PAST GALLERY EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS
The Howick Youth Council’s East Auckland Visual Arts Showcase will once again showcase the best of visual art produced by young people living in Howick, Pakuranga, Botany, and Ormiston. This exhibition will be free to view and was open to submissions from youth aged between 12 and 24 who live in the area covered by the Howick Local Board. 2020 will be the third year in which the showcase has been run — but for the first time, the showcase will also include two main categories: Themed Art and Open Art — with a theme of ‘Modern and Traditional Connection’
Lockdown Heroes
We want to see your appreciation for essential workers through creativity and art!
With the sudden outbreak of Covid-19, we have become much more aware of the vital role our essential workers play. What would we do without them?
Lockdown Heroes – Call for Entries
Age Range
Ages between 5 and 18 are welcome to apply
Now Open for Submissions
Please submit your entry(ies) by Midnight 8th May
Exhibition of Finalists
While this is primarily an online exhibition, we are looking into exhibiting these works physically after the quarantine.
The decision to drift is an exhibition of three painters – Amy Blinkhorne, Kristy Gorman, and Emma Smith. These artists explore notions of stillness in varied ways – forms flit, linger, are held and haunt the surfaces. The works slow the viewer in a quiet state of recalibration, of floating observance, residual uneasiness and slow terror.
Amy Blinkhorne’s practice explores the notions of liminality, an in-between space that challenges two or more multiple constructs. Influenced by the experience of distorted sound, as a result of wearing hearing aids, strange spatial interactions take place within the painting’s body and surface. Spaces that are empty or unclear are bound in-between the states of knowing. In these spaces lie the discomfort of uncertainty and unfamiliarity, of no idea and agenda, no gender, no polarities. Until this liminal space becomes the truth, there will always be an, “other”.
In the work of Kristy Gorman forms that are at once familiar and ambiguous are spliced and reconstructed to tease out issues of surface and depth, figure and ground, stability and fragility. Edited observations and tricks of the light are recalled as floating planes hover and shift quietly within the frame and beyond it.
Broadly speaking Emma Smith’s work negotiates the post industrial militarization of culture, a heightened state of urgency/ emergency, the looming certainty of the accident, the potential in temporary wasteland spaces, notions of displacement, reparation and debt, institutional restructures and failures in the (predominantly) painted form. In the series A Brief History of Fire, we see luminous sickly billowing clouds of indeterminate scale on a back drop of impossibly sunny colours.
Image by Kristy Gormin
This exhibition brings together text and image (poetry and landscape watercolour painting).
Siobhan’s autobiographical poems and landscapes form a visceral and compelling engagement with the textures and stories of the Howick/Maraetai coastline, with particular focus upon her own experience of local Māori and Jewish cultural contexts. Her work is also very much informed by her own disability. Her paintings draw upon the fluctuating differences in sight she experiences and seizures – much the same as did Van Gogh and artists with similar disabilities.
Siobhan’s paintings and drawings have been published in several art journals including Esthetica and The Same. Siobhan was also runner up for the 2020 Adam NZ playwriting award. Her poetry, fiction and memoir has been published in a number of literary journals including New Zealand Poetry and World Literature Today. Last but not least, she is currently editing a poetic illustrated novel about disability and Maori experiences of the New Zealand Wars for publication with Lasavia Press, Auckland.
Artist: Siobhan Rosenthal
Malcolm Smith Gallery
1 June to 30 June 2019
To a child, time is like a circle, it has no beginning, no end and consists solely of the present. For an adult, time is like an arrow. It has clear direction and it cannot be wasted. This exhibition is a celebration of children and the inner child. It is an expression of how fascinating and magical the world can be if only we looked at it with younger eyes. It is an invitation to adults to be more curious, brave, inquisitive, and imaginative.
Curated by Mandy Huang
MALCOLM SMITH GALLERY
24 March to 12 May 2019
Garden of Memories, curated by Giles Peterson, brings together heirloom and contemporary Pacific quilts from Peterson’s collection and uses these precious objects as the starting point for exploring contemporary craft and object-making by extending this traditional form into creative interpretations and new works by artists from across Asia and the Pacific.
