Twice the space
THREE years of hard work researching, conserving and reframing works that in some cases have been unseen for decades will come to fruition when the Auckland Art Gallery reopens on 3 September. Years of planning, and three of construction will have gone into the $121 million heritage restoration and expansion at the gallery. Display area is doubled, and more than 800 works will feature from day one.
First, learn the language
SO says Roy Clare, the former head of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) in the UK, who has won the job of director of the Auckland War Memorial Museum. The MLA has been responsible for the designation and accreditation of British museums. Clare adds that he will also have an exciting opportunity to learn about the Kiwi lifestyle. He begins this month.
Be in to win
THERE have been “heaps of artists” contacting Central Otago Arts Trust coordinator Maxine Williams since entries opened for the inaugural Central Otago Art Awards. Judges for the event, Elizabeth Caldwell and Jim Geddes are directors of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery and the Easter Southland Gallery in Gore, respectively. Winners of the awards will be announced in October.
Engaging engraving
KATHERINE Mansfield in stainless steel is to bestride Midland Park in the capital city. Sculptor, Virginia King’s planned three metre high engraved commemoration of the international writer has not been greeted with universal acclaim. Fergus Barrowman, editor at Victoria University Press, described it as “lame.,” saying “Mansfield was such a fiercely original modernist it is odd to portray her in such a conventionally feminized style.” The Sculpture Trust which is co-ordinating the project hopes to have it in place in 2012.
Choo choo choose me
BRIT Bunkley’s sculpture Hear my train a comin’ won the Sculpture Wanganui 2011 public art award and will eventually be sited alongside the Whanganui River. Judge Mercedes Vicente, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, chose the work because of its specificity to Wanganui’s historical context, It references Wanganui as the former centre of the railroad workshops and uses pavers from Main Street which resonate with bricks found along the riverbank.
The completed vision
AFTER about $22million has been spent at the Rotorua Museum, the new South Wing which adds 50% more space will open on 22 August. There will be 10 galleries. Eight will be dedicated to the story of the Arawa people, and two will be for changing exhibitions. Artefacts for the Te Arawa exhibition have come on loan from galleries which include the Auckland Museum, Te Papa, and the British Museum Royal Collection.
Langham P.I.
PREPARATIONS for Rugby World Cup are well under way on Karangahape Rd. The K’Rd Business Association has adopted the Tongan team for the duration of the tournament. A six week event programme will feature an art exhibition, vintage Tongan film footage at the Film Archive and cultural performances. The Langham Hotel has provided their giant billboard for artist Filipe Tohi to create a Tongan themed artwork.
Parekowhai’s forte
MICHAEL Parekowhai’s Venice Biennale exhibition On first looking into Chapman’s Homer had its official opening last month and surprise those who previewed the work earlier this year in Auckland. The intricately-carved Steinway concert grand piano has been repainted a deep red from its original black reflecting the flag of the Venice republic (red and gold). Creative New Zealand has invested $700,000 in the exhibition with a record level of patronage support of $315,000.
Arise Sir James
BUSINESSMAN and arts patron James Wallace has been appointed Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the arts in the 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honours list. The knighthood officially recognises Wallace’s long record arts philanthropy. Wallace began collecting New Zealand art in the mid-1960s. In 1992 he transferred his collection to the newly established James Wallace Arts Trust. Now numbering over 5000 works the collection has recently been moved to Pah Homestead in Auckland’s Monte Cecilia Park.
Hard rock cache
TARANAKI andesite rock will be the medium and the New Plymouth foreshore near Len Lye’s Wind Wand will be the place. Te Kupenga Stone Sculpture Society is holding its 9th Biennial Stone Sculpture Symposium. Twenty five artists will carve up the dark coloured volcanic hard rock in full public view from 27 December to 13 January, 2012.
Trenchant art trip
TAURANGA Art Gallery is to host an exhibition of art inspired from a trip to the Kermadec Trench. John Pule, John Reynolds, Phil Dadson, Fiona Hall, Bruce Foster, Gregory O’Brien, Jason O’Hara, Robin White and Elizabeth Thomson travelled by frigate to the planet’s second deepest stretch of ocean in May. Pew Environment Group’s global ocean legacy programme funded each artist’s berth. Kermadec is scheduled for November.
