Notes
Where In The World?
We have recently been pleased to accept this work into our collection as a gift from Audrey Parker. It is a lithograph, from 1934, by J.M. Thomasson. Thomasson taught at Christchurch Technical College and in 1937 became head of art at the recently opened Papanui High School.
Head of the Waimakariri by Charles Blomfield
This article first appeared as 'Mainland inspiration for Blomfield' in The Press on 12 September 2016
Onekaka Estuary by Doris Lusk
This article first appeared as 'Lusk grabbed any chance to draw the power of places' in The Press, 20 July 2016.
The Eyes Have It
Commentaries on Doris Lusk’s work often talk about her ‘eye’; for telling details, for spatial complexities, for colour, for line. Many of those who met the painter personally remember her eyes too, but for a different reason, recalling how she would peer out inscrutably from behind thickly rimmed spectacles, with a gaze that was simultaneously intimidating and engaging. It seems appropriate then, that when Kevin Capon photographed Lusk in 1985 the result was this extreme close-up. After setting up his camera and lighting, Capon invited his subjects to approach the camera however they preferred, catching them in the act of looking back. Lusk’s face fills the frame, the black lens of her glasses creating a portal-like opening, connecting us with her in that moment and suggesting both her curiosity and her reticence.
A Bad Hair Day for All
A bad hair day is usually symbolic of a period of chaos – an evocative, dowdy omen for what will follow. It signifies the potential for a truly awful day, a day off kilter from the ordinary. Yet despite all the laborious processes and obstacles in the paths of the exhibition team while creating this exhibition, the bad day that threatened to accompany all that bad hair, was not the one that actualised. From conception to finish, Bad Hair Day has been a subversion of its theme: despite everything that could possibly go wrong, including almost literal hell and high water, the finished piece has proven the concept of the ‘bad hair day’ wrong.
May Day by Fred Roe
This article first appeared in The Press as 'The whole is less than the sum of painting's various parts' on 22 September 2016
#mygreatbritten
We’re extremely pleased to have Billy Apple’s GREAT BRITTEN! exhibition at the Gallery. A celebration of the ingenuity of the bike’s builder, John Britten, that blurs the line between life and art, it’s drawing bike lovers and art lovers alike into the Gallery in droves. And it’s pretty clear that, although not everyone is up for building a superbike in their garage, lots of you really love your wheels.
World-famous Britten superbike comes to the Gallery
The record-setting superbike that stunned the world is coming to the Gallery as part of a new exhibition by acclaimed artist Billy Apple, with a special sneak-peek event happening this Thursday 14 July.
Spring by Joan Dukes
This article first appeared in The Press as 'Spring, a breath of fresh air' on 7 July 2016.