Kā Kaupapa o te Wā
What’s On
Raymond McIntyre: A Modernist View
Dynamic and progressive paintings and woodcuts from one of Aotearoa’s New Zealand foremost modernist artists.
Living Archives
Archives that tell stories about artists and history in Aotearoa
Whāia te Taniwha
Māori artists consider the enduring relevance of taniwha in Aotearoa.
E tuwhera ana te wharetoi i kā rā e 7 o te wiki, 10am - 5pm
Ka tuwhera ki te 9pm i kā pō Wenerei
Open 7 days, 10am - 5pm
Late night Wednesday until 9pm
Uruka utukore, ahokore utukore
Free entry, free wifi
Collection
Leo Bensemann Rita Angus
Leo Bensemann made this portrait when he and Rita Angus were neighbours. The friends occupied adjacent studio flats in a Cambridge Terrace house here in Ōtautahi Christchurch owned by the painter Sydney Lough Thompson, Bensemann sharing his with Lawrence Baigent. They all used the same kitchen and bathroom, and often entertained together. As artists, it was a creative and stimulating environment. “Both our studio doors were thrown open”, Baigent recalled. “Doors were never locked or shut.” Bensemann and Angus frequently made portraits of each other – some flamboyant, others more introspective, like this one. They are fascinating records of two strong personalities and their complex friendship.
(Dear Shurrie: Francis Shurrock and his contemporaries, 8 March – 13 July 2025)
Notes
Yertle the Turtle by Glen Hayward
This article first appeared in The Press as 'An Ode to Yertle the Turtle' on 13 May 2015.
Notes
Port Hills From Bryndwr by Archibald Nicoll
This article first appeared as 'Archibald Nicoll's Colourful Life' in The Press on 5 May 2015.
Exhibition
Michael Parekowhai: Chapman's Homer on New Regent Street
Christchurch's favourite bull can now be found on New Regent Street.
Collection
Mike Parr Polish Mud (12 Untitled Self Portraits, Set 6)
Between 1981 and 1996 Mike Parr used his own image as a way of analysing his response to the world. The almost violent style of these self-portraits is typical of his work.
Parr enjoys the accidental imperfections of the printing process, seeing this ‘noise’ as a device that allows him to distance his work from conventional self-portraits.
Widely regarded as one of Australia’s most gifted contemporary artists, Parr was born in Sydney and studied at Queensland University and the East Sydney Technical College. He has exhibited and performed extensively in Australia and internationally and is particularly well known for extreme performances that push his physical and psychological limits.
There is an information sheet available about this work.
Notes
Spotting Dad
When Caroline first found out about the David Cook: Meet Me in the Square exhibition through the Gallery's Facebook page before it opened, she had an inkling that she might see her father in the show.
Notes
Grand Dame
It's 120 years since the New Zealand crime writer, theatre director and artist Ngaio Marsh (1895 - 1982) was born just up the road.