Past Exhibitions
EDITH COLLIER
A celebration of the 125th anniversary of the artist's birth
19 June -1 August, 2010
Edith Collier is undoubtedly the most significant painter to have been born in Wanganui. From 1912 to 1921 she spent time in England studying at art school and with distinguished artists such as Frances Hodgkins and Margaret Preston. Since 1985, the Sarjeant Gallery has been fortunate to be the caretakers of her significant artistic output. This exhibition celebrates the 125th anniversary of the artist's birth and features work spanning the breadth of her career.
FLORIFEROUS
Flowers gathered from the Sarjeant's collection and beyond
3 April - 23 May 2010
This exhibition brings together a broad range of works featuring floral subject matter, spanning from beautiful detailed 19th century botanical drawings through to contemporary painting and photography. Primarily drawn from the Sarjeant's rich
collection, the exhibition is supplemented with a small number of loaned works.
A celebration of the 125th anniversary of the artist's birth
19 June -1 August, 2010
Edith Collier is undoubtedly the most significant painter to have been born in Wanganui. From 1912 to 1921 she spent time in England studying at art school and with distinguished artists such as Frances Hodgkins and Margaret Preston. Since 1985, the Sarjeant Gallery has been fortunate to be the caretakers of her significant artistic output. This exhibition celebrates the 125th anniversary of the artist's birth and features work spanning the breadth of her career.
Flowers gathered from the Sarjeant's collection and beyond
3 April - 23 May 2010
collection, the exhibition is supplemented with a small number of loaned works.
KAY WALSH - When Time Slides by Slowly
27 March - 23 May 2010
Kay Walsh arrived in Wanganui in December 2009 to undertake a three-month residency at Tylee Cottage. Wanganui-born and currently London-based, Walsh has been overseas for more than twenty years. Walsh combines video, photography, sound and text to draw attention to the detail found within the commonplace - the everyday.
Kay Walsh arrived in Wanganui in December 2009 to undertake a three-month residency at Tylee Cottage. Wanganui-born and currently London-based, Walsh has been overseas for more than twenty years. Walsh combines video, photography, sound and text to draw attention to the detail found within the commonplace - the everyday.
SCOTT EADY: Lost at the Bottom of the World
13 March to 23 May, 2010
Scott Eady has, for the last decade, been making large-scale sculptural works with sardonic wit. These have included a room-sized wooden chainsaw, a lacquered pink pick-up truck and a life-sized ‘My Little Pony’ called Dahlia.
A boat called Hannah is the first object to be encountered on entering this exhibition. At first glance, it looks just like any ordinary, yet elegant, double-scull rowing boat (for those who know their boats), but closer inspection reveals something not quite right with its form. It is not a functional boat – at least, not suitable for competitive rowing. The boat has two bows. The rigging is set up so that the rowers are in opposition to one another, face to face. To stroke in unison would rock the boat back and forward like the pendulum of a metronome or an amphisbaena (serpent with two heads), resulting, also, in going nowhere.
The boat was fabricated in China to Eady’s specifications and shipped to New Zealand. Having never touched the water, the boat is displayed in the gallery, like a disabled arachnid, supported by stands and slings. What is normally a functional machine for transportation becomes useless and is transformed into an elegant sculptural object.
Similarly, the work Money Train is another work that goes nowhere: a small N Scale train set cast from now-obsolete 5c, 10c, 20c and 50c nickel coins. Two engines sit back to back and are linked to carriages that form a full circle.
Ideas of symmetry, opposition and place in the world are key in this body of work. The title of the exhibition can be seen as a musing on Eady’s current place of residence, Dunedin. At the other end of the country from where Eady was born – Auckland – Dunedin certainly does feel like the bottom of the world to North Island dwellers. Eady comments: “This exhibition is an investigation of the push and pull between home and elsewhere, between right and wrong places, of rural nostalgia and the realities of urban living.”
The idea of north and south is also reflected in the two photographs, God’s Green Hair and God’s Greener Hair, depicting ready-lawn grass, grown commercially at two sites at opposite ends of the country. The imported seed is green from excessive irrigation while awaiting harvest time, when it will be uplifted and transplanted to a new, probably urban, residential or commercial development. In a wider sense, Eady is also alluding to the phrase “the grass is always greener on the other side”, but what’s on the other side and will it be any better, or just a variation on a theme?