Six quilts from Aotearoa and the Pacific are at the centre of the exhibition and the complementing publication. Peterson’s personal connection to each quilt is explored through narratives, along with the idea of quilts as domestic objects, transmitters of knowledge, status items, items for comfort and survival and works of art.
Garden of Memories features work by Shona Pitt, Sheena Taivairanga, Lisa Reihana, Vea Mafile’o, Reina Sutton, Lina Pavaha Marsh, and Ken Khun.
A publication to accompany the exhibition will be available, created in collaboration with Rim Books. This publication is funded by Creative New Zealand and supported by Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design and Resene.
Pre-order your copy of the publication HERE
From the distant afar, years and years ago, through mountains and seas, upon this Aotearoa, a wonderland, did we come, and took root hence.
In Spring, trailing the songs of birds, we can wander around our fragrance filled gardens of blooming flowers, pick a rose fresh with dew then, so to hold on to those blissful moments.
In Summer, under the setting sun, we can take a stroll through the inviting beaches, bathing with the waving ripples and blessings of Santa in shorts, wistfully wishing another flourishing year.
While in Autumn, the golden light seeps through the land, shrouding Kiwis singing the harvesting songs, a moment how we can forget our cameras.
In Winter under the moonlight, while the city is still under a misty veil tinted with neon lights, we can climb up the neighbouring hills, to take a glimpse, or to have a little chat with the starry sky, and to reach out for that kiwi bird up, up in the Milky Way.
New Zealand…. this is our home, our heaven on Earth.
MALCOLM SMITH GALLERY
Exploring Shapes
Wednesday 17 April | 12PM to 1PM
Delivered by Ken Khun in conversation with Giles Peterson. Ken will describe how he created the repeating design seen in the Garden of Memories wallpaper. Following this, participants can create their own using simple techniques.
Interactive Story Telling
Saturday 4 May | 12PM to 1.30PM
Join Turou Takitua as they take you on a storytelling journey across the Moana to the Cook Islands. Enjoy ancient tales passed down through time, like the intricate stitches of Tivaevae uncovered from a ‘glory box’…. The afternoon will include interactive storytelling, drumming and dance.
All events are free to attend, materials are provided and open to all. There is no need to register, just come along!
With support from
“From Here to Africa is a collection of captivating portraits of the Maasai people from Tanzania. I found myself deeply inspired upon meeting the Maasai tribe and realised the opportunity to document their unique culture which is being eroded by Western influence and modern technology. On a personal level, this reminds me of the true value of photography: preserving memories in order to relive special stories and pass them on to others. Through this series of carefully composed photographs, the Maasai people can share their rich culture with the world.
The collection is presented in a film-noir monochrome, capturing these portraits in a classically timeless style; lending a unifying appearance that emulates analogue lithographic techniques. I wanted viewers to focus on the humanity aspect of each portrait: expressions and body language, shapes and forms. I eliminated distracting colours to ensure that viewers focus on the people within the photos, and make emotional connections with these individuals.
I aim to depict the Maasai culture in an authentic and honest way, using a clear narrative style which shows people the significance of their culture, as well as their individual personalities. My goal is to provoke your imagination regarding the traditions of the Maasai people and the stories behind their portraits. In sharing this portfolio, I encourage viewers to show tolerance: to accept all people and to recognise the value of cultural diversity. We would all experience an enhanced sense of community if we took the time to appreciate interactions which allow us to discover the world beyond our familiar boundaries.”
Opening: Friday, 28 February 7:30PM with keynote speaker: Sir Bob Harvey. RSVP: www.HereToAfrica.com
Artist Talk: Saturday, 7 March 11:00AM
Portraiture Photography Workshop: Saturday, 7 March 12:00PM – 3:00PM WORKSHOP DETAIL & BOOKINGS
Sponsors:
Coming soon: Uxbridge Art Sale
This exhibition continues the ongoing series by Billy Apple entitled ‘Institutional Critiques’. Started in the 1970s, these investigations critique the ways that exhibition spaces function and subvert these spaces through painting specific architectural features red. Highlighting oddities or irregularities in gallery design, Apple brings attention to the spaces in which art sits and in doing so, the gallery becomes the artwork itself.
