ADRIENNE MARTYN

AIGANTIGHE HOUSE

11 June - 31 July 2022

An exhibition by Wellington photographer, Adrienne Martyn, that explores and documents the Aigantighe House. Presenting the viewer with spaces emptied of their art displays and asking the question – without art exhibits to view in an art gallery, what is left to see?

MATARIKI \\ MATARIKI KI TE TIHI-O-MARU \\ 22

21 June - 24 July 2022

RSM Law Plunket Art Show

14 May - 29 May 2022

The Law Plunket Art Show this is a great opportunity to see and purchase some fabulous art from around New Zealand and support the Timaru branch of Plunket.

EXPRESSIONIST IMPULSES

26 February - 8 May 2022

An examination of expressionist impulses in New Zealand painting drawn from the Aigantighe Art Gallery Collection.

CAPTURE

19 February - 8 May 2022

An exploration of New Zealand photography drawn from the Aigantighe Art Gallery Collection.

SYDNEY THOMPSON & FRIENDS

4 December - 13 February 2022

Sydney Lough Thompson (1877 – 1973), was born in Oxford, New Zealand. In 1895 he studied at Canterbury College School of Art and also took lessons from Petrus van der Velden (1837-1913) at his studio in Christchurch.

In 1900, like many of his contemporaries, Thompson left New Zealand for London to study at the Heatherley School of Fine Art, then, to Paris, to study at the Academie Julian. During his time in France, Thompson lived in Concarneau, on the west coast, for two years. Thompson fell in love with Concarneau and spent the rest of his life living between there and New Zealand.

Thompson is clearly influenced by French Impressionists such as Claude Monet (1840-1926), Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919), and Berthe Morisot (1841–1895). Impressionism sought to capture the momentary and transient effects of light by working quickly en plein air (in the open air) with an awareness of colour and the shifting patterns of light. This resulted in artists using more expressive brushwork and brighter colours that challenged traditional painting.

In Thompson’s paintings he endeavours to depict fleeting moments in time, but he also reveals, through use of light and colour, the balanced cycles of life and the idyllic close bonds between people and the natural world.

MATTHEW COUPER: ISOLATION PAINTINGS

4 December - 27 February 2022

Matthew Couper’s practice over the past decade has appropriated aspects of western art history. Through these painterly investigations, he has discovered that history often repeats. He has determined that the Modernist notions of originality held little interest for his practice. Couper uses the established narrative traditions of Spanish Colonial retablos and ex-votos to discuss the space between myth, religion and art politics.

His work has recently returned to a more gestural figuration, reminiscent of large paintings early in his career.

“Recently, my work has been focused on water issues, albeit very symbolically. That is, using historical forms to talk about present issues. We live in the desert and of course water and usage is a big issue, yet it seems that water shortage is spreading across the globe as there are many record droughts in effect at present. I guess the bigger picture is about contemporary survival, again because we live in such a harsh environment. When you see it everyday, it really hits home. The most recent body of paintings are looking more inward at the phenomenon of Social Isolation in a time where the world population is at its highest ever. It’s really about how we live, or don’t live in relation to other people and how we often live in a false sense of security, not really ready for slight shifts in the environment or other chaotic factors in society. Visually, I’ve started off with the term ‘desert island’ to tie where I live now in the Mojave Desert with where I come from in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The literal reading of the term circles back to the idea of survival and there’s activity taking place – wooden constructions haphazardly coming together, ropes binding structures and organic forms used as supports. There are only hints of human presence such as pipes.” Matthew Couper, 2020

Alpine Energy Art Awards & South Canterbury Art Society Annual Exhibition

30 October - 28 November 2021

The South Canterbury Arts Society Annual exhibition showcases a wide range of work by regional members and recognised Art Society members from around New Zealand. The exhibition is proudly sponsored by Alpine Energy.

The Beauty of Thread

Aoraki Embroiderers' Guild

18 September - 17 October 2021

Aoraki Embroiderers' Guild are proud to be exhibiting the work of their members showcasing “The Beauty of  Thread”. Come and see how one stitch after another builds to these beautiful creations.

South Canterbury Pottery Group

18 September - 17 October 2021

The South Canterbury Pottery Group with the Aigantighe Art Gallery presented their 49^th annual exhibition.

WHIRIA TE TĀNGATA

WEAVING PEOPLE TOGETHER

12 June - 15 August 2021

Ann Shelton

the missionaries

12 June - 15 August 2021

This exhibition, the missionaries, continues Shelton’s exploration of the powerful and complex relationships between colonisation, nationalism, feminism and plants, within the context of Aotearoa. In Shelton’s striking photographs she creates contrived plant arrangements set against the musty colour palette of the 19th century Arts and Crafts movement. These domestic botanical epitaphs engage the reasons emigrants brought plants with them to Aotearoa - how these plants fostered a sense of ‘comfort’ by transplanting something familiar to an unfamiliar landscape, and creating a sense of control over their environment. But these arrangements also address the consequences of these interventions ecologically and environmentally on the fragile ecology of Aotearoa.

Shelton’s photographic still lifes examine the utilitarian uses, contemporary consequences, lost narratives and histories of these plants.  In particular, they examine the intersections of these histories with human knowledge systems, with Western notions of home building and with colonising strategies that continue to be exerted through the organisation, trade, aestheticisation and distribution of plants.

