Kā Kaupapa o te Wā
What’s On
Edith Collier: Early New Zealand Modernist
A rare opportunity to view the work of one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most adventurous and experimental modernist artists.
Made in the Pacific: A Collection of Tāoga
A selection of Pacific tāoga from the Canterbury Museum in conversation with contemporary artworks that highlight the continued strength in culture and traditional art forms.
Mark Adams: A Survey | He Kohinga Whakaahua
A comprehensive survey spanning the artist's career.
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
Notes
Ronnie’s Proclamation
Before a vast crowd assembled in the street before him, the might leader Ronnie van Hout salutes to the crowd and sky, his arm stiff and huge above his body. While his little black eyes wince in the sun his face is screwed up in concentration and the crowd are roaring in approval and adulation.
Collection
Johannes Gerardus Keulemans New Zealand River Stilt in Habitat
Johannes Gerardus Keulemans (also known as John Gerrard Keulemans or J.G. Keulemans) was a renowned bird artist, famed for his accuracy. He illustrated Walter Lawry Buller’s 1873 book 'A History of the Birds of New Zealand' but never came to Aotearoa, instead working from specimens and stuffed birds provided by Buller.
Collection
Petrus van der Velden The Mouse-trap
The Dutch painter Petrus van der Velden arrived in Christchurch in 1890 for what was intended to be a short visit to New Zealand. Staying longer than he had planned, he made an impact on the local scene as a ‘real artist’ from old Europe in their midst.
This painting was shown by a Christchurch art dealer in 1893, and described by a reporter:
The picture is entitled ‘The Mouse-trap’, and represents a boy holding the trap with a mouse in it which he has just caught. The face of the boy is beautifully painted, the expression of pleasure being very cleverly caught.
(Beasts, 2015)
Collection
Margaret Ryley Hill Country 2
This stoneware pieces by local artist Margaret Ryley conveys the colour and movement of the windswept Waitaha Canterbury landscape. Talking about Hill Country 2, the artist has said: I didn’t think my work reflected the earth at all until I moved out here to Rangiora again […] from Picton coming back before you get to Kaikōura you’re looking at the rolling hills and suddenly you’re back in Canterbury and the tawny colours of the grasses and the way the wind catches them on the hillsides and then perhaps with a little bit of the sea on the left. I was absolutely captivated by them and at the same time I came to live under six walnut trees and I burnt the branches and the ash from the walnut trees [which] gave exactly the effect that I wanted.
He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of Soil (from August 2024)