Mahara Redefined
MAHARA Gallery on the Kapiti Coast has selected a design concept for a proposed redevelopment. The winning collaborative design by Parsonson Architects and Tennent Brown Architects was chosen from four competing entries. It connects the gallery to the Waikanae Library by an air-bridge and a cloak-like facade that unfolds across the buildings. The museum standard facilities will be used to house the Field Collection.
A great score
PHOTOGRAPHER Marti Friedlander, and sculptor Greer Twiss were honoured for their “extraordinary artistic achievements” at the Arts Foundations of New Zealand’s Icon Awards. The Icon Awards are the Foundation’s highest honour and are limited to 20 living artists who, says Chair Fran Ricketts, “have made a significant impact on their chosen art form, remain influential, and often have achieved amazing international success. “Collectively they make a powerful statement about the quality of New Zealand artists”.
Onward Chch soldier
DESPITE the on-going shakes and disturbances, Christchurch Art Gallery is forging ahead with an exhibition programme but beyond the physical gallery. While Civil Defence is still using their offices as a base, acting gallery director Blair Jackson said staff are looking to operate as a ‘gallery without walls’. Projects include a billboard for the Worcester Street façade, lunchtime talks and a Julia Morrison mural for the car park bunker on the gallery forecourt.
Trade and Exchange
CREATIVE New Zealand and the Asia New Zealand Foundation have renewed their partnership. After a successful first year they have agreed to support three curators to visit Korea and China for three weeks in October. The trip is to develop and share market knowledge of Korean and Chinese contemporary art and its relevance for New Zealand audiences, explore opportunities for NZ artists to exhibit in those countries, and explore opportunities for exchanges and joint exhibitions.
Got a little convoy
THE Real Art Roadshow is on the road again. After a six month break, the Roadshow has a beautiful new truck to haul around both the silver trailer and the new art educator who travels with the collection to assist schools with learning about art. The next two terms will be spent in the South Island including time in Christchurch to aid any art starved brains. The Real Art Roadshow is now a charity. Donations to it qualify for a tax deduction.
Musical chairs
TIM Melville’s departure from his gallery in Auckland has allowed FHE to create a second space around the corner from their gallery in Upper Khartoum Place. FHE Project opened in March and like its sister a few metres away will showcase historical artefacts and contemporary works. Tim Melville has moved to more roomy premises in Newmarket sharing a building with Jensen.
Chamber made
TAURANGA’S architecture firm Chambers + Chambers has added to its artistic sphere by opening a second gallery space in the city. Laundromat Art Project Space is now joined by Sten Charleston Gallery. Both are non-commercial ventures designed to engage the public with emerging artists and experimental art and design.
Forgotten art
Beloved Art, a forgotten art movement, art on line, and an Exploration of Taranaki’s Maori wars were all winners at the 2011 New Zealand Museum Awards. Beloved: Works from the Dunedin Public Art Gallery won the Award for Excellence in Exhibition (Art). Judges Ian Athfield, Greg McManus, and Priscilla Pitts also made awards to Auckland Art Gallery, Expressions Arts and Entertainment Centre and Puke Ariki. Commander David Wright won the Individual Achievement Award for his role in the development of the recently opened Navy Museum at Devonport.
Ah Mclean you’ve done it again
Taranaki Artist John McLean has done well with his work Dinghy and Waka with unstable foreshore. He picked up $20,000 and beat 52 finalists to win the 2011 Waikato Society of Fine Arts Painting and Printmaking Award, then he sold the work to the Philip Vela Family trust for $28,000. McLean’s work featured on the front cover of Art Zone 35 last year.
Star time
MATARIKI will be celebrated in Auckland throughout June and July. Corban Arts Centre, Northart Gallery, Mangere Arts Centre and Artstation are all planning exhibitions. In Wellington Te Papa, begining 4 June has a month of activities including a symposium, book launch, bi-lingual story-telling and a talk on Maori medicine and horticulture.