Apple has critiqued galleries throughout New Zealand including Te Uru Gallery, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, The Suter Gallery, Adam Art Gallery, and the Physics Room. This exhibition coincides with a critique of the Refinery Artspace in Nelson.
EAA13
Awards Ceremony and Exhibition Opening 13 July 2019
The only contemporary art prize in Aotearoa New Zealand with ecology at its core. Artists were invited to research and respond to the Tāmaki Estuary, to underscore the ecological value of this vital waterway and encourage action against its pollution.
With a total prize pool of $8,300, the winning artworks are intelligent and innovative responses to ecology in the field of contemporary art.
Exhibition of Finalists
13 July to 1 September 2019
Awards Ceremony
Saturday 13 July 2019, 2:30PM
Judge’s Tour of the Exhibition
Saturday 20 July, 2:30PM
Congratulations to our 2019 Finalists
Roma Anderson, Hannah Rose Arnold, Julia Christey, Bev Goodwin, Toni Hartill, Thomas Hinton, John Johnston, Thomas Lawley, Minke Lupa, Janet Mazenier, Barnaby McBryde, Neal Palmer, Lucy Pierpoint, Summer Shimizu, Mo Stewart, Katie Theunissen, Raewyn Turner/Brian Harris, Celia Walker, Briana Woolliams
Congratulations to our 2019 Award Winners
First Place – Mo Stewart
Second Place – Roma Anderson
Merit – Toni Hartill
Merit – Briana Woolliams
Image: Mish O’Neill, Mānawa, 2018
Merit Award EAA12
Image: Kate van der Drift, Diptych First Quarter Moon to Full Moon, May, 2020
1st Place EAA14
Judge’s Tour 18th July, 2020
The only contemporary art prize in Aotearoa New Zealand with ecology at its core. Artists were invited to research and respond to the Tāmaki Estuary, to underscore the ecological value of this vital waterway and encourage action against its pollution.
Our judge this year, Monique Jansen, is an Auckland based artist and Head of Visual Arts at the Auckland University of Technology. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, and her work is held in many public and private collections. She was the winner of the inaugural Aotearoa/New Zealand National Parkin Drawing Prize in 2013. Monique is a committed environmentalist and organic gardener; working on transforming her home and community into a model of resilience, sustainable living, and active citizenship.
Thank you to all who have entered!
Below are the 25 finalists for this year’s Estuary Art and Ecology Prize:
- Kiri Abraham
- Amber Adams
- Rick Allender
- Cristina Beth
- Lee Brogan
- Anthony Clarke
- Sarah Davis
- Alan Fletcher
- Wesley John Fourie
- Bobbie Gray
- Anna Hayes
- Janna Isbey
- Maggy Johnston
- Janet Mazenier
- Barnaby McBryde
- Neal Palmer
- Pass the Blue Collaborative
- Ramon Robertson
- Studio Reset
- Summer Shimizu
- Jenny Tomlin
- Wayne Trow
- Suzette van Dorsser
- Kate van der Drift
- Clovis Viscoe
Winners
- First Place: Kate van der Drift
- Second Place: Wesley John Fourie
- Merit: Alan Fletcher
- Merit: Pass the Blue Collaborative
Exhibition of Finalists
4 July to 30 August 2020
Judge’s Tour
Saturday 18 July 2020, 2:30PM
3 December to 27 January 2019
Opening Saturday 1 December, 2.30PM
Chroma, a new exhibition by Wendy Hannah, explores colour, pigment and materials, creating an immersive environment reflecting the different facets of her practice.
Wendy Hannah has been painting for fifteen years. She began her practice with community art courses before attending Elam School of Fine Arts. Through her Bachelor studies she developed a keen interest in the alchemy of paint, experimenting with chemical reactions and the science of artmaking.
