A suite of five new exhibitions opens at the Govett-Brewster

Stars start falling brings together existing and newly commissioned works by Teuane Tibbo, Ani O’Neill and Salome Tanuvasa, many seen here in public for the first time. The artists’ shared sensitivity toward the conditions under which, and locations where, art is made give a complex view of the shifting landscape of Pacific life in Aotearoa over the last half century.

Also opening is There is no before, the first solo exhibition in New Zealand of work by Australian artist Dale Harding (Bidjara, Gungalu and Garingbal). Combining contemporary art and cultural practices that extend over thousands of years, Harding presents an exhibition that adds to the canon of his family’s cultural production. The exhibition also includes eighteen nulla nulla, a rarely-exhibited group of taonga from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa collection, which have been selected by the artist as having a connection to his family.

“With this group of new exhibitions the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery / Len Lye Centre continues to support artists living in Aotearoa and further afield to create and share new work, and tell the stories of our place both in a national and international sense,” says Director Zara Stanhope.

“The winter programme extends the momentum and the many conversations generated by the momentous Tai Moana Tai Tangata by Brett Graham, and extends these to a Pacific and Australasian context, celebrating the gallery’s 50-year history as a focal point for exhibiting contemporary art from around the Pacific as part of NPDC’s cultural hub.”

The adjoining Len Lye Centre presents two new exhibitions by Len Lye, with a focus on his popular kinetic sculptures and sharing some of the stories behind the works.

Tangibles: 1963-1969 is the second chronological overview of Lye’s kinetic sculpture. The exhibition presents some of Lye’s most well-known and acclaimed tangibles, Universe and Storm King with lesser-seen examples such as the recently reconstructed Wand Dance and Albatross.

Also on exhibit is Wand Dance, one of Len Lye’s most captivating large-scale projects. The recently reconstructed work presents seven Bell Wands swaying, shaking and shimmying in a group composition – a thrilling example of Lye's work with sensuality and scale. Wand Dance performs every half an hour.

In the gallery’s external Open Window Gallery, Paint over, use again made by Wellington-based artist Raewyn Martyn in collaboration with filmmaker Jess Charlton, is a site-responsive painting installation that uses biopolymer materials as alternatives to petrochemical paint products and will change over time.

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The gallery director, artists and curators are available for interviews. Further images of the work and the Gallery are available.

The Govett-Brewster’s winter exhibitions include:

- Stars start falling: Teuane Tibbo, Ani O’Neill and Salome Tanuvasa (22 May – 15 Aug)

- Dale Harding: There is no before (22 May – 15 August)

- Len Lye: Tangibles 1963 – 1969 (8 May – 25 July)

- Len Lye: Wand Dance (17 April – 14 November)

- Raewyn Martyn with Jess Charlton: Paint over, use again (22 May – 15 August)
 

Fast Facts: The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery / Len Lye Centre

The Gallery is part of our District’s wider cultural hub in New Plymouth, featuring six separate galleries, a 62-seat cinema, education programmes, a shop and Monica’s Eatery café.
There is no before is the first solo exhibition by Dale Harding in New Zealand.
Stars start falling brings together works by Teuane Tibbo, Ani O’Neill and Salome Tanuvasa, many of which are being shown in public for the first time including all new work by Tanuvasa.
A new commission by Wellington-based artist Raewyn Martyn is in the Open Window Gallery on Queen Street.
Wand Dance brings a new iteration of Bell Wand to the Len Lye Centre – one of Lye’s own favourite works on account of the boisterous sounds it produced.
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery was founded on Monica Brewster’s visionary understanding of the cultural value contemporary art offers for New Plymouth.
Its focus has been on contemporary art and working with the legacy of Len Lye’s practice since 1977.
The Len Lye Centre opened in 2015 as the only gallery in New Zealand dedicated to a single artist.

Opening week events:
Saturday 22 May | 11am – 12 pm: Curator tour of Stars start falling with Hanahiva Rose.
Saturday 22 May | 2 – 3 pm: Artist talk and tour of There is no before.
Saturday 29 May | 2 – 3:30 pm: Culture to Culture – Artist Dale Harding in conversation with Maata Wharehoka of Parihaka.

Image credit: Teuane Tibbo, Flowers II, 1975. Acrylic on board. Collection of Malcolm McNeill. Image courtesy of Cheska Brown and Enjoy.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

For enquiries please contact:
Glenn McLean, Media Advisor
06 759 6172 | 0275300233
Mediaenquiries@npdc.govt.nz