About

Richard Penn has developed a multidisciplinary practice grounded in systems, perception and cosmological inquiry. Working across painting, ceramics, drawing and installation, his work translates complex fields of information into structured visual forms, often through iterative and process-driven methodologies. His paintings investigate the relationship between signal and noise, order and entropy, using layered procedures that reveal and conceal underlying structures over time.

Born in South Africa, Penn established a career exhibiting with contemporary galleries and institutions in Johannesburg and Cape Town, where his work engaged with scientific models, cosmology and the visualisation of invisible systems. This interest continues to underpin his practice, which draws on ideas from physics, information theory and observation, positioning painting as a site where data, material and perception intersect.

Since relocating to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2020, Penn’s practice has expanded through a renewed sensitivity to scale, distance and environment. While maintaining its conceptual grounding, the work has developed in response to a different spatial and material context, extending its investigation of systems and perception across both painting and object-based forms. His ceramics, which similarly explore processes of construction and transformation, were recognised with the Premier Award at the Portage Ceramic Awards in 2022.

More recently, Penn has begun to incorporate text-based works that engage directly with questions of identity, belief and cultural inheritance. Emerging in response to a renewed awareness of rising antisemitism globally, these works introduce a more explicit and personal register into his practice. While distinct in form, they extend his ongoing interest in systems of meaning, language and transmission, foregrounding the tension between visibility and erasure.

Penn has taught at Elam School of Fine Arts and has undertaken residencies and exhibited both in New Zealand and internationally. His work is held in private and public collections. Now based in Auckland, he continues to develop a practice that moves between disciplines while maintaining a sustained focus on the translation of complex, often imperceptible phenomena into visual and material form.