This exhibition brings Hannah’s interest of pigment investigation into a new dimension, incorporating think, thin, sticky and vicious pigments with unexpected sculptural supports.
She has been working with Colin Gooch Technical Director and Mike Clowes Technical Manager of Resene Paints with a tool box of pigments and additives to create an ambitious homage to colour and form.
URBAN CONTEMPORARY ART FROM HERE AND ABROAD
27 August to 30 September 2018
Opening Saturday 25 August, 2.30PM
Malcolm Smith Gallery is partnering with Aotearoa Urban Arts Trust (AUAT) to bring Hong Kong based Cath Love to Auckland this August. Cath Love will join local artists Oscar Low and Elliot Francis Stewart in EAST, an exhibition that looks to build connections between Urban Contemporary artists within Asia Pacific and Aotearoa.
Exhibition Publication
With support from
9 July to 19 August 2018
Opening Saturday 7 July, 2.30PM
The only contemporary art prize in Aotearoa New Zealand with ecology at its core. Artists are invited to research and respond to the Tāmaki Estuary, to underscore the ecological value of this vital waterway and encourage action against its pollution. With a total prize pool of $8,300 the winning artworks will be intelligent and innovative responses to ecology in the field of contemporary art.
Judge: Paul Brobbel
Congratulations to the winners of the Estuary Art and Ecology Prize 2018
Marion Wassenaar (First Prize), Wei Lun Ha (Second Prize), Mish O’Neill (Merit), Michelle Farrell (Merit)
People’s Choice Award Winners were Jim Wheeler and Rozana Lee
With support from Gordon Harris, Rice Family Partnership and
4 June to 30 June 2018
Opening Saturday 2 June, 2.30PM
Developing from their exhibition in Ōtepoti in 2017, The Insider uses public space, street and gallery, as a site for response to inequality, allowing for a propaganda-like campaign to act as the catalyst for conversation and directly questions the hierarchies that govern culture and critical thinking.
Presented as part of
Exhibition Publication
23 April to 25 May 2018
Opening Saturday 21 April, 2.30PM
Curators Tour: Thursday 17 May, 11.30AM
Curated by Alice Tyler and Zoe Hoeberigs
Making the invisible visible, this exhibition brings together works by artists who reflect on things unnoticed and the obscured forces that play within the overlooked.
Featuring Wanda Gillespie, Matilda Woods, Sarah Smuts-Kennedy, Rozana Lee, Pamela Wolfe, Georgie Hill.
Image: Wanda Gillespie, Seeker 2 (Kai) 2016, woodcarving (Ash), fur, fabric
Exhibition Publication
5 March to 14 April 2018
Opening Saturday 3 March, 2.30PM
A drainlayer, a fabricator, a builder, a Scout, a potter – unlikely partnerships, initiated through Scott Eady’s personal connections to local residents will develop to create a space for exploration and consideration, bringing an understanding of the local and connection to the immediate.
Exhibition Publication
22 January to 24 February 2018
Gallery Session with the artist: Friday 16 February, 11.30AM
New works from New Zealand and India reinterpreting modernism for a new time
Natalie Guy recently completed a three month residency in Varanasi, India and the results of this residency form her new exhibition, Then and Then Again.
Working with manufacturers she met in the city, Guy weaves some of the wonder of Varanasi into her distinctive sculpture practice.
Utilising a contrasting palette of hard material (iron formed into shapes by a local Varanasi blacksmith) and soft fibres (traditional muslin dyed and embroidered with designs inspired by Gordon Walters prints), this exhibition regenerates and brings together New Zealand modernism and Indian handcraft.
The residency Guy completed is based at Kriti Gallery and is supported by Asia New Zealand Foundation.
