]

In 1953, Gopas left his wife and daughter in Dunedin and moved to Christchurch, where he worked for a photographic firm. He and his wife divorced in 1957. In Christchurch, on 25 November 1958, Gopas married the radio broadcaster Airini Nga Roimata Grennell.[7]

Gopas was appointed as a temporary assistant lecturer in painting at the School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury in 1959, and took up a permanent position in 1960. His students included Philip Trusttum, Philippa Blair, Philip Clairmont, Vivien Bishop, Gavin Bishop, Tony Fomison, John Coley, Barry Cleavin and Kura Te Waru Rewiri.[2] Gopas was considered by his students to be a "lively and controversial teacher [...] His reputation was not based so much on his painting as on his ability as a talker about art, and as a stirrer."[8]

In 1976, Gopas and his second wife separated, and in 1977 Gopas resigned from his teaching role at the university and travelled to Ehrwald, Austria. He quickly became disillusioned and returned to New Zealand.[7]

Exhibitions

Exhibition of paintings by Rudolf Gopas (1950), at Kendal Nisbet, Dunedin.[9]

Group Loan Show (1960), at the Christchurch Art Gallery.[10]

Galactic Landscapes 1965 - '67 (1967), at New Vision Gallery, Auckland.[7]

Paintings for the Sun (1976), at the Christchurch Art Gallery.[11][8]

Rudolph Gopas: A Retrospective Exhibition (1982) at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth.[12] This exhibition subsequently toured throughout New Zealand during 1982-1984.[13]

Gopas and His Students: Gopas, Clairmont, Frizzell, Trusttum, Te Waru Rewiri (2002) at Ferner Galleries, Auckland.[14]

Illness and death

After Gopas' return to New Zealand in the late 1970s, his mental health deteriorated and he was committed to Sunnyside Hospital for periodic treatment. Suffering from alcoholism, Gopas' condition deteriorated, and after his circulation became impaired his left leg was amputated above the knee. He made a partial recovery from this surgery before complications arose. On 23 July 1983, two weeks before the scheduled opening of the first exhibition dedicated to his life's work, Gopas died of a heart attack caused by arteriosclerosis, at his home in Christchurch.[7] He was survived by his wife, and his daughter from his first marriage.

Further reading

Rudolf Gopas (1913-1983), MA thesis by J. K. Furniss from the University of Canterbury, 1983.

Rudi Gopas: A Biography, by Chris Ronayne (David Ling, 2002).

The Archive of Rudolf Gopas (1913-1983) is held at the Christchurch Art Gallery Archive, and the inventory is available online.

References
  1. Ronayne, Chris (2002). Rudi Gopas – a biography. Auckland: David Ling. 267 p.
  2. Mane-Wheoki, Jonathan. "Rudolf Gopas". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  3. "Rudolph Gopas". Auckland Art Gallery. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  4. "Rudolf Gopas | Collections Online - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa". collections.tepapa.govt.nz. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  5. "Rudolf Gopas: A Painter and Teacher in Retrospect | Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  6. "Gopas, Rudolf". findnzartists.org.nz. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  7. Furniss, J. K. (1987). "Rudolf Gopas (1913-1983)". University of Canterbury Theses and Dissertations.
  8. Dunn, Michael (Winter 1983). "Rudolf Gopas: A Teacher and Painter in Retrospect". Art New Zealand. 27: 28–33.
  9. A., E.A. (1950-04-20). "European Artist: Exhibition of Paintings". Otago Daily Times.
  10. "Group Loan Show | Christchurch Art Gallery | Te Puna o Waiwhetū". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  11. "Rudolf Gopas: Paintings for the Sun | Christchurch Art Gallery | Te Puna o Waiwhetū". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  12. Gopas, Rudolf; Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand; Govett-Brewster Art Gallery; New Zealand Art Gallery Directors Council (1982). Rudolf Gopas: a retrospective exhibition. New Plymouth, N.Z.: Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. OCLC 221513813.
  13. "Rudolf Gopas: A Painter and Teacher in Retrospect". Bulletin. Christchurch Art Gallery | Te Puna O Waiwhetū. 28: 2. August 1983.
  14. Ferner Galleries (2002). Gopas and his students: Gopas, Clairmont, Frizzell, Trusttum, Te Waru Rewiri. Auckland, N.Z.: Ferner Galleries. OCLC 271512006.
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