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.
What’s On
Supernova
Supernova
Supernova
Sat 27 Feb 21 — Len Lye Centre Cinema
Led by moving performances from Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci, Supernova is a heartbreaking look at the emotional toll that comes with accepting mortality.
Event Info
Botticelli, Florence and the Medici
Botticelli, Florence and the Medici
Botticelli, Florence and the Medici
Sat 27 Feb 21 — Len Lye Centre Cinema
From Salvador Dalì to Andy Warhol, David LaChapelle to Jeff Koons and Lady Gaga, no one appears to be immune to the eternal fascination of Botticelli and his works.
Event Info
Image by Hayley Bethell.
Brett Graham in Conversation
Image by Hayley Bethell.
Sat 27 Feb 21 — Govett-Brewster Art Gallery / Len Lye Centre
Join artist Brett Graham and Hanahiva Rose, Assistant Curator Contemporary Art and Collections as they discuss the processes behind the making of Brett Graham's exhibition and the histories and narratives which underpin it.
Event Info
Possessor
Possessor (Uncut)
Possessor
Sat 27 Feb 21 — Len Lye Centre Cinema
A film that could only have come from the mind of a Cronenberg. Brandon, son of David, takes us on a visceral, chilling and “uncut” rollercoaster ride.
Event Info
Manukau 2020, video animation still,
Brett Graham and Ken Gorrie,
Animation Research Ltd.
Artist Workshop
Manukau 2020, video animation still,
Brett Graham and Ken Gorrie,
Animation Research Ltd.
Sun 28 Feb 21 — Govett-Brewster Art Gallery / Len Lye Centre
A hands-on workshop lead by Brett Graham, in which participants will work with black sand and small moulds.
Event Info
News
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.
Lens On Lye
Artists, experts, scholars, specialists and Len Lye film fans will share their insights on the artist and experimental filmmaker in a brand new series coming to Instagram weekly, inspired by the current exhibition 'The Absolute Truth of the Happiness Acid' (6 Jun — 1 Nov 2020).
This week, curator Mark Williams recalls the extraordinary impact of a Len Lye film screening had on both himself and the fellow cinemagoers that filled the auditorium at the sold-out event, and why it is essential to support the creatives who make these moments possible.
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Govett-Brewster
Candice Lin: A Hard White Body
This publication showcases A Hard White Body, an evolving project by Candice Lin presented at Bétonsalon—Centre d'art et de recherche, Paris; at Portikus, Frankfurt/Main; and at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, University of Chicago.
A Hard White Body weaves together material and nonhuman histories alongside the life and work of three historical figures: American writer James Baldwin (1924–1987); French explorer and global traveler Jeanne Baret (1740–1807); and artist and naturalist Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717).
$70.00
More info
Candice Lin: A Hard White Body Book - Front
