Open Collection: He Rere Ke – Different Pathways

06 Apr - 21 Jul 2019

This selection of artworks from the Govett Brewster Collection encompasses a range of artists and art practice documenting encounters with people, place and nature.
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
Artists Gabrielle Belz

Each artist has created a work as a visual record of, or response to, describe something they've found intensely moving. While having a strong local application, this selection can be collectively read to generate a narrative leading to wider conversations about social interaction and understanding.

He honore he kororia ki te Atua I runga rawa
He maungarongo ki te whenua
He whakaaro pai ki nga tangata katoa
A universal message of peace and goodwill to all peoples.


Rere – the idea of flight mirrors the creative impulse of an artist finding a path to express themselves. The power of art to be interpreted by others creates an opportunity for discussion. Having layers of thought behind its creation keeps it constantly active with the ability to promote and provoke discussion. We begin to consider other viewpoints and experiences, and start to understand another’s position. Tradition and culture(s) affect our interpretation of colour, form, experience, and reverberate differently depending on our orientation.

Rere - ka whakaatahia tō te ringatoi auaha ki te rapa i te ara e puta ai ngā kare ā-roto i a ia. Ka puta te tikanga matapaki i ngā whakapae a te kaititiro i a ia e mātai ana i ngā mahi toi. Ka wānangatia ngā mata, ngā anga me ngā wheako katoa me te āta mārama ki te tūranga o tētehi atu. He papātanga nui tō te ahurea me ngā tikanga tuku iho ki tā tātou titiro ki te kano, ki ngā hanga, ki ngā wheako, me te whakamahuki i aua mea e ai ki hō mātou ake nā takiwā.

Ka karapotia e tēnei kohinga toi nō te kohikohinga toi a Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Collection te huhua o ngā mahi a ngā tini ringa toi hoki, e mou ana i ngā wheako i tō te tāngata, te tikanga me te taiao taha hoki. Ahakoa tōna aro ki te wā kāinga, e āhei hoki ana ki te pānui ina ka whakakotahi i ngā mea katoa ki te whakaputa i tētehi kōrero paki e pā ana ki te whakawhiti kaupapa ā-tangata i roto i te māramatanga anō hoki.

Nā te kōrero ka mōhio,
Nā te mōhio ka mātau,
Nā te mātau ka mārama.
From discussion comes knowledge, from knowledge comes understanding, and from understanding flows enlightenment.

The Open Collection series extends the Govett-Brewster’s Ministry of Education funded Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom (LEOTC) programming. Taranaki art and art history educators and artists are invited to reach into the Govett-Brewster Collection to develop an exhibition that enables teaching and learning for secondary school students within a gallery context. Students can have close encounters with artworks important for the understanding of New Zealand contemporary art.

Nā Gabrielle Belz i takatū / Curated by Gabrielle Belz (Ngapuhi, Te Atiawa), a founding member of Toi Whakataa – Maori print Collective, committee member of Te Atinga – the visual arts committee of Toi Maori Aotearoa, and co-founder of Gallery Patea

Gabrielle Belz spoke with Leah Eynon on Te Korimako o Taranaki. You can listen here:Soundcloud Link