Exhibition Publication
Supported by:
11 December 2017 to 13 January 2018
Opening Saturday 9 December, 2.30PM
Exhibition Talk: Sunday 10 December, 2.30PM
Public Programme: Paint a Plate Workshop, 13 January 2018
The Bloggs – a title that refers to the British colloquialism ‘Joe Bloggs’ to denote the typical everyday man – considers what it is that makes us human. Nicola Jackson has created her version of an anatomy museum, filling vitrines and cabinets with a range of curious objects and adorning the walls with paintings of inquisitive characters.
In The Bloggs Jackson has paired key anatomical elements with qualities that go beyond the physical but ultimately aid in classifying us as human.
Supported by:
6 November to 2 December 2017
Opening Saturday 4 November, 2.30PM
Artist Talk: Saturday 18 November, 2.30PM
Early Polynesian navigators gave names to the places they encountered as a reminder of the spiritual threshold between creation and reality. This was because they regarded the ideas of geographic and spiritual origin as mutually similar.
In Whenua Fonua ‘Enua Auckland-based artist Benjamin Work explores the significance of name and place and the importance of these indicators that connect us to our past and highlight the characteristics of our present.
Work hopes to draw the viewer into a conversation about the way in which history is written onto a landscape, as people remember and retell stories of what has taken place and imagine what could be.
Exhibition Publication
Tori Ferguson, Ayesha Green, Zainab Hikmet and Anh Tran
18 September to 28 October 2017
Opening: Saturday 16 September, 2.30PM
Although they come from, and live now, in various parts of the world, the four artists featured in Here and Now have all – at one point – called this land home. These artists are linked by the way in which the traces of the journeys to where they find themselves now are imbued in the artworks they create. Here and Now shows both the ripples of global influences and the continual threads of reflection they have to Aotearoa.
Image: Zainab Hikmet, Half Moon Bay – Auckland glass, 2015,
glass made from raw Half Moon Bay (Auckland) beach sand; 100mm x 100mm x 100mm
Exhibition Publication
24 July to 9 September 2017
Opening: Saturday 22 July, 2.30PM
If one is not limited by an idea and instead paints to further their understanding of visual principles, then each painting is infinitely more meaningful. Drawing is the heavy reserve that says nothing, but through experience can reveal everything.
This solo exhibition by Auckland artist Reece King explores the universal principles of nature through experimentations in form and perception. While encounters in nature are the beginning point, once started, the painting ultimately finds itself and creates its own meaning for viewers to contemplate.
12 June to 15 July 2017
The only contemporary art prize in Aotearoa New Zealand with ecology at its core. With a total prize pool of $8,300 the winning artworks will be intelligent and innovative responses to ecology in the field of contemporary art.
Judged by Ane Tonga
Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Awards:
First Place: Kohl Tyler-Dunshea
Second Place: Wendy Hannah
Merit Award: Bev Goodwin and Jeff Thomson
Merit Award: Roma Anderson
People’s Choice Award: Arielle Walker
Image: Kohl Tyler-Dunshea, Offerings (2017). First Place, 2017
2017 finalists:
Arielle Walker, Bev Goodwin and Jeff Thomson, Caroline Powley, Celeste Sterling, Cora-Allan Wickliffe, Dawn Johnstone, Hanna Shim, Hayley Nieuwoudt, Janna Isbey, Jennie De Groot, Jessica Kate Tweed, Jessica Pearless, Katy Metcalf, Kohl Tyler-Dunshea, Lee Brogan, Lucy Pierpoint, Michael Prosee, Mo Stewart, Reece King, Rick Allender, Roma Anderson, Rozana Lee, Sophie Foster, Suzette van Dorsser and Wendy Hannah
Thank you for support from Howick Local Board, Turanga Creek Wines and Rice Family Partnership
As part of Auckland Festival of Photography
1 May to 3 June 2017
Bright Light, Soft Launch brings together emerging and established artists exploring representations of the figure through image making.
The artists featured take a poetic and nuanced approach to portrait photography, teasing out characters and personas and presenting their subjects in a kaleidoscope of ways. Some intend to blur and muddle typical perceptions; others mix stereotypes and narratives with nostalgia and tradition. All present a different way of contemplating how the figure can be captured through a lens.
