Tim Melville Gallery is pleased to present Line Drawing, an exhibition of new stone sculpture by Joe Sheehan.
Joe Sheehan studied contemporary jewellery at Unitec in the mid-1990s and his interest in the historical, geological and cultural context of stone has led to extensive on-site field work and exploration both in Aotearoa and overseas.
The space between adornment and artefact has given him a wide field within which to operate. Sheehan’s artworks often twist the familiar and include everyday objects such as a working lightbulb, a cassette tape and batteries meticulously carved from Pounamu (New Zealand jade).
Sheehan is interested in fragments and artefacts, ancient and modern. In particular he is intrigued by their capacity to store large amounts of information – information which often requires an imaginative leap in order to come to life. A found collection of television remote controls was the catalyst for ‘The quick and the dead’ – a collapsed and overlapping history of the hand tool presented in 100+ basalt, greywacke and argillite objects. In artworks like this, Sheehan encourages viewers to stretch forward as well as to look backwards.
Recently Sheehan’s practice has encompassed large floor-based sculpture, the scale and mass of his new work encouraging a consideration of the relationship between nature and the built environment. The volume of these works demands a relationship with the entire body; in their presence we become aware of ourselves.
In November 2006 Sheehan was one of the inaugural recipients of the NZ Arts Foundation’s New Generation Award. In 2008 he presented work at the 28th Sao Paulo Bienal in Brazil. In 2011 he travelled to Antarctica as an Arts Fellow under the Artists in Antarctica Programme.
Public commissions include ‘Lost & Found’ (2024) in Federal St, Auckland and ‘Walk the Line’ (2015) at Wellington Cenotaph.
Sheehan’s work is held in collections including The Victoria & Albert Museum, London, Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki; Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington and Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth.
Photography: Sam Hartnett
Joe Sheehan
Line Drawing
2026
Hunua Basalt, Coromandel Jasper, Nelson Dolomite, Waima river-stone, Tihaka Pakohe (Argillite), Mahitahi Pakohe (Argillite), Māwhera Pounamu
1200mm H x 1000mm W x 80mm D
JS-2026-05
Joe Sheehan
Line Drawing (detail)
2026
Hunua Basalt, Coromandel Jasper, Nelson Dolomite, Waima river-stone, Tihaka Pakohe (Argillite), Mahitahi Pakohe (Argillite), Māwhera Pounamu
1200mm H x 1000mm W x 80mm D
JS-2026-05
Joe Sheehan
Line Drawing (detail)
2026
Hunua Basalt, Coromandel Jasper, Nelson Dolomite, Waima river-stone, Tihaka Pakohe (Argillite), Mahitahi Pakohe (Argillite), Māwhera Pounamu
1200mm H x 1000mm W x 80mm D
JS-2026-05
Joe Sheehan
Line Drawing (detail)
2026
Hunua Basalt, Coromandel Jasper, Nelson Dolomite, Waima river-stone, Tihaka Pakohe (Argillite), Mahitahi Pakohe (Argillite), Māwhera Pounamu
1200mm H x 1000mm W x 80mm D
JS-2026-05
Joe Sheehan
Line Drawing (detail)
2026
Hunua Basalt, Coromandel Jasper, Nelson Dolomite, Waima river-stone, Tihaka Pakohe (Argillite), Mahitahi Pakohe (Argillite), Māwhera Pounamu
1200mm H x 1000mm W x 80mm D
JS-2026-05
Joe Sheehan
Line Drawing (detail)
2026
Hunua Basalt, Coromandel Jasper, Nelson Dolomite, Waima river-stone, Tihaka Pakohe (Argillite), Mahitahi Pakohe (Argillite), Māwhera Pounamu
1200mm H x 1000mm W x 80mm D
JS-2026-05
Joe Sheehan
Line Drawing (detail)
2026
Hunua Basalt, Coromandel Jasper, Nelson Dolomite, Waima river-stone, Tihaka Pakohe (Argillite), Mahitahi Pakohe (Argillite), Māwhera Pounamu
1200mm H x 1000mm W x 80mm D
JS-2026-05
Line Drawing
2026
Installation view
Joe Sheehan
Chain Study
2026
Tihaka Pakohe (Argillite)
1000mm H x 140mm W x 65mm D
PRIVATE COLLECTION
Joe Sheehan
Chain Study (detail)
2026
Tihaka Pakohe (Argillite)
1000mm H x 140mm W x 65mm D
PRIVATE COLLECTION
Joe Sheehan
Chain Study (detail)
2026
Tihaka Pahoke (Argillite)
1000mm H x 140mm W x 65mm D
PRIVATE COLLECTION
Joe Sheehan
Chain Study (detail)
2026
Tihaka Pahoke (Argillite)
1000mm H x 140mm W x 65mm D
PRIVATE COLLECTION
Joe Sheehan
Kingdom
2026
Takaka Black Marble
190mm H x 140mm W x 30mm D
JS-2026-03
Joe Sheehan
Kingdom (detail)
2026
Tihaka Pakohe (Argillite)
950mm H x 780mm W x 600mm D
JS-2026-03
Joe Sheehan
Kingdom (detail)
2026
Tihaka Pakohe (Argillite)
950mm H x 780mm W x 600mm D
JS-2026-03
Joe Sheehan
Kingdom (detail)
2026
Tihaka Pakohe (Argillite)
950mm H x 780mm W x 600mm D
JS-2026-03
Joe Sheehan
Kingdom
2026
Tihaka Pakohe (Argillite)
950mm H x 780mm W x 600mm D
JS-2026-03
Line Drawing
2026
Installation view
Joe Sheehan
Gates of Heaven #1
2026
Carrara Marble
415mm H x 260mm W x 35mm D
JS-2026-07
Joe Sheehan
Gates of Heaven #1 (detail)
2026
Carrara Marble
415mm H x 260mm W x 35mm D
JS-2026-07
Joe Sheehan
Gates of Heaven #1 (detail)
2026
Carrara Marble
415mm H x 260mm W x 35mm D
JS-2026-07
Joe Sheehan
Gates of Heaven #2
2026
Takaka Black Marble
275mm H x 175mm W x 30mm D
JS-2026-02
Joe Sheehan
Gates of Heaven #2 (detail)
2026
Takaka Black Marble
275mm H x 175mm W x 30mm D
JS-2026-02
Line Drawing
2026
Installation view
Joe Sheehan
Quiet Rain #1
2026
Granite
1360mm H x 220mm W x 100mm D
PRIVATE COLLECTION
Quiet Rain #1 (detail)
2026
Granite
1360mm H x 220mm W x 100mm D
PRIVATE COLLECTION
Joe Sheehan
Quiet Rain #1 (detail)
2026
Granite
1360mm H x 220mm W x 100mm D
PRIVATE COLLECTION
Joe Sheehan
Quiet Rain #2
2026
Takaka Black Marble
190mm H x 140mm W x 30mm D
JS-2026-08
Line Drawing
2026
Installation vidw