As with many of Eady’s works, the inflatable cloud work, Trade Wind, has a multiplicity of readings. Its title refers to the trade winds that guided pre-European and European settlers to New Zealand – the land of the long white cloud. The forms of the clouds are like the classic cumulus clouds floating in the background of children’s drawings. The “clouds” were also made in China, and when Eady initially started work on them, in 2008, the Chinese were busy shooting missiles into clouds to try and improve weather prospects for the Beijing Olympics.
I GO WHERE THE PARTY TAKES ME (Until 2 May, 2010)
This exhibition features the work of nine documentary-style Wanganui-based photographers from differing generations and ethnicities, along with the Whanganui School of Design Pivot magazine crew, coming together to show their images of a diverse community at play.
Edith Collier, Village by the Sea
SALT AIR - Coastal life, by Edith Collier (24 October, 2009 - 2 May, 2010)
A large number of key works in the Edith marion Collier Loan Collection were completed between 1914 and 1921, when she studied and worked with the Australian artist Margaret MacPherson in Bonmahon, Ireland, and with Frances Hodgkins in St Ives, Cornwall. The selection shown in this exhibition depicts the coastal life of these communities, as well as that of Kawhia in the late 1920s.
Jim Dennison and Leanne Williams - Quill, 2009
LOOKING GLASS - Reflecting Ideas
(2 December, 2009 - 14 March, 2010 by popular demand extended to 24 March, 2010)
21 New Zealand Glass Artists: Claudia Borella, Hannah Bremner, Lee Brogan, Emma Camden, Christine Cathie, Jim Dennison and Leanne Williams, Evelyn Dunstan, Shona Firman, Robyn Irwin, Luke Jacomb, Merryn Jones, Trudie Kroef, Lou Pendergrast-Mathieson, Raewyn Roberts, Ann Robinson, Colleen Ryan Priest, Ben Sablerolle, Liz Sharek, Jenny Smith, David Traub, Ben Young.
Looking Glass: reflecting ideas is the Sarjeant Gallery’s first foray into a large scale exhibition featuring the work of New Zealand glass artists. In 2002 the Sarjeant hosted The Cast, this was followed in 2004 by Southern Exposure. Both of these exhibitions featured a range of practitioners and were enormously popular with gallery visitors. Initiated by people within the glass fraternity, both looked at what was happening there and then.
When considering the inclusion of a glass exhibition within our programme, the gallery wanted to do more than simply offer a survey of what was happening in New Zealand glass in 2009. We wanted to drill down deeper and not just look at what was ‘new’, but also how each of the artists had reached that point.The 21 New Zealand glass artists included in the exhibition were selected from many submissions responding to a brief which invited proposals for a group of three works that would show the scope and development of an idea. We asked artists to ‘reflect on’ the ways in which their idea had evolved, and show its relationship to their interest in glass and the process of making their work. In some cases that development has taken place over a considerable time; in others, one of the objects might not be a work, but something that had provided the source of their idea.The intent of Looking Glass is to offer some insights that might lengthen our ‘look’, reveal some of those insightful and often moving stories and enable us to reflect on them further.The exhibition and accompanying publication wouldn’t have been possible without the generous support of Creative NZ and sponsorship from Doyle & Associates.
Greg Donson and Grace Cochrane, curators.
Niki Hastings-McFall, Crucifixion, 2009
(2 December, 2009 - 14 March, 2010 by popular demand extended to 24 March, 2010)
21 New Zealand Glass Artists: Claudia Borella, Hannah Bremner, Lee Brogan, Emma Camden, Christine Cathie, Jim Dennison and Leanne Williams, Evelyn Dunstan, Shona Firman, Robyn Irwin, Luke Jacomb, Merryn Jones, Trudie Kroef, Lou Pendergrast-Mathieson, Raewyn Roberts, Ann Robinson, Colleen Ryan Priest, Ben Sablerolle, Liz Sharek, Jenny Smith, David Traub, Ben Young.