Jenna Baydee, Kevin Capon, Liyen Chong, Di ffrench, Russ Flatt, Solomon Mortimer, Stephanie O’Connor, Mish O’Neill, Richard Orjis, Patrick Pound, Yvonne Todd, Tia Ranginui, Ashlin Rawson
Image: Russ Flatt, When I Say Jump (2015). Courtesy of the Wallace Arts Trust.
Seven Non-Figurative Auckland Painters
6 March to 22 April 2017
Exhibition Talk / Saturday 11 March / 2.00PM
Johl Dwyer, Nicola Holden, Sara Hughes, Hugo Koha Lindsay, Emma McIntyre, Diane Scott, Glen Snow
Curated by Julian McKinnon
Painting’s resilience as an art form can be attributed to many factors. There is its ease of transportation, its relatively low production costs, and its universal recognition as ‘art’. There is also its enduring value as a commodity, its ability to store culture, and to serve as a vehicle for aesthetic value. Perhaps more than any of these factors – those singled out by academics and theoreticians – is the continued fascination it holds for those that work with it. Its histories are rich and varied, running in parallel to the development of human civilisation. Its techniques are manifold, its possibilities endless. Yet it is the intoxicating sensory experience of delving into the studio, the world of pigments, brushes, and tools, which holds the greatest appeal to those enamoured with the discipline.
Image: Johl Dwyer, Vita, 2017, cedar, resin, and enamel. Courtesy the artist and Tim Melville Gallery. Photo: Kallan MacLeod
23 January – 25 February 2017
Exhibition Opening Saturday 21 January, 2:30PM
Kushana Bush, Jon Carapiet, Quishile Charan, Lok Chitrakar, Tessa Laird, Lorene Taurerewa, Sam Thomas and Shurti Yatri
With the radical break of abstract art in the 20th Century, how do contemporary artists embrace the idea of storytelling? How do they employ narrative to explore history and identity, among other trenchant themes? For these artists, storytelling does not always require plots, characters or settings; rather, narrative potential lies in everyday objects and materials, and their embedded cultural associations. In projects created through extensive research, the artists in A Turn of the Wheel uncover layers of meaning, turning to individual experience as a means of sharing stories, both real and fictional.
7 November 2016 – 14 January 2017
Exhibition Opening
Saturday 5 November, 2:30PM
Isobel Thom is an artist best known for her experimental geometries in painting and ceramics. More recently, the artist has been attempting ‘the complete artwork’, the design and construction of her own studio. From the kitchen sink to the rocket stove, tile cladding to teapots, Isobel Thom has been creating objects to live with.
Curated by Balamohan Shingade
Curator’s Tour—free
Thursday 24 November, 6:30PM
12 September – 22 October 2016
Artists: Matthew Cowan, Xin Cheng with Chris Berthelsen, Philippa Emery, Bernardo Oyarzún, Brydee Rood, Harpreet Singh and Sam Thomas.
Curated by Balamohan Shingade
The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to go sharper. – W.B. Yeats
Sacred Economies draws our attention to how experiences of the sacred manifest through social transactions. It is interested in how ritualistic social movements give life to events that can transform or transcend our ordinary ways of thinking about and participating in the world. How do transactions of forms like poetry or folklore, which hold little monetary value, create an economy of ‘sacred’ moments? How do networks of ritualized action hold the potential to create moments which are more than the sum of their parts? What resemblance do the creative arts hold to the industries of spiritual and religious experiences? For these artists, sacredness and everyday magic is about transitioning to a more connected way of being in this world through gift economies, ritual exchange and the restoration of the commons.
Image: Matthew Cowan, The Dance of the Tractor & the Chocoł, 2008.
