Brown's exhibition, which opened at Milford Galleries in the resort recently, is a collection of pieces which, in his own distinctive narrative, utilises icons which illustrate and celebrate New Zealand's culture in the form of a social dialogue.
Born in Invercargill in 1949, Brown has established himself as one of the country's most important figurative artists and New Zealand's leading narrative artist.
After graduating from the University of Auckland's Elam School of Arts in 1971 as a Bachelor of Fine Arts, he began his full-time artistic career the following year.
Brown lived for many years in "suburban Auckland" before moving to a rural property in Southland in 2000.
In 2004, he was awarded the Order of Merit for services to painting and printmaking and, in 2005, he was artist in residence at the New Zealand embassy in Moscow, Russia.
Conversation, which opened yesterday, is part of Brown's constantly evolving dialogue and exchange of ideas, with his distinctive iconography revealed and reinvigorated in a blend of the familiar and the new.
Intuitively constructed scenes express New Zealand's defining aspects and examine the "humanistic concerns" common to all.
Iconic figures including the "black-singleted man" with a woman and two children - "the archetypical nuclear family" - a moa, tree fern, kereru, tiki and kiwi represent core essences of New Zealand, while the use of text seeks to answer "fundamental questions of identity".
"Symbols and figures laden with meaning in I Am Pakeha complete an iconography of faith in what is essentially a celebration of being Pakeha in New Zealand," Brown said.
Meanwhile, common identifiable "key protagonists" make repeated appearances, including Captain James Cook, whose inclusion signifies issues relating to colonisation and "the intuitive versus the rational".
Strive and Endeavour relate not only to the motto of Brown's secondary school, but also raise the wider social issue concerning the depth of New Zealand's "cross-cultural consciousness".
Brown has inserted Captain Cook in a setting which resembles William Hodges' Maori Before A Waterfall, challenging the legend of Captain Cook and his place in history as a heroic explorer in So Much Undiscovered, Unseen.
The significant influence of Colin McCahon is also acknowledged in the exhibition through the incorporation of text within visual imagery - often a feature of McCahon's work - and through the appearance of icons, including the lamp in Made In New Zealand and New Zealand Table.
Another well-known New Zealander, poet James K.
Baxter, also has a recurrent presence, set beside Captain Cook in New Zealand Table.
"As disconnected figures, an ordinary domestic table further creates a narrative barrier between Cook and Baxter, yet simultaneously provides a ready platform for discussion and social interaction.
"In homage to Baxter, Poet Framed sees the poet positioned above the artist," Brown said.
Conversation runs at the Milford Galleries Queenstown until September 15.
