Tuesday was my art gallery day. I had picked up two guides about art galleries in Auckland and decided to go to all the ones near the city centre. One guide was called The Auckland Gallery Guide and showcased "visual arts across Auckland City from central to north, east, & west." I just went to the eight that were near the city centre. The second guide was called Take a Walk of Art: Auckland's Art Precinct Map and listed 13 galleries for me to go to. Since one of the galleries overlapped, that made a total of 20 galleries for me to go to. Warning: this is going to be somewhat long and detailed, so be prepared :P
I decided to start off with the Auckland Gallery Guide and do the galleries listed there first, and then do the galleries on Take a Walk of Art.
Kura Contemporary Ethnic Art (#20 on Auckland Gallery Guide)
"Contemporary ethnic art and design specialising in Maori art." This one was across the street from Westfield Downtown and was more like a shop than it was an art gallery.
Aveia Gallery (#22)
"A Pacific Journey of Art, Wine and NZ Cuisine." This one was actually a pretty nice gallery. Wanted to take pictures, but was under the impression that it wasn't allowed so I just looked around. The pieces displayed were quite expensive. It was also connected to a café in the back.
The Gus Fisher Gallery (#16)
The map was misleading so it took me a while to find this one. The Gus Fisher Gallery is actually a part of the University of Auckland. There were three exhibitions going on: "From the Architecture Archive: Vernon Brown," "Speaking Truth to Power: John Reynolds," and "I Tell You Solemnly: John Reynolds." I was actually able to take pictures of these. I really enjoyed the two John Reynolds exhibitions.
The Lane Gallery (#42)
Was going to go in, but their entire gallery was their exhibition. And what was their exhibition? "Ngaro/BlowFly." I am insectophobic. I don't do blowflies. Ergo, I just walked on by this gallery.
Fingers Contemporary Jewellery (#8)
"Featuring work by New Zealand's leading jewellery artists." Sounds more exciting than it actually was.
City Art Rooms (#18)
There were two exhibitions here: Aidan Law and Cruz Jimenez. Cruz Jimenez was okay, but Aidan Law blew me away. I think Gardenia would have really enjoyed this exhibition because his art was totally her style. Too bad she isn't here because they're currently having a juried competition for recent graduates.
St. Paul St. Gallery (#40)
A "suite of purpose built galleries and project spaces run by the School of Art and Design, Auckland University of Technology." They had one exhibition going on: "Sigmar Polke: Music from an Unknown Source." It was interesting.
Auckland Art Gallery (#3 on Auckland Gallery Guide, #1 on Take a Walk of Art)
Has "the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand." Went to the New Gallery first. They had a "Making Worlds" exhibition, but I was upset at them for being mean about my camera, so I refused to pay for it and just looked at the free "Likeness & Character" exhibition. I then went to the Main Gallery, where the staff was much nicer, and saw their three exhibits: "Hei konei mai: We'll meet again," "A Lighter Touch--19th and 20th Century European Art," and "Love Chief." The museum is about to undergo major development, so only the ground level was open. My favourite exhibition was the "Love Chief" one, which "explores the comic tension between 'high' and 'low' culture." I enjoyed the American works ^^
Gow Langsford Gallery (#2 on Take a Walk of Art)
They had one exhibition: "Frank Nitsche and Eber Havekost | Discipline." A bit disappointing and the gallery was much smaller than I expected.
John Leech Gallery (#3)
Exhibition: "Patrick Reynolds--Two Bodies (In One Car)." The gallery was small, but the photos were quite nice. And I am so jealous of whatever camera and lenses the man has! Very high quality.
G2 (#4)
Was unsuccessful as this had turned into the Tim Melville Gallery, which shows new Aboriginal paintings. Thought about going in, but it looked quite small from the outside and the paintings were not of interest to me.
FHE Galleries (#5)
Had an exhibition from Chris Charteris. The gallery was smaller than I expected from the website. There was one work that I wanted to take a picture of, but I decided against it since the lady had glared at me as soon as I walked in the door.
Oedipus Rex Gallery (#6)
Exhibition: "As I Stepped Out Into The Bright Sunlight: Richard Lewer." Quite interesting, but definitely not my style. Very.. weird. I was surprised that it wasn't fully set up until I saw the flyer, which showed that the exhibition was not only just starting that day, but the opening preview was from 5-7pm, which was still a few hours away. Haha, oops.
Judith Anderson Gallery (#7)
I tried to find this, but it ended up having the exact same address as City Art Rooms, so I guess this got replaced as well.
I then decided to take a walk through Albert Park, where there were supposed to be sculptures "including works by Andrea Lucchesi, W. Parkinson, Francis J. Williamson, Chris Booth, Walter MacFarlane, Reg Nichol." It was quite a pretty place. It would be a nice place to go for a stroll or just to hang out.
Milford Galleries Auckland (#9)
Small, no current exhibitions.
Ferner Gallery City (#8)
This was closed down.
Vavasour Godkin Gallery (#10)
Also small and I accidentally walked past it on the first try. Definitely modern art.
The Lane Gallery (#11)
Also closed down.
McPherson Gallery (#12)
Exhibition: "Gary Freemantle: Fight Night." Interesting works, all oil on canvas except for a few oil on board.
Sue Crockford Gallery (#13)
The last one on the list. I wanted to do this just so I can say I went to every single gallery, apart from the ones that were closed (which I still actually went to though), but you need to actually request access, so I decided against it.
And that was it for the art galleries! As always, all my pictures are in my Picasa album, so you should go check them out. Before I headed back, I went to the ATM to withdraw money for the bus and also for the rent, but it gave it to me in all $50 bills. I needed change! So I went to a small 7/11-esque store and bought OJ and Cadbury Crunchie (has Hokey Pokey pieces)! I then came back to the boarding house and finished watching the Korean drama Resurrection (aka Rebirth). Quite a bittersweet ending. And that was my Tuesday.
