For Keeps: Sampling Recent Acquisitions 2006 - 2009

Peter Robinson in For Keeps, 2009-10

For Keeps: Sampling Recent Acquisitions 2006 - 2009

Where

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
When

7 December 2009 - 18 June 2010

A selection of works acquired by Auckland Art Gallery between 2006 and 2009, paired with long-term loans from the Chartwell Collection, were exhibited in For Keeps. The diversity and depth of contemporary New Zealand and international art was demonstrated in this exhibition, with acquisitions ranging from large-scale sculptural installations to intimate works on paper. Recent developments in the practices of well-known artists such as Michael Parekowhai, Julian Daspher, Marie Shannon, Simon Denny and Sriwhana Spong were on display, demonstrating new innovations in New Zealand’s contemporary art scene.

Multiple artworks from the Chartwell Collection were included in the exhibition, acknowledging its contribution to the Auckland Art Gallery Collection. Highlights included Peter Robinson’s polystyrene sculpture Promethean Dreams (2007), Julian Dashper’s Untitled (The Painter’s Mistake) (2007), John Reynold’s 2006 work Last Evenings on Earth, and Hany Armanious’ Unrealistic (2007).

Curated by Natasha Conland.

Installation Images

The image shows a junior sized drum kit in the centre of a gallery room, half covered in spilt bright yellow paint. To the left is a small cube monitor television screen, and in the background is a series of photographs of socks pinned to a white wall.

Julian Dashper, Untitled (The Painter's Mistake), 2007. Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2007.

The image shows a tall stack of roughly cut polystyrene pieces, covered in thin white chains which are draped over the polystyrene stack and trail down to the floor. Behind this work three paintings are ivisible on a wall, and a piece of pink fabric is on a floor next to a corridor into another gallery room.

Peter Robinson, Promethean Dreams, 2007. Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2008.

A giant sculpture of a ballet dancer is depicted in the image, lying down on the concrete floor on her side as if unconscious or asleep. She is wearing a long sleeved black leotard with light brown skin, pink tights and pointe shoes tied with ribbons around her ankles. Her black hair is arranged in a bun at the back of her head. The sculpture is extremely glossy and shiny due to the reflective automotive paint it has been covered in by the artist.

Michael Parekowhai, The Song of the Frog, 2006. Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery, 2008.

The image depicts a corner of a gallery. On the far left is a series of photographs of socks pinned to a wall in a grid format. Below this on the floor is a small cube monitor television, playing a video file. On the centre left of the wall is a shop canopy covered in whitewash, extending out from the wall. In front of this is a small drumkit splashed with bright yellow paint. On the far right of the image, a tall narrow piece of board is propped up against a wall, with a tap gushing water sprayed onto it in black spray paint.

Left to right: Nick Austin, Ghosts, 2007. Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 2008. Estate of L. Budd (lionel b.), AA50010.100015. The Unity of Appearance., 1997. Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 2008. Simon Denny, And Still Faster, 2007. Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2007. Centre: Julian Dashper, Untitled (The Painter's Mistake), 2007. Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2007.