Looking Glass: reflecting ideas is the Sarjeant Gallery’s first foray into a large scale exhibition featuring the work of New Zealand glass artists. In 2002 the Sarjeant hosted The Cast, this was followed in 2004 by Southern Exposure. Both of these exhibitions featured a range of practitioners and were enormously popular with gallery visitors. Initiated by people within the glass fraternity, both looked at what was happening there and then.
Greg Donson and Grace Cochrane, curators.
Niki Hastings-McFall, Crucifixion, 2009
SECONDLIFE - Five Artist Projects (7 November–28 February, 2010)
Against a backdrop of an overheating planet and rapidly depleting resources, Eve Armstrong, Judy Darragh, Niki Hastings-McFall, Joanna Langford and Peter Madden respond to the call to live more responsibly, ‘upcycling’ everyday materials and ready-made objects (objets trouvés), giving them a ‘second life’ as works of art, creating works of great beauty and imagination from cheap, humble materials. Second Life is a travelling exhibition from Pataka Museum of Arts and Cultures, Porirua.
Colin McCahon (New Zealand, b. 1919, d. 1987) Portrait of Gordon H. Brown 1968
90 YEARS, 90 WORKS - Celebrating the Gallery’s 90th Anniversary (Finished 14th February)
2010This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Sarjeant Gallery opening. Without the generous bequest of Henry Sarjeant, who died in 1912, Wanganui would not have such a fine public gallery or such a rich and diverse collection, which now numbers more than 6000 items. The gallery’s collection began some 18 years prior to the gallery opening in 1919, when Henry and his wife Ellen Stewart – founding members of the Wanganui Arts and Crafts Society, an organisation established in 1901 – began acquiring works of art for a future gallery. Sarjeant stated in his will . . .
It is my desire that works of art shall be purchased or acquired on account of their intrinsic value as works of High Art only and not because they are specimens of local or colonial art, so that the said gallery shall be furnished with Works of the Highest Art in all its branches as a means of inspiration for ourselves and those who come after us.
That’s the extraordinary thing about philanthropy, an inherent trust in “those who come after us”. Over the last ninety years, the gallery has acquired a rich and diverse range of works, ranging from 16th Century European works to contemporary New Zealand photography. The collection has been amassed through many generous gifts, acquisitions and works placed on loan to the gallery, all of them telling a multiplicity of stories, individually and collectively.
In 2009, how do we reflect the diversity of the Sarjeant’s collection on its 90th anniversary? One way to do that would have been to deliver an exhibition of ninety works in chronological order, but with nearly a century’s worth of record keeping, finding a work from every year from 1919 to 2009 wouldn’t have been an easy task, and, for that matter, neither would it be a true reflection of the diversity of the collection.
The Sarjeant Gallery has a full-time staff of nine, and although we all have very specific roles within the gallery’s operation, in essence we are all custodians of the gallery and its collection. Collectively, the current staff have 116 years of institutional experience. During our time at the gallery, we have all handled, walked past, frequently re-visited many familiar friends and found new ones in new acquisitions or discovered others – concealed in racks and plan drawers, awaiting their time on the gallery wall. What better way then to celebrate the collection than to invite each of the nine full-time staff to select 10 works from the collection on a theme of their choice. The resulting exhibition, on display in two areas of the gallery, is a diverse one, which includes the first work acquired for the gallery and the most recent, acquired in the last month. Whether you are a frequent visitor to the gallery or visiting from further afield, we hope you enjoy this varied and eclectic show and join with the staff in saying thank you to Henry Sarjeant for having the vision to make this place possible.
Greg Donson
Curator/Public Programmes Manager
THE 2009 CAREY SMITH & CO LTD - CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS WHANGANUI ARTS REVIEW (26 September - 29 November, 2009)
The annual Arts Review is an excellent opportunity to display work from our local region to a diverse national and international audience. Moreover, it’s also a good chance for practicing artists to see what others are doing and to be able to view their own work in a broader context. This year marks another Arts Review filled with artistic flair and social comment, which augurs well for further rich participation in the years to come.
BILL CULBERT: 180° x 2 Whanganui (1 August - 29 November, 2009)
A dome installation by Bill Culbert featuring flurorescent tubes suspended in the dome and eight large scale photographs of local sites. Culbert is one of New Zealand's most senior and respected artists who divides his time between London and France. This is the only work, for a museum, that Culbert will be completing while he is New Zealand for the launch of the monograph Bill Culbert: Making Light Work by Ian Wedde and published by Auckland University Press in August.
