John Reynolds Table of dynasties (detail) 2009. Oil paint stick on acrylic on canvas. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, purchased 2009. Reproduced courtesy of the artist
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Brought to Light
Finally, it's finished! It is now four months since we closed the doors on the previous incarnation of Christchurch Art Gallery's collection exhibition, and the intervening period has been a very busy time for all our staff. When Christchurch Art Gallery opened in 2003, the plan, reiterated in the Paradigm Shift document of 2006, was to refresh the hang of the collection galleries after five years. Since then the display has of course not remained entirely static, and visitors will have noticed regular changes as new works entered the collection, light-sensitive works were changed and small focus exhibitions created. But Brought to Light: A New View of the Collection is something altogether more-a refreshment of our entire collection display (not just what, but why) and a re-evaluation of the physical space of the galleries themselves.
It was with mounting excitement that we watched the construction of the new spaces. We've made the process public, sharing images and personal responses from the staff involved on our Brought to Light blog. Gone are the series of staggered walls that previously determined the visitor's journey through the collection; in their place are a series of spaces designed to encourage a sense of flow, drama and anticipation. We've pored over the diagrams and the scale models, but it's not until you stand in the middle of the huge new central arcade that you begin to truly appreciate the new space.
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Ricky Swallow Ned/Mick 2007. Watercolour on paper. Proclaim Collection, Melbourne. Reproduced courtesy of the artist, Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney, Stuart Shave/Modern Art, London, Marc Foxx Gallery, Los Angeles, and Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington
Ricky Swallow
Senior curator Justin Paton considers Swallow’s early interest in evolution and science fiction, and delves into the artist’s more recent studies of musicians ‘on the edge of dissolution’.
Steve Carr A Shot in the Dark (The Bachelor) 2008. C-type print mounted on dibond. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, purchased 2008. Reproduced courtesy of the artist and Michael Lett, Auckland
The Naked and the Nude
Bulletin talks to the Gallery’s senior curator Justin Paton about this new exhibition.