Sculpture Symposium
Wanganui District Council is inviting entries for Sculpture Wanganui 2011 and its associated symposium, which will be held on May 9 and 10. This is an annual public arts event. One winning work will be chosen from the finalist by an external judge, Rob Garrett. Entries must be received by 5pm March 11.
Make a triptych trip
COLIN McCahon’s 1975 Urewera Mural has been fought over, stolen, returned and carefully conserved. Now it will hang for three months in The Tauranga Art Gallery. The three panel painting was produced for the Waikaremoana Visitor Centre in Aniwaniwa after being commissioned by the Urewera National Park Board. Rarely toured or displayed it gives a visual short-hand history of Tuhoe.
Next stop Milan
David Trubridge’s new work, displayed for the first time, was the showstopper at the opening night of the Creative Hawkes Bay Invitational 2011. Tipu, is made using plant based plastic(PLA) and flax fibre. The translucent material has been developed especially for Trubridge. Tipu is the Maori word for sprout, grow, increase or develop. The fifth annual event at the Hastings Art Gallery is going from strength to strength. Curated this year by Helen Kedgley the opening night was a sell-out and a number of works were sold.
Art sale
NOW in its sixth year, the Original Art Sale returns to the TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre in Manakau on 13 May. The three day sale boasts more than 1200 works for sale from 300 artists. Ticket sale proceeds from the gala preview on 12 May go to Kidz First Children’s Hospital, and organisers expect a further 3000 people to visit across the weekend.
One stop sculpture shop
MOUNT Eden in Auckland got a lift in April when Gallery Lyon opened. The space focuses on fine art sculpture and is affiliated with Sculpture Workshop , a business created by Shona Lyon, which supplies sculpting products, offers tuition and workshops, and showcases fine art sculptures by Jim Wheeler and Michelle Farrell among others.
Give me wood
CHAINSAWS and chisels will shatter the silence at Barry’s Point Reserve in Takapuna in April as the biennial Wood Sculpture Live takes place. Lake House Arts Centre hosts the challenge for 30 sculptors to produce a work over ten days. If you miss the sawdust flying then an outdoor exhibition of finished works follows for a month from 16 April.
Cry me a Riva
ARTSPACE Chair William Somerville has appointed a new director. Caterina Riva joins after a three year stint as co-director of FormContent a non-profit space she co-founded in East London. Riva replaces Emma Bugden who moved to take up the position of senior curator at The Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt.
Indian downunder
RENOWNED Indian water colourist Swaroop Mukerji is the latest Asian artist to take up residence at the historic Bolton Street Cottage under the Wellington Asia Residency Exchange Programme. Three weeks will be spent painting members of Wellington’s Indian community in their home or work. Works resulting from Mukerji’s residence will be displayed in October at the Diwali Festival of Lights.
Suite as
CUBA Street has been synonymous with art in Wellington for the past 40 years thanks to resident aficionado Peter McLeavey. Enjoy Public Art Gallery also shares space at number 147. The floor above is about to house another gallery. Paul Nache Gallery from Gisborne comes down to warm up the space for the month of May. Then in June, Suite Fine Art Gallery will move in from Newtown and open with Wayne Youle.
A fair of the art
FORTY of Australasia’s leading galleries plan to be involved in the 2011 Auckland Art Fair which will run from 4-7 August. More than 1000 works by top contemporary artists will show at the new purpose built Viaduct Events Centre on Auckland’s harbour front. The fair will open with the Vernissage, a gala preview on Wednesday August 3.
Dibble on Broadway
PALMERSTON North’s Public Sculpture Trust has commissioned its sixth work for the city. Who’s Afraid is taking shape in Paul Dibble’s workshop and by mid-year will be located in front of the Regent Theatre on Broadway Avenue. Dibble’s 3.4 metre high work will join sculptures by Terry Stringer, Guy Ngan, Phil Price, Greg Johns and Anton Parsons all in the CBD.