Entering the Sarjeant Gallery is a special occasion at all times. The gallery’s architecture, an uncommon mixture of Neo-Classicism and early Twentieth Century design, provides the visitor with an additional experience to that which one normally hopes for in an art gallery – the art. Culbert’s installation, within this space, is an exploration of place, spatial reference and harmonies of theory and concrete reality. It is a re-telling of his experience and understanding of Wanganui, firmly and critically placed within the Dome area, which acts as the work’s frame and context.
Culbert came to Wanganui in late 2008 in order to consider creating a work for the Sarjeant Gallery. While in town for on three days or so, he was struck by images of the commonplace which, when interpreted through his eyes, become extraordinary – vernacular architecture, tyre marks and architectural debris in salvage yards. Wanganui of course has much more to offer to an attuned observer. In tandem with the built environment lies the intangible and metaphysical experience of the town’s location, amplified by the Whanganui River. Culbert was immediately receptive to the potency of this natural feature in exactly the same manner as local Māori have always been. He was drawn to the immense force of the awa as it passed by the North Mole and entered the Tasman Sea connecting Wanganui with the world. One cannot help but be affected by the strength of this natural feature and indeed the numinous energy which emanates from it.
It is one of the characteristics of Culbert’s work that, as an artist, he seems to be ‘plugged in’ to the power and vigour of places and objects. This kind of understanding, of the nature of things, imbues his installations with a depth greater than their sole sculptural appeal. In truth, what Culbert achieves is a point of interaction between the viewer and his own curiosity about a given area or thing. Throughout 180o x 2 Whanganui Bill Culbert acts as a guide. In his pictures of Wanganui scenes, in his placement of fluorescent light tubing, he gives us prompts and asks us, in our mind’s eye, to take a journey to the places he’s found and to experience the emotions and sensations he discovered during his Wanganui expedition. These experiences can only be had here. This tour, these sights, can only begin within the Sarjeant Gallery’s elegantly proportioned central Dome.
Generously sponsored by:
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WANGANUI GLASS 2009 (12 September - 22 November, 2009)
As part of this year’s glass festival, the Sarjeant Gallery is pleased to present a selection of work by glass artists who are currently living and working in Wanganui. The exhibition includes the work of students, recent graduates and well-established practitioners, all of whom explore the medium in challenging and engaging ways.
Since the establishment of a glass department at the Wanganui Regional Polytechnic in 1987, Wanganui has become known as a centre of excellence for glass practice. In 2006, the Ministry of Social Development provided Creative Communities funding for a glass facilitator to support and build the glass sector in Wanganui. One successful initiative has been the establishment of a Festival of Glass, with this year being the fourth. The two-week festival will run from 19 September to 4 October.
As part of this year’s festival, the Sarjeant Gallery is pleased to present a selection of work by glass artists who are currently living and working in Wanganui. The variety seen here is a true reflection of the diversity of glass as a medium and is testament to why it has gained in popularity in recent years. The exhibition includes the work of students, recent graduates and well-established practitioners, all of whom explore the medium in challenging and engaging ways.
Paul Rayner, Untitled (Whanganui Landscape)
RIVER WEEK (1 November–8 November, 2009)
As part of this years River Week celebrations we have put together a small selection of 10 works from the Sarjeant’s permanent collection which focus on the Whanganui river. This is in the education space.
Nude in Blue Armchair (1972) by Michael Smither.
Collection of the Sarjeant Gallery, donated by Jenny Gibbs
BARE: Nudes from the collection (Finished 4 October, 2009)
This exhibition features a range of works by Edith Collier and a selection of historical and contemporary work drawn from the permanent collection including drawing, painting and photography.
Ring Her Name with Roses, Jeffrey Harris
SURFACE TENSION (15 August - 25 October, 2009)
A selection of uneasy works from the Permanent Collection, including sculptural work by Warren Viscoe, Paratene Matchitt and Llew Summers, paintings by Bill Hammond, Tony Fomison, Jeffrey Harris and a selection of prints and drawings.