Exhibition of Finalists 29 July – 27 August 2016
Judged by Jon Bywater
Finalists: Cristina Beth, Anthony Clark, Karen Danes, Cushla Donaldson, Sonja Drake, Dorothy Giam, Neala Glass, Katy Gundesen, Anna Hayes, Niki Simpkin Hill, Thomas Lawley, Shaun Lee, Wendy Leung, Josh Lotz-Keegan, Steve Lovett, Zenica Mann, Dreama McFadyen with Marc and Psalm McFadyen, Emma McLellan, Marie-Louise Myburgh, Penny Otto, Jasper Owen, Emily Parr, Kristin Peren, Isabella Rasch, Jodie Salmond, Donna Turtle Sarten with Bernie Harfleet, A.D. Schierning, Huda Shakarchi, Katie Theunissen, Sam Thomas, Clovis Viscoe, Rainer Westeon with Claudia Dunes, and Alvin Xiong.
The only contemporary art prize in Aotearoa New Zealand with ecology at its core. Artists are invited to research and respond to the Tāmaki Estuary, to underscore the ecological value of this vital waterway and encourage action against its pollution. With a total prize pool of $8,300 the winning artworks will be intelligent and innovative responses to ecology in the field of contemporary art.
1st Place: Emily Parr
2nd Place: Cushla Donaldson
Merit Awards: Katie Theunissen & Katy Gundesen
People’s Choice Award: Sonja Drake
Image: Katie Theunissen, The Littoral Zone, 2016.
13 June – 16 July 2016
Artists: Katrina Beekhuis, Claudia Dunes, Richard Frater, Samer Hatam, John Ward Knox, Jeremy Leatinu’u, Shannon Novak, Jeena Shin, Sarah Smuts-Kennedy, Julia Teale
Curated by Balamohan Shingade
Malcolm Smith Gallery is named after the late local architect, community stalwart and founding member of UXBRIDGE in 1981. Architects envisage compelling futures and enjoy a particularly social role. It may even be said that theirs is an intrinsically social art form. Malcolm Smith envisaged a centre for his hometown that would be a beacon for the art and ideas of their day. From the beginning, and even until his passing in 2010, Smith made a priority of good architecture, and was involved in recommending building developments for UXBRIDGE. Once any alteration or improvement was accepted, Smith was always to be found contributing to its execution, from erecting the first crèche fence to the interior painting of the theatre. The UXBRIDGE complex, as it stood before the commencement of the redevelopment last year, reflected Smith’s involvement in every room of every building.
With a nod to its namesake, Soft Architecture brings together various artists whose works comprise of architectural references. The focus, here, is not on architects or buildings; instead, the exhibition brings together artists whose use of, and for architecture, is rather subtle. Some artists bring us to a discreet awareness of the spatio-temporal properties inherent in a site, whereas others explore the social missions of our built environments.Soft Architecture is concerned with those artworks which are deceptive in their restraint, but where apparent simplicity or lightness of touch belies the works’ rigour. The term ‘soft’ is expansive in its meaning. It describes material qualities, defines strategies of persuasion, and evokes character traits. Through the exhibition Soft Architecture, Malcolm Smith Gallery can be understood as a soft space, because its approach is to yield readily to touch; a smooth or pliable space that is responsive to wider contexts.
Image: Sarah Smuts-Kennedy, Subtle Field 1, 2014.
8 October to 25 November 2018
In Living History, Wellington artist Richard Stratton presents a series of new work that continues his interest in bringing together ceramic decoration and production techniques, art histories and social narratives.
This exhibition explores how Stratton’s well known, intricate teapots and figurative representations have evolved into enigmatic, sculptural forms.
Developed and toured by
:
MALCOLM SMITH GALLERY
4 February to 17 March 2019
Opening Saturday 2 February, 2.30PM
This exhibition by Areez Katki displays 29 new works by the artist, developed over the past eight months while he was living and working in India. The exhibition focuses on Katki’s personal heritage, specifically in relation to Zoroastrianism and the Parsi community to which his family belongs. Through his needlework based craft practice, Katki explores third-wave diaspora and the survival of Zoroastrianism, alongside his own revelations and responses to this now-powerful minority in Mumbai.
Areez has been very generous and allowed his Journal extracts to be available to interested visitors through the link below.
