Many Hands Make Heavy Work

Exploring Corban Estate’s connection to contemporary sculpture, in celebration of its 20 years as one of Aotearoa’s largest thriving Arts Centres.

In celebration of its twentieth anniversary as an arts centre, Corban Estate Arts Centre presents a pair of exhibitions in the Homestead Galleries that explore the Estate’s historic connections to the sculptural medium, while celebrating the contemporary practices of seven of the Estate’s resident artists who keep alive the local sculptural tradition built over the past twenty-seven years.

Opening Friday 16 December at 6pm are; In the beginning was an envelope, an archival exhibition including material from the 1995 EcoArt Sculpture Symposium, and Seven Sculptors, a group exhibition featuring works by David McCracken, Julie Moselen, Kevin Osmond, Anton Parsons, Martin Selman, Chris van Doren and Stephen Woodward.

Between the exhibitions is an exploration into contemporary sculptural practice through an array of mediums, including stone and various metals. The archival material showing as part of In the beginning was an envelope, is in the form of original works and a suite of photographs taken by the late-Glenn Jowitt, presenting a fascinating look back at sculptural practice as it was in 1990’s Aotearoa.

In the beginning was an envelope centres around the 1995 EcoArt Sculpture Symposium, developed by then Waitakere City Council and curated by Naomi McCleary, now Chair of the Waitakere Arts and Cultural Development Trust board (CEAC). The major creative project took place in the summer of 1995, involving a group of prolific artists from around Aotearoa who were each tasked with developing a sculpture at different points around the expansive site as it stood. The brief was for sculptural works that would demonstrate sustainability in concept, materials and construction.

In the beginning was an envelope presents a fascinating suite of archival material from the EcoArt Sculpture Symposium including original works on paper created by each of the artists and groups involved, and a body of black and white photographs by Jowitt that capture the artists and their sculptural works. The project is a significant marker in Corban Estate’s more recent history, being the inspiring precursor for the Arts Centre’s development by demonstrating the creative potential of what was possible for the large-scale space.

Accompanying the archival exhibition is group exhibition Seven Sculptors, exploring the multi-faceted medium of contemporary sculpture that has long been championed on the grounds of Corban Estate. This sculptural tradition is driven by the renowned resident sculptors who are based at Corban Estate Arts Centre, part of a close community of creatives who share ideas, methods and the realities of working on such works of art. Seven Sculptors presents a survey of works as part of their contemporary sculptural practices, developed in their onsite studios.

Though placed under the broader sculpture umbrella, each of their practices is both specialised and unique, exploring techniques ranging from metal fabrication to wood and stone carving, and techniques employing industrial materials. Their individual processes investigate varying themes from the representation of objects, to the fundamental nature of space and mass, and socio-political issues. The suite of works in Seven Sculptors showcases the scale, tactility and vitality of the sculptural medium, celebrating sculpture in all its forms.

Alongside the exhibitions is a programme of free gallery events and activities open for the public to attend. There is a rare opportunity to meet the seven sculptors behind the exhibition and to gain a behind-the-scenes tour of their working studios in two tours on Saturday 21 January. The Morning Sculptor Studio Tour will visit the studios of Julie Moselen, Kevin Osmond and Stephen Woodward; while attendees on the Afternoon Sculptor Studio Tour will be able to venture into the studios of David McCracken, Anton Parsons, Martin Selman and Chris van Doren. Both tours will give visitors the opportunity to gain insight into the tools and techniques used by the artists every day, while also giving attendees the chance to meet the artists themselves.

Additional activities provide other groups in the wider community the chance to engage with the exhibitions. Visitors who are blind or partially-sighted will have the opportunity to experience the many textural works in the exhibition through the senses of touch and sound over a designated hour during the Seven Sculptors Touch Tour. For children and caregivers there is a Gallery Bubs morning scheduled for late-January, including a baby-friendly tour of the exhibitions and for the older kids, the February Saturday Gallery Club morning offers a free workshop inspired by the angular works of exhibiting sculptor Kevin Osmond.

EXHIBITIONS IMAGES:

www.ceac.link/Dec-Feb23_Media

ABOUT CORBAN ESTATE ARTS CENTRE:

Corban Estate Arts Centre is home to the Homestead Galleries and Gallery Shop, over 20 Resident Artist studios and high-profile Arts Organisations, a unique collection of venues for hire and the popular Coffee Studio cafe. We offer regular arts workshops for adults, youth and children, as well as a highly regarded Schools Education programme.

Set within beautiful park-like grounds alongside the Opānuku stream by Henderson Park, just a short walk from the Henderson Train Station, we are based on the New Zealand Heritage listed category 1 historic grounds of the late Corbans Winery.

