Don Binney’s ‘bird paintings’ have taken on a life similar to that of his beloved subject. Regularly spotted through most of the 1960s, these lyrical paintings embodied the aspirations of a self-consciously ‘New Zealand’ tradition intent on nurturing and preserving the local. A shift in critical tides saw the bird paintings drop out of sight and even out of Binney’s practice. But these paintings have returned from the brink of extinction on the back of yet another critical reassessment and the new light cast by contemporary concerns around environmentalism and conservation. Binney’s bird paintings are back in full flight, in both their classic forms and a fantastic new species. Kotare over Hikurangi is characteristic of Binney’s mid-1960s work. The large bird form hovers in the flat background space of the sky, distinct from, but connected to, the earth via the abstracted landscape that jags towards it. A scene of natural harmony and wonder, it is unburdened by the signs of civilisation that sometimes creep into Binney’s work. A sense of movement and even the shimmering of light on feathers are suggested through the textural play between the flat background space and the heavily worked oil paint in parts of the bird’s body. The distinctive black outline that gives Binney’s work its bold graphic quality holds all of these elements in tension. The kotare flitters through many of Binney’s paintings. Return visitors to Binney’s world may also recognise this distinctive landform from the earlier bird-less painting Northern Journey 1964 in the Rutherford Trust Collection. As he does with his bird subjects, Binney pays close attention to the shapes, moods and powers of the land. It’s part of an holistic approach to representing nature that saw Binney match birds to habitats and insist that he paints ‘environments’ rather than ‘landscapes’. It’s easy to be seduced by Binney’s capturing of the graceful movement of the kotare, or his accuracy in rendering its form and markings – from the pointed black bill to the deep green/blue tinge of the head and collar. His ornithological interest is palpable, but it is Binney as modernist painter that really allows this bird to soar. Kotare over Hikurangi showcases the range of pictorial strategies Binney developed for channelling the energies and forces of nature through the act of painting. His reverence for nature is always matched with a thorough understanding of modern painting and art history. AARON LISTER