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Petrol Heads

Petrol Heads

On a recent trip to Wellington to attend the excellent Van der Velden symposium at Te Papa I saw the Britten motorcycle on display and was instantly reminded of one exhibition that was in the pipeline here at Christchurch Art Gallery prior to the big shakes, an exhibition that involved Billy Apple and the Britten motorcycle titled Great Britten!

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noise to my ears

noise to my ears

It really is very good to see a new space has opened up in this town dedicated to the sonic arts...that being The Auricle in New Regent street...home to the Cantabrian Society of Sonic Artists.

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Bill Culbert - 51 Drawings

Bill Culbert - 51 Drawings

One of Christchurch Art Gallery's latest Outer Spaces projects involves co-publishing an artist's book by Bill Culbert with Coracle Press. 

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THE ISLAND OF TOUI POENAMMU

THE ISLAND OF TOUI POENAMMU

I was fortunate enough to see first hand this stunning map of New Zealand's South Island / Te Waipounamu at the Mitchell Library in Sydney last week, a map which must rate as a very special taonga for Mainlanders.

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Very heavy metal

Very heavy metal

William Morris' mighty Albion press used at the Kelmscott Press to print The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer in 1896 is up for sale in New York.

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Light Passing Into a dark landscape

Light Passing Into a dark landscape

Today is the centennial of the death of one of New Zealand's most treasured artists, Petrus van der Velden.

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Cut it out

Cut it out

Eileen Mayo has more than a few fans here at Christchurch Art Gallery and for me her linocuts are a standout of her works represented in the Gallery's collection.

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It was 100 years ago today...

It was 100 years ago today...

There are not many works in Christchurch Art Gallery's collection that can be pin-pointed to the exact date in which they were completed but Petrus van der Velden's Self-portrait with Otira Gorge is one and it was completed exactly 100 years ago today.

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What's in a title page

What's in a title page

Quite a lot if you happened to be a graphic designer working in London during the Victorian period as the three examples below highlight.  

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Buller's Birds

Buller's Birds

For all the bad press Walter Buller gets for his activities as a bird stuffer you've got to hand it to him, he pulled one out of the bag with his first edition of A History of the Birds of New Zealand.

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