summery prt1

although it really is the season to beach, it's also a good time to be sans art and reflect on the year that has been...

highlights from 2013 include:

-- a fine year for artspace beginning well with george egerton warburton (a young man from melbourne), stephen bain's antics as part of goldin + senneby's clever offering, curatorial intern alex davidson's assured exhibition hermes' lack of words and finishing well with a museological and architectural presentation by blaine western and andrew kennedy.

-- speaking of artspace, it was the highlight venue of the auckland triennial with angelica mesiti's citizen's band and allan sekula and noel burch's unsettling and compelling the forgotten space in the neighbouring film archive

-- hou hanru's 5th auckland triennial reflected the dispersed and scattered nature of auckland itself. having missed the crucial events/talks section of the triennial during its first weekend I was left with the shell of events and exhibitions. so as far as exhibition format standouts, gus fisher put on a good show with tahi moore's site specific installation and video works as well as beautifully installed work by anri sala

-- not forgetting claire fontaine's grand neon atop the old brick new zealand broadcasting board building as well as a much needed intervention in the mackelvie gallery of the auckland art gallery. other flashpoints in the gallery during the triennial were: maddie leach's the most difficult problem which seemed to communicate with the park just beyond the walls of the gallery, michael lin, atelier bow-wow and andrew barrie's model home with its fun tartan and subtle soundscape (although one couldn't help but think it would have been more powerful had the permanent collection been vacated for the duration of its exhibition). zhou tao's south stone video work and photographs were refreshing, intriguing and rewarded repeated visitations. finally angelica mesiti's prepared piano for movers (haussmann) was a well hidden gem, projected within a disused stairwell. collective local-time's 

-- hopkinson mossman continues to present tip-top exhibitions again and again. ruth buchanan's on or within a scenario was thoughtful and considered, oliver perkins showed a simple yet powerful series of colourful paintings,  mikayla dwer's methylated spiritual graced a wall with panache and dane mitchell's spectral readings (liverpool) was a particularly shivery moment. kate newby, nicola farquhar and nick austin each presented confident exhibitions which were in turn quiet, riotuous and cheeky. andrew barber's black-lodge like floor painting was daring and effective. though dane mitchell pipped everyone at the post with his dreamy, poetic yet highly conceptual and minimalist other explications.

-- in general auckland dealer galleries are scattered and uncertain. having said that solomon mortimer's contact at anna miles really showed how photography (a currently somewhat unfashionable medium) can be displayed with care and to great effect. michael stevenson's proof of the devil at michael lett was a particular highlight, while zac langdon-pole and imogen taylor both did a stellar job confined within the back room. the darling of the auckland art fair, painter kirstin carlin presented lush new works alongside tessa laird and ruth thomas-edmond at melanie roger.

-- summery part two, coming soon...

image: dane mitchell, 'teleplastic alloy (witnessing separates itself from seeing)' 2013. (brass, 2200 x 2200mm four elements)