Brett Graham: Tai Moana Tai Tangata
5 Dec 2020 — 2 May 2021
A cautionary tale about human endeavour in Aotearoa New Zealand.
A solo exhibition of new work by Brett Graham (Ngāti Kōroki Kahukura, Tainui), curated by Anna-Marie White (Te Ātiawa).
Exhibition
Brett Graham, Cease Tide of Wrong-Doing, Gallery 1, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. Image Neil Pardington.
Len Lye Tangibles: 1959 - 1961
Tangibles: 1959-1961 is the first of two exhibitions presenting a chronological overview of Lye’s kinetic sculpture.
Acclaimed for his experimental cinema from the 1930s through to the 1950s, Len Lye largely abandoned filmmaking at the close of the 1950s to join a thriving kinetic art scene. This exhibition presents original and reconstructed works from this important phase of Lye’s career.
Exhibition
Len Lye with Fountain, c. 1960.
Unknown photographer.
Len Lye Foundation Collection, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery.
Len Lye: Sky Snakes
Never seen before, Len Lye's Sky Snake in installation of seven swirling Sky Snakes.
A new large-scale kinetic sculpture from the Len Lye Foundation and Team Zizz!
Sky Snake is a dancing kinetic sculpture. A rotating, spinning chain creates harmonic wave patterns or figures familiar to Lye's other works, and traveling waves that move up and down the chain. A brass ball at the bottom end of the chain represents the head of a snake.

Len Lye Sky Snake 1965 (reconstruction 2019). Courtesy the Len Lye Foundation Collection. Photo Francis Vissers
Maioha Kara: Salutations
A new work that acknowledges the changing of the seasons: what was, what is and what will come.
View a new commission by Maioha Kara (Waikato, Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Arawa, Ngāti Porou) in the Open Window Gallery on Queen St, New Plymouth.
Exhibition
Maioha Kara, Salutations, 2020, (detail).
Rimu, glitter and stain. Image courtesy of the artist.
News
Tai Moana Tai Tangata: A Taranaki Tribal Perspective

Tai Moana Tai Tangata – A Taranaki Tribal Perspective is a five-part speaker series extending on the themes of Tai Moana Tai Tangata, bringing a Taranaki lens to continue the exhibition’s narrative.
A Taranaki Art Adventure at the Auckland Art Fair

We're at the Fair
The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery / Len Lye Centre and a number of Taranaki’s top attractions have teamed up with the Auckland Art Fair 2021 as its exclusive Museum Partner.
We’ll be presenting Len Lye’s iconic kinetic sculpture Big Blade outside the main entrance to the Fair on Auckland’s Waterfront from 24-28 February 2021, thanks to John and Lynda Matthews and Technix Industries.
To celebrate our partnership with the Auckland Art Fair, we’re offering an exclusive Taranaki Art Adventure package to Fair-goers.
New artwork by Maioha Kara celebrates the changing of the seasons

What was, what is and what will come.
Salutations
Maioha Kara
5 December 2020 – 15 March 2021
A new artwork installed in the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery’s street-facing Window Gallery celebrates the change of the seasons from spring to summer and investigates the cyclical patterns of our internal and external environments.
The architecture of war and language of memorials

Tai Moana Tai Tangata
Brett Graham
5 December 2020 – 2 May 2021
A major installation of new artworks by Brett Graham, (Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Tainui) at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery / Len Lye Centre, tells a cautionary tale of human endeavour.
An offsite exhibition of new work by Meg Porteous: Germinal centre

'Germinal centre' is the outcome of Meg Porteous’ digital residency with the Govett-Brewster, which has had a focus on two key photographic genres: the family photograph and the stock image.
Gallery Director Announced

Dr Zara Stanhope has been announced by New Plymouth District Council as the next director of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre.
Lens On Lye

Lens on Lye: Guest Spotlight on the pioneering artist and experimental filmmaker
Artists, experts, scholars, specialists and Len Lye film fans share their insights on the artist and filmmaker in this fortnightly series, Lens on Lye, inspired by the current exhibition The Absolute Truth of the Happiness Acid (6 Jun — 1 Nov 2020).
For our latest spotlight on Len Lye, jazz and visual media scholar Dr Nicolas Pillai, discusses Lye's synchronisation of music to the burst and swirls of colour in his direct films.
COVID-19 - Alert Level 2

Kia ora koutou,
Following the Government’s announcement on the COVID-19 alert levels, and for the safety of our audiences, artists, staff and community, the Govett Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre will be moving into Alert Level 2 from midday today.
Read on to find out about the changes we have put in place, in order to remain open safely.
Please check our website for updates.
Challenging notions of migration, race and border: new exhibition suite at The Govett-Brewster

The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre continues to lead contemporary art with its latest exhibition suite.
Lens on Lye

Artists, experts, scholars, specialists and Len Lye film fans share their insights on the artist and filmmaker in this fortnightly series, Lens on Lye, inspired by the current exhibition 'The Absolute Truth of the Happiness Acid' (6 Jun — 1 Nov 2020).
This week’s blog comes from artist Anouk De Clercq, who transforms Len Lye’s lively, energetic scratch film 'Free Radicals' into poetic language, which seeks to create bodily empathy.
Candice Lin Speaks to Radio New Zealand's Standing Room Only

Ahead of their exhibition opening this Saturday 8 August, LA-based artist Candice Lin discusses how the themes in her collection, which looks at the history of plagues, viruses and blame, have been made uncannily relevant by current global events, on RNZ's Standing Room Only programme.
Digital Artist 'In Residence' Sorawit Songsataya

Our latest post from Govett-Brewster’s Artist ‘In Residence’ Sorawit Songsataya gives an immersive view into their forthcoming exhibition, which will open at the Gallery this coming weekend.
Songsataya is currently "in residence" at their home in Wellington, sharing insights into the development of their new project through the Govett-Brewster’s online platforms.
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Govett-Brewster
Uneven Bodies (Reader)
Uneven Bodies (Reader) is a comprehensive collection of writing produced as an outcome of a symposium of the same name held in Aotearoa New Zealand in early 2020 that addresses the politics of collections today and the complex terrain of power in which this conversation sits.
$32.00
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Uneven Bodies (Reader)