pause

took a moment one afternoon this week
 to gaze and gaze

at the auckland art gallery.

this is one of my favourites.

v

maud sherwood

'reading'

1921

summery prt 2

-- it was lovely to see works by xin cheng and francis upritchard as part of freedom farmers at auckland art gallery. other highlights within this exhibition were works by tessa laird, dorota broda, isobel thom and dan arps. louise menzies' film work peloha is mesmerising and disquieting.

-- on another note I was pleased to see works by frances hodgkins getting an airing in the gallery too. it really is a shame to keep them locked away!

-- gloria knight continued her reign over auckland artist run spaces with stand-out offerings from: zhoe granger, francis till, juliet carpenter et al, jack hadley, oscar enberg, dorota broda and henry babbage, ooph! very consistent and with a lovely new turquoise feature wall...

-- split fountain continues to host engaging exhibitions such as those by: xin cheng, ella sutherland/ matt galloway, jack hadley and sam thomas. rm continues to tick away, consistent and tenacious.

-- additionally shows I missed but really wanted to see included: imogen taylor's porous moonlight at papakura art gallery, yona lee at enjoy in wellington, everything all year at dog park in christchurch as well as photographs by joanna margaret paul at robert heald in wellington and his exhibitions of work by richard frater, richard bryant and john ward knox.

-- all rather too auckland centric, hopefully I'll do better this year!

image: louise menzies, peloha 2009 (16mm, duration 2 mins 30 sec) from here

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)

on whiteness

things are slowly starting to grind back into gear

in auckland after some summer holidays.

(though it's still the shank of the summer, really)

there are some nice moments at the

auckland art gallery.

parekowhai's fibreglass sculpture is one,

and albrecht's large gesture is another.

much of this exhibition seems to be

exploring concepts of whiteness...

parekowhai & albrecht in

'partner dance'

until april 7

auckland art gallery

short-sharp-change (finger snap)

rather radical artist talk today

starring two lovelies

caterina riva & alicia frankovich.

do come to the performance tomorrow!

alicia frankovich 'floor resistance' and 'bison'

sunday 5 august 11.30

auckland art gallery, level 2

the walters prize 2012

v

so long, farewell ...

went to visit this installation for the last time today.

it was lovely and weathered and at its best.

the crystals, bottle-tops and boot-marks

were very special. a brick wall, garish concrete, lines

drawn with yellow rope, bits and bobs created, collected and embedded.

and an old oak tree with his fallen acorns.

kate newby 'i'm just like a pile of leaves'

3 september  - 3 march

north terrace, auckland art gallery