Kiwi sculpture park rated as site of international stature

Kiwi sculpture park rated as site of international stature

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-reclusive-millionaires-vast-new-zealand-sculpture-park-1495364403

29 May 2017 – The Wall Street Journal has honoured internationally renowned art patron and entrepreneur Alan Gibbs with a multi-page feature spread about his sculpture park at the Gibbs Farm, north of Auckland, in the June Issue of WSJ Magazine.

The prestigious global publication has likened the sculpture park in import and scale to New York’s monumental Storm King park, Naoshima in Japan and Brazil’s Inhotim.

Written by author and arts feature writer Tony Perottet, Gibbs is described as a “Kiwi Ted Turner” whose sculpture park has put New Zealand on the international art circuit.

Perottet said he was fascinated by the concept of a world-class outdoor art gallery on remote farmland at the bottom of the world, as well as how wealthy art patrons are reshaping the art market, not only by building immense private collections but by presenting the art in fundamentally different ways.

“The Gibbs Farm is as much a part of the art experience as the world-class sculptures he has commissioned,” says Perottet. “And Gibbs himself is a fascinating figure, quite unlike of the other wealthy arts philanthropists who are changing the art market.

“The collaborative process between Gibbs and artist and the artist’s response to the physical landscape at Kaipara definitely accounts for the uniqueness of his outdoor gallery,” he adds. “Gibbs is assuredly part of the creative process, which is a real point of difference.”

Globally renowned artists interviewed for the feature include Anish Kapoor, Richard Serra and Maya Lin, who speak approvingly of Gibbs’ contribution to the commissioning and production process.

Says Kapoor: “Alan is not afraid to mess with the landscape. He understands what sculpture does. He knows why it needs to fit in the landscape.”

Lim is equally enthusiastic, saying “my first experience was epic”. Even when production difficulties hit her earth-made work, requiring significant time delays and extra cost, “Alan didn’t quibble,” she says.

“There are very few places to work at such a large scale,” Lim says of the opportunity the Gibbs Farm affords international artists.

ENDS

Gibbs Farm - Wall Street Journal.pdf

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