NZ International Arts Fest 2012: Visual Arts

VISUAL ARTS

ADAM ART GALLERY

SNAPSHOTS: Four Takes on Documentary Photography

Kohei Yoshiyuki: The Park – An Institute of Modern Art Touring Exhibition Fiona Amundsen: The First City in History John Lake: The Campus

Simon Starling: Autoxylopyrocycloboros

The Adam Art Gallery presents a suite of four solo exhibitions that offer different takes on documentary photography. Recording people and places, these artists’ projects model strikingly different approaches, offering viewers a provocative opportunity to ask what it means when a camera is used to capture a scene, both in the moment and for posterity.

WHERE: Victoria University of Wellington, Gate 3, Kelburn Parade

WHEN: From 24 January, Tue to Sun 11am-5pm

ARATOI – WAIRARAPA MUSEUM OF ART & HISTORY

Harry Watson: That Was Then, This Is Now

Aratoi presents an exhibition of past and recent work by skilled carver and self-taught artist Harry Watson. Harry creates animal, feathered and human protagonists (often based on real historical figures) that enact their dramas against the backdrop of a fledgling colonial society. Melding Māori and Pākehā techniques and traditions, Harry explores the social history and politics of Aotearoa in ways that are at once quirky and thought-provoking.

WHERE: Bruce Street, Masterton

WHEN: From 10 December 2011 to 11 March 2012, daily 10.30am-4.30pm

CITY GALLERY

The Obstinate Object: Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture

Sculpture can be the most anti-social or belligerent of mediums, responsible for things that get in the way, need to be walked around, or even bumped into. The Obstinate Object harnesses and celebrates these very qualities, exploring sculpture’s potential to transform real space through physical encounter. Spilling out of City Gallery into its surrounds and the city, The Obstinate Object brings together recent work by some of New Zealand’s most compelling sculptors.

WHERE: Civic Square, Wellington

WHEN: From 24 February, daily 10am-5pm

THE DOWSE ART MUSEUM

Teresa Margolles: So It Vanishes [Scoop note 24/2/12: This exhibition has been cancelled.]

The Dowse Art Museum is proud to present two major works by internationally acclaimed Mexican artist Teresa Margolles. In The Air is one of Margolles most important works, featuring an empty room filled only with floating bubbles. It creates a scene of unearthly beauty, underscored with a sense of unease. In addition, an outdoor billboard series will see Margolles develop an entirely new body of work especially for The Dowse. The exhibition is guest curated by Claudia Arozqueta.

WHERE: 45 Laings Rd, Lower Hutt

WHEN: From 25 February, Mon to Fri 10am-4.30pm, Sat and Sun 10am-5pm

ENJOY GALLERY

The Chinese Horoscope Show

Featuring 12 international and New Zealand-based artists, Chinese Horoscope is an exploration of the Chinese Zodiac. Guest curator Erica van Zon has asked the contributing artists to consider and respond to their Chinese star sign. The result is an eclectic range of work in various media that is both engaging and playful.

WHERE: Level 1/147 Cuba Street, Wellington

WHEN:From 15 February to 10 March, Wed to Fri 11am–6pm, Sat 11am4pm

MAHARA GALLERY

Robyn Kahukiwa: Wahine Toi

Robyn Kahukiwa is a senior Māori artist with a national and international reputation, whose career spans 40 years. Her work is a celebration of the life and experiences of Māori people. Many of her paintings and prints encapsulate important socio-political issues in Aotearoa New Zealand. Maumahara: Remember gathers together a selection of Kahukiwa’s images from New Zealand public and private collections. It includes her latest major work, Resistance/Te Tohenga, recently shown in Leiden, Holland.

WHERE: 20 Mahara Place, Waikanae Village

WHEN: From 25 February, Tue to Sat 10am-4pm, Sun 1-4pm

MUSEUM OF WELLINGTON CITY & SEA

Black in Fashion: Wearing the Colour Black in New Zealand

From the all black uniforms of our sports teams to that icon of kiwiana, the black singlet, black is the colour most often associated with New Zealand identity. The Black in Fashion pop-up exhibition in Wellington explores how and why black has become part of our identity as New Zealanders. Presented by the New Zealand Fashion Museum in association with Museum of Wellington City & Sea.

WHERE: See museumswellington.org.nz for details of this pop-up exhibition

WHEN: From 24 February, daily 10am–5pm

NEW ZEALAND PORTRAIT GALLERY

2012 Adam Portrait Award

Pick your favourite piece of portraiture during the 2012 Adam Portrait Award at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery on Wellington’s waterfront. Your vote will help decide the People’s Prize of $2,000, while the overall winner, judged by Tony Ellwood, Director of the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, will receive $15,000. New Zealand art at its finest.

WHERE: Shed 11, Queen’s Wharf, Wellington waterfront

WHEN: From 23 February, daily 10.30am-4.30pm

PATAKA MUSEUM

Pieter Hugo: Nollywood

The Nigerian film industry – colloquially known as ‘Nollywood’ – is the third largest in the world. In this captivating exploration of the film industry in Africa’s most populous nation, South African photographer Pieter Hugo recreates the stereotypical characters from Nollywood productions in a series of otherworldly portraits, posed by Nigerian actors.

WHERE: Corner Norrie and Parumoana St, Porirua City

WHEN: From 11 February, Mon to Sat 10am-4.30pm, Sun 11am-4.30pm

SHAPESHIFTER

Essential New Zealand Sculpture

Summer days, beautiful gardens and contemporary sculpture come together for The Dowse and the Hutt Civic Gardens’ fifth Shapeshifter sculpture exhibition. From more than 100 proposals, Director of The Dowse Cam McCracken has selected a variety of stimulating large and small-scale works by both established and emerging New Zealand artists. All works are for sale. Picnickers welcome.

WHERE: Civic Gardens and The Dowse, Laings Road, Lower Hutt

WHEN:Opens 25 February, daily 10am-5pm. Late night, Thu 10am-8pm.Closes 18 March at 4pm

ENTRY: $5 with proceeds to charity, accompanied children free

TE PAPA

Collecting Contemporary

Every year, Te Papa extends its contemporary art collection, adding significant works by both emerging and established artists, as well as pieces that enhance the collection or reflect important trends. This exhibition showcases a selection of works acquired between 2006 and 2011. On 9 February 2012, Collecting Contemporary will re-open with newly acquisitioned artworks, replacing some of the works previously on display.

WHERE: Level 5, Te Papa, 55 Cable Street, Wellington

WHEN: From 23 February, daily 10am6pm and Thu 10am9pm

WELLINGTON SCULPTURE TRUST

The 4 Plinths Sculpture Project: Joanna Langford

The 4 Plinths Sculpture Project is a temporary biennial installation that showcases New Zealand sculpture. On top of four massive bollards on Wellington’s waterfront, artist Joanna Langford presents the third project in this series, The Quietening, featuring four glass boxes in which the artist has installed her work. When viewed from a distance, Langford’s dioramas unfold as a panoramic industrial landscape made from recycled shopping bags and elegant metal skewers.

WHERE: Wellington waterfront between Te Papa and Circa Theatre

WHEN: From 24 February

ENDS

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