'Milky Way Bar: New Wellington Artists'

Thu, 16 Sep 2004 Hirschfeld Gallery

'Milky Way Bar: New Wellington Artists'

18 September - 17 October 2004 Michael Hirschfeld Gallery, City Gallery Wellington Civic Square Wellington

Open 10am to 5pm every day. Free Entry.

'Milky Way Bar' is the third new Wellington artist show at City Gallery Wellington's Michael Hirschfeld Gallery. Titled after Bill Manhire's 1991 poem 'Milky Way Bar', the exhibition brings together eight fresh and dynamic young artists who "live at the edge of the universe/like everybody else."

Featuring work by Marina Cains, Ryan Chadfield, Daniel du Bern, Regan Gentry, Kim Paton, Gregory Sharp, Marnie Slater and Louise Tulett, 'Milky Way Bar' highlights the present moment: it's about what these artists are making, thinking and communicating now.

Recently, the Wellington arts scene has entered a boom phase, with new exhibition spaces opening up, new arts projects being initiated, and new artists constantly emerging, fuelled in part by the establishment of the School of Fine Arts at Massey University's Wellington campus. 'Milky Way Bar' gives audiences an insight into how young artists are making their way in this rapidly expanding world.

Marnie Slater's work evokes the tension felt by young artists when they are torn between wanting to be discovered and wanting to hide in the shadows. Slater has created a mini mountain with a step ladder and a white satin flag with the word 'NOW' embroidered on it. Will you seize the day by climbing up and snatching the flag, Slater asks, or will you be stuck at the bottom, doubting your ability to face up to the challenge?

Regan Gentry also explores the idea of being a new artist trying to break into the art world. In 2003 Gentry began his 'Foot in the Door' project by sending hundreds of letters to public and commercial art galleries and art-related institutions asking if he could install a one foot ruler or piece of measuring tape in their entrance way. Enterprising and audacious, the project literally enables Gentry to get a foot in the door at a range of institutions. At the 'Milky Way Bar' opening, Gentry will insert a foot of measuring tape into the Michael Hirschfeld Gallery's roller door, marking his entry into another gallery space, another scalp in his exhibiting history.

'Martian Invaders in the Twilight Arcade' Thursday 30 September 2004 at 5.30pm Join the artists in 'Milky Way Bar' and Michael Hirschfeld Gallery curator Sarah Farrar for an informal floortalk in the gallery. Free entry, all welcome.

For more information, images and interview opportunities please contact: Courtney Johnston, Publicist, City Gallery Wellington T: 04 801 3959 E: courtney.johnston@wcc.govt.nz

DesignWorks EIG are proud sponsors of the Michael Hirschfeld Gallery. Thanks also Colourcraft and Publication & Design, Wellington City Council. City Gallery Wellington is managed by the Wellington Museums Trust with major funding from the Wellington City Council.

ENDS

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