Media Release

Art Gallery Opens Minus Elitist Attitude

Gallery’s owner encourages visitors to have fun, ask questions and make noise, “a painting has never been harmed by being shouted at”.

Smyth Galleries plans to become one of the biggest contemporary NZ art galleries (opens Friday 24th November).

Its owner, Kieran Smyth, who has one of the Top 30 private art collections of contemporary NZ art in the country, wants to bring a new attitude into art.

“The extreme intellectualisation in the art world alienates most people so the vast majority of kiwis don’t get to enjoy it, they won’t even go into a gallery for fear of being made to feel ignorant”, said Smyth Galleries Owner, Kieran Smyth.

“You don’t need to know about art to look at it, like it, have an opinion on it or buy it. When you buy a car you don’t generally ask how it goes or what makes it work, you buy it because you like it, art should be no different”.

Smyth Galleries is located on the corner of Seymour Street and Jervois Road in Herne Bay, Auckland. The retail store is in the refurbished “Rainbow Shop” – the former Presbyterian 2nd hand store.

Smyth Galleries first collection (located in the fine arts villa adjacent to the Rainbow Shop) includes work by many significant NZ artists including: John Pule, Shane Cotton, Tony De Latour, Bill Hammond, Dick Frizzell, Euan McCleod, Joanna Braithwaite, Reg Mombassa, Seraphine Pick, Julian Dashper, John Walsh and Heather Straka.

Dick Frizzell attended the opening, at least two Frizzell’s are featured in the collection and Smyth owns his original and iconic Mickey to Tiki.

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