Currently celebrating our 20th year as one of Aotearoa’s largest thriving Arts Centres, we continue provide a haven for the local community to enjoy the enriching combination of arts, culture and heritage as the acting kaitiaki for one of Tāmaki Makaurau’s important historical legacies.

Our Homestead Galleries and Gallery Shop are open daily from 10am-4pm in 2022, reducing to Mon-Sat in 2023. Everyone is welcome. Nau mai here mai!

MEDIA CONTACT:

For further information, images and interviews, please contact Madeleine Gifford, Curator and Exhibitions Manager; +64 21 022 23823 or curator@ceac.org.nz

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DEC-FEB EXHIBITION DETAILS:

GALLERY ONE:

Exhibition Title: In the beginning was an envelope

Artist: Archival Exhibition

GALLERIES TWO + THREE:

Exhibition Title: Seven Sculptors

Artists: David McCracken, Julie Moselen, Kevin Osmond, Anton Parsons, Martin Selman, Chris van Doren and Stephen Woodward.

Exhibition dates: Friday 16 December 2022 – Saturday 11 February 2023

Location: Homestead Galleries, Corban Estate Arts Centre

2 Mt Lebanon Lane, Henderson, Auckland 0612

Opening Hours: 7 days in 2022 / Mon-Sat in 2023. 10am-4pm daily.

Entry: Free, all welcome.

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GALLERY PROGRAMME DETAILS:

Dec-Feb Exhibitions Opening Event

Friday 16 December 2022, 6pm - 8pm

Free, all welcome. No bookings required.

Whakatau lead by Pita Turei to commence at 6:15pm.

Morning Sculptor Studio Tour

with Julie Moselen, Kevin Osmond and Stephen Woodward

Saturday 21 January 2023, 10am - 11am

Free. Bookings essential. Contact curator@ceac.org.nz to reserve your place.

Join us for the first of two studio tours on-site at Corban Estate, visiting the studios of three of our resident artists who are each exhibiting as part of current exhibition, Seven Sculptors. There is the opportunity to not only meet the artists, but to gain a behind-the-scenes look at their sculptural practices in metal, stone and mixed media with a unique insight into each of their working practices and techniques.

Afternoon Sculptor Studio Tour

with David McCracken, Anton Parsons, Martin Selman and Chris van Doren

Saturday 21 January 2023, 12pm – 1pm

Free. Bookings essential. Contact curator@ceac.org.nz to reserve your place.

Join us for the second of two studio tours on-site at Corban Estate, visiting the studios of four of our resident artists who are each exhibiting as part of current exhibition, Seven Sculptors. There is the opportunity to not only meet the artists, but to gain a behind-the-scenes look at their sculptural practices in metal, marble, carving and mixed media, with a unique insight into each of their working practices and techniques.

Gallery Bubs

Monday 23 January, 10am - 11am

Free, caregivers and children under 2.

Bookings essential. Contact curator@ceac.org.nz to reserve your place.

We invite all parents and caregivers to bring along bubs aged under 2 years to join our curator for one of our baby-friendly mornings in the Homestead Galleries.

There will be an intimate tour of our current exhibitions, followed by a table at the Coffee Studio over a morning where mums, dads and bubs can enjoy some downtime enjoying art and connecting with other local parents.

Corban Estate Arts Centre is wheelchair, pushchair and breastfeeding-friendly. A change table and facilities for heating bottles and food for little ones are also available.

Seven Sculptors Touch Tour

Wednesday 02 February, 1pm - 2pm

Free. Bookings essential. Contact curator@ceac.org.nz to reserve your place.

Join us in the Homestead Galleries for a touch tour of group sculpture exhibition, Seven Sculptors. As part of this hands-on experience, visitors who are blind or partially-sighted will have the opportunity to experience the many textural works in the exhibition through the senses of touch and sound. Using their hands and through listening to detailed verbal descriptions of the works, visitors will be able to have a unique encounter with contemporary sculpture in its many forms.

Saturday Gallery Club: Cloud Sculptures

Saturday 11 February, 10:30am – 12pm

Free, ages 4+ (all children must be accompanied by an adult).

Bookings essential. Contact lissa@ceac.org.nz to reserve your place.

Join us in the Homestead Galleries to make your own sculpture inspired by resident artist, Kevin Osmond’s structural Cloud works in the current exhibition Seven Sculptors. In this fun session, you will construct your own edgy sculpture that can hang from your ceiling.

Saturday Gallery Clubs are a free, whanau-friendly art-making sessions that happen in the Homestead Galleries every second Saturday of the month.

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