With our gift-giving season around the corner, and the frenzy that goes with it, one can always find peace of mind in a gallery. November’s featured galleries are dotted around Tāmaki Makaurau, offering respite from the pre-holiday madness, no matter where you are.
Bergman Gallery Auckland
E Moemoea Naku, A Dream of Mind
by Sylvia Marsters
On until 26 November
Sylvia Marsters – E Moemoea Naku, A Dream of Mine, brings the artist’s practice full circle as lush tropical hibiscus paintings are presented alongside her iconic gardenia canvases. For much of her youth, the artist was thrilled with tales of her father’s island in the Pacific, stories that ultimately became represented by the flora that she paints. Elements of realism blend with concepts of romanticism and perceptions of Pacific fantasy in these new compositions, structuring a sense of serenity and compelling attraction. Stand in front of a Marsters painting and allow the colour, texture and form to propel you into a state of fantastic hyper-experience, a rich blend of fantasy, reality and experience.
3/582 Karangahape Road (entrance via 2 Newton Road), Grey Lynn.
More info at bergmangallery.com
Te Tuhi
Red Teddy
By Roman Mitch
On until 13 November
Roman Mitch is a cerebral playmaker, pocket painter and friendly interdisciplinarian. His research interests focus on the relationships between conceptual art and the computational from a Māori perspective.
“Red Teddy has just got thrown on the roof of the cabin. The incident is both hysterically funny and very upsetting. To stop the cry-laugh-cry-cry-laugh-cry-laugh-laugh cycle, I have enlisted the assistance of a bamboo pole to fish Red Teddy off the roof. I see the patterns on the customised computer cases as a form of communication, i.e. spray painting them using the various vents as masking tāhua. This creates a surface appearance that sometimes approximates either a ‘carbon fibre’ or ‘camo’ or ‘snakeskin’ effect.” – Roman Mitch 2018
13 Reeves Road, Pakuranga
More info at tetuhi.art
The Alexander Café
Sum of the Parts
By Linda Va’aelua
On until 27 November
Linda Va’aelua, a notable emerging Pacific artist is making a splash with her practice. Va’aelua explores the duality of the cultures she was brought up around; Samoan and Scottish. Her colour choices are often vibrant and unexpected, referencing the brightly painted buses of Samoa, and tropical foliage. Using sack cloth as her canvas, the artist amplifies malu patterns by juxtaposing them on recycled, tartan-like bags.
Alexander Cafe Art is an artist-led initiative and facilitated by local South Auckland artists Iokapeta Magele-Suamasi and Andy Leleisi’uao in partnership with Alexander Cafe owners Lama Saga, Tua Lefono and Rick Quinlan.
4/100 Alexander Crescent, Ōtara
Follow on Instagram: @thealexandercafe
Sanderson Contemporary
Voyage
By Ray Haydon
On until 27 November
Prior to developing his practice in free-standing and kinetic sculpture, New Zealand sculptor Ray Haydon worked as a jeweller and furnituremaker, meticulously crafting works whose undulating abstract forms evoke the energy of the Pacific Ocean. Haydon mostly works with bronze and stainless steel and is self-taught. His work is in the collection of the Wallace Trust, Auckland, and private collections around the world.
“With a career spanning more than twenty years, artist and sculptor Ray Haydon is now considered a totara of the New Zealand art world. His exhibition, Voyage, reflects the significant diversity in his work; combining a suite of newly developed colourful forms, with his classical ribbon-like reliefs in bronze, carbon fibre and wood”. – Excerpt from essay by Sian Abel
2 Kent Street, Osborne Lane, Newmarket
More info at sanderson.co.nz
Studio One Toi Tu
Oasis/Respite
Edith Amituanai, Louie Bretaña, Marc Conaco, Falencie Filipo, House of Givenchy, Samora Kake, Sione Monu, Manu Vea, Jamie Waititi
10 November – 8 December
In alignment with Trans Awareness Week, Studio One Toi Tū will be providing a physical space where folks are welcome to pop in for some time out and enjoy a selection of art, curated into an offering that feels like a home away from home. Oasis/Respite will host works by artists from the trans community, the wider LGBTQ+ community and their allies, with a focus on trans stories.
Studio One Toi Tū’s usual brick residence is temporarily closing on 19-October for seismic strengthening. They’re moving to a new gallery space at 238 Karangahape Road and will continue running workshops, courses and events around the central city.
238 Karangahape Road, Newton
More info at studioone.org.nz
