Cruise the Collection
Exhibitions 2009
For Keeps: Sampling Recent Acquisitions 2006 - 2009
Curated by Natasha Conland
June/July 2009
Auckland Art Gallery
For Keeps highlighted just a small portion of the works of art acquired for the Gallery's contemporary collection over the last three years. The majority of these works were made after 2006, making the exhibition a fascinating occasion to view art collected in the era of its making.
Works from the Chartwell collection in the exhibition included:
Hany Armanious, Unrealistic, 2007
Dan Arps, Untitled (No Title) 2008, Untitled ( Anorak) 2008, Untitled (Therapy Object Black Version) 2008
from the estate of L.Budd, Unity of Appearance, 1997
Mladen Bizumic, Looking Twice Behind ( Aotearoa) 2007
Julian Dashper, Untitled ( 2006), Untitled ( 2005-6) Untitled (2006) Untitled ( 2006) Untitled (2006) Untitled ( 15 minutes in New Zealand) 2006, Untitled (2006)
Julian Dashper, Untitled ( The painter's mistake) 2007
Simon Denny, And Still Faster, 2007
Alicia Frankovich, Pugliese Suspension/Post performance object, 2007
Monique Jansen, Metric Conversions, 2006-7
Richard Maloy, Green, Blue, Black, 2007
Dane Mitchell, Cass, 2006
Ryan Moore, 2007 3 oil on canvasses
John Reynolds. Last Evenings on Earth, 2006
Peter Robinson, Promethean Dreams, 2007
Layla Rudneva-Mackay, Yellow Curtain 2008, Grey Stones and Blue Velvet, 2007
Marie Shannon, Sue Crockford Gallery 2002 Installation View #4, 2007, Sue Crockford Gallery 2002 Installation View #1, 2007, Hamish McKay Gallery 2002 Office, 2006, Hamish McKay Gallery 2002 Large Wall, 2006
Margaret Turner Petyarre, Akaali (Bush Orange Drawing), 2008
Rohan Wealleans, Snow White in a Snowstorm, 2006
SECONDLIFE
Pataka Museum
Porirua
Five Artist projects
27 June - 11 October 2009
The recycling of everyday materials into art is experiencing a resurgence in popularity among artists, but with a fresh contemporary message. Against a backdrop of an overheating planet and rapidly depleting resources, it is hardly surprising that a new generation of artists should create art designed to make their concerns about the environment visible.
Eve Armstrong, Judy Darragh, Niki Hastings-McFall, Joanna Langford and Peter Madden respond to the call to conserve resources and live more responsibly, ‘upcycling’ everyday materials and ready-made objects (objets trouvés), giving them a ‘second life’ as works of art. Modern-day alchemists, the artists magically transform the old into the new - creating works of great beauty and imagination from cheap, humble materials.
While Eve Armstrong reuses and reconfigures cast-off material within new contexts, the others transform their material through renewal and reinvention. Objects transplanted from the realm of the mundane to that of the aesthetic transcend their everyday purpose. They also carry a subtle political message.
By creating art from the detritus of contemporary consumerist culture, artists can reflect their concerns about the negative impact of that culture and emphasise the importance of recycling, while maintaining a sustainable art practice. By extending the life cycle of their materials, they can inspire others to be less wasteful and more creative, without resorting to preaching.
Helen Kedgley
Senior Curator Contemporary Art
Chartwell works in the exhibition include:
Peter Madden, The Leaving 2008
Eve Armstrong, Run Off 2007
Eve Armstrong, Clear Out 2007