I decided to start off with the Auckland Gallery Guide and do the galleries listed there first, and then do the galleries on Take a Walk of Art.
Kura Contemporary Ethnic Art (#20 on Auckland Gallery Guide)
"Contemporary ethnic art and design specialising in Maori art." This one was across the street from Westfield Downtown and was more like a shop than it was an art gallery.
Aveia Gallery (#22)
"A Pacific Journey of Art, Wine and NZ Cuisine." This one was actually a pretty nice gallery. Wanted to take pictures, but was under the impression that it wasn't allowed so I just looked around. The pieces displayed were quite expensive. It was also connected to a café in the back.
The Gus Fisher Gallery (#16)
The map was misleading so it took me a while to find this one. The Gus Fisher Gallery is actually a part of the University of Auckland. There were three exhibitions going on: "From the Architecture Archive: Vernon Brown," "Speaking Truth to Power: John Reynolds," and "I Tell You Solemnly: John Reynolds." I was actually able to take pictures of these. I really enjoyed the two John Reynolds exhibitions.
Was going to go in, but their entire gallery was their exhibition. And what was their exhibition? "Ngaro/BlowFly." I am insectophobic. I don't do blowflies. Ergo, I just walked on by this gallery.
Fingers Contemporary Jewellery (#8)
"Featuring work by New Zealand's leading jewellery artists." Sounds more exciting than it actually was.
City Art Rooms (#18)
There were two exhibitions here: Aidan Law and Cruz Jimenez. Cruz Jimenez was okay, but Aidan Law blew me away. I think Gardenia would have really enjoyed this exhibition because his art was totally her style. Too bad she isn't here because they're currently having a juried competition for recent graduates.
A "suite of purpose built galleries and project spaces run by the School of Art and Design, Auckland University of Technology." They had one exhibition going on: "Sigmar Polke: Music from an Unknown Source." It was interesting.
Has "the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand." Went to the New Gallery first. They had a "Making Worlds" exhibition, but I was upset at them for being mean about my camera, so I refused to pay for it and just looked at the free "Likeness & Character" exhibition. I then went to the Main Gallery, where the staff was much nicer, and saw their three exhibits: "Hei konei mai: We'll meet again," "A Lighter Touch--19th and 20th Century European Art," and "Love Chief." The museum is about to undergo major development, so only the ground level was open. My favourite exhibition was the "Love Chief" one, which "explores the comic tension between 'high' and 'low' culture." I enjoyed the American works ^^
They had one exhibition: "Frank Nitsche and Eber Havekost | Discipline." A bit disappointing and the gallery was much smaller than I expected.
John Leech Gallery (#3)
Exhibition: "Patrick Reynolds--Two Bodies (In One Car)." The gallery was small, but the photos were quite nice. And I am so jealous of whatever camera and lenses the man has! Very high quality.
G2 (#4)
Was unsuccessful as this had turned into the Tim Melville Gallery, which shows new Aboriginal paintings. Thought about going in, but it looked quite small from the outside and the paintings were not of interest to me.
FHE Galleries (#5)
Had an exhibition from Chris Charteris. The gallery was smaller than I expected from the website. There was one work that I wanted to take a picture of, but I decided against it since the lady had glared at me as soon as I walked in the door.
Oedipus Rex Gallery (#6)
Exhibition: "As I Stepped Out Into The Bright Sunlight: Richard Lewer." Quite interesting, but definitely not my style. Very.. weird. I was surprised that it wasn't fully set up until I saw the flyer, which showed that the exhibition was not only just starting that day, but the opening preview was from 5-7pm, which was still a few hours away. Haha, oops.
Judith Anderson Gallery (#7)
I tried to find this, but it ended up having the exact same address as City Art Rooms, so I guess this got replaced as well.
I then decided to take a walk through Albert Park, where there were supposed to be sculptures "including works by Andrea Lucchesi, W. Parkinson, Francis J. Williamson, Chris Booth, Walter MacFarlane, Reg Nichol." It was quite a pretty place. It would be a nice place to go for a stroll or just to hang out.
Small, no current exhibitions.
Ferner Gallery City (#8)
This was closed down.
Vavasour Godkin Gallery (#10)
Also small and I accidentally walked past it on the first try. Definitely modern art.
The Lane Gallery (#11)
Also closed down.
McPherson Gallery (#12)
Exhibition: "Gary Freemantle: Fight Night." Interesting works, all oil on canvas except for a few oil on board.
Sue Crockford Gallery (#13)
The last one on the list. I wanted to do this just so I can say I went to every single gallery, apart from the ones that were closed (which I still actually went to though), but you need to actually request access, so I decided against it.
And that was it for the art galleries! As always, all my pictures are in my Picasa album, so you should go check them out. Before I headed back, I went to the ATM to withdraw money for the bus and also for the rent, but it gave it to me in all $50 bills. I needed change! So I went to a small 7/11-esque store and bought OJ and Cadbury Crunchie (has Hokey Pokey pieces)! I then came back to the boarding house and finished watching the Korean drama Resurrection (aka Rebirth). Quite a bittersweet ending. And that was my Tuesday.
1 comments:
hahahaha why do u keep taking pictures of cadbury.? and wow, u went to a lotta places in a day. thats pretty crazy.
and i saw the pictures for.. aiden law? and wow. that is so crazy. dont see how its my "style" though. and u know what i thought after i saw it. i wished i saw it last year for my abstract project. mines sucked a lot cause i had no ideas. DOH!
ur being touristy. and having fun!! ahh i wanna go to nz now!! hahaha. thanks for blogging! man it was long, i skimmed through it. :D
Post a Comment