Ann Shelton was born in Timaru. Shelton completed a Master of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia (2001), Vancouver, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (1995) from Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland University. She is currently Honorary Fellow in Photography at Whiti o Rehua School of Art, Wellington.

My Beloved...

20 February 2020 - 9 May 2021

ELIZABETH THOMSON

Cellular Memory

27 February - 9 May 2021

For over 30 years Wellington-based artist, Elizabeth Thomson, has been drawn to areas of scientific exploration such as micro-biology, oceanography and mathematics. With these fields as their starting point, Thomson’s works take flight. They impart a sense of mystery, beauty and the sheer exhilaration of being alive in a universe, which is itself living, sentient and ever-responsive.

PAT CURRIE

Tideline

12 December 2020 - 14 February 2021

South Canterbury artist Pat Currie’s latest exhibition reveals the major influences and progressions of her work over the last 20 years. Often inspired by the rugged New Zealand coastline, her delicate and sensual forms blur the lines between function and imagination.

JUDY MILLAR

Eleven

12 December - 21 February 2021

Judy Millar’s, exhibition, Eleven, is a response to an exhibition, titled Ten Big Paintings, that opened at the Auckland Art Gallery in 1971. The exhibition gave ten New Zealand artists the opportunity to produce artworks on a large scale, but all the artists were men. Forty-nine years later, Millar has painted her belated contribution to that exhibition and created a direct response to the art world of the day.

IN | REFLECTION

14 November - 6 December 2020

Brian High

IN | VISIBLE

14 November - 6 December 2020

“The inspiration for this unique video installation came during the Covid-19 lockdown earlier this year. I was researching the space between the air, the atoms, the particles, the organisms and everything that floats around us, within us, and beyond us, in the outer reaches of the universe.

These floating images are purposely nebulous to create an experience that challenges our perception of reality and makes us consider the invisible and visible spaces between us all.”

Brian High

Alpine Energy Art Awards & South Canterbury Art Society Annual Exhibition

24 October - 8 November 2020

The South Canterbury Arts Society Annual exhibition showcases a wide range of work by regional members and recognised Art Society members from around New Zealand. The exhibition is proudly sponsored by Alpine Energy.

Iain Cheesman

Signs of Earlier

15 August - 18 October 2020

Auckland artist Iain Cheeseman’s new exhibition 'Signs of Earlier' combines a love of language with a background in sculpture, painting and engineering - creating playful and humorous works. But underneath the surface the works reveal more sinister and thought provoking concerns

Alluring Shores

15 August - 18 October 2020

The late nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries were a significant time in the development of visual arts in New Zealand. There was a prolific growth in the establishment of art schools and art societies around New Zealand, and an increasing appreciation for art. But during this time, the overarching emphasis towards the arts remained conservative. This was challenged with the arrival of three professional painters from Europe – Petrus van der Velden (1837–1913), James Nairn (1859–1904) and Girolamo Nerli (1860–1926) – whose teaching and practice provided fresh ideas for New Zealand artists to absorb. But despite their arrival, their impact was limited.

Encouraged by van der Velden, Nairn, and Nerli to experience the modern art movements – impressionism, fauvism, and post-impressionism – in the flesh, those New Zealand painters who hungered to expand their talents during this period were lured to the shores of Europe.

Drawing from the Aigantighe Art Gallery’s Permanent Collection, this exhibition celebrates the bravery of a distinct group of artists and expatriates who forged their own paths. They flirted with the modern art ideas of late nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries and looked to break the conservative shackles of New Zealand art of that period.

Top of the Pots

South Canterbury Pottery Group

1 August - 9 August 2019

The South Canterbury Pottery Group with the Aigantighe Art Gallery presents their 48^th annual exhibition - Top of the Pots. This name reflects the opening of the club in the 1960s, through to the massive local revival of the craft today. Take the opportunity to own yourself a bespoke piece of local pottery. The exhibition also includes the charming and imaginative ceramic sculptures of Otago-based guest potter Kate Fitzharris.

Art in Quilts

Timaru Patchwork and Quilters

1 August - 9 August 2019

The Timaru Patchwork group has been active in the community for over 40 years - its primary aim is to keep the craft alive and well. While the techniques for patchwork have essentially remained the same, the genre has evolved and widened to encompass the many forms of quilting shown in this exhibition.

Traditionally, the only stipulation for a quilt was that it consists of 3 layers (top, batting and backing) that were sandwiched together and quilted. The resulting variations from this have lead to a groundswell of enthusiasm around the world - quilts have become sought after artworks that are both decorative and practical.

Our Club meets at the South Canterbury Arts Society rooms on Gleniti Road on the second Wednesday of the month. We also have a monthly stitching group, we offer beginners classes and we bring in out of town tutors on a regular basis. A major annual project is the donation of quilts to local charities, including Family Works, Women’s Refuge and Alzheimer’s.

Timatanga Hou –
New Beginnings

23 May - 26 July 2019

With Matariki rising in the eastern sky it is a time of timatanga hou – new beginnings. This is also marks the Māori New Year – a time of reflection, rejuvenation, and connection.

Timatanga Hou – New Beginnings is a collaborative exhibition that intertwines together the majestic photography of the night sky by local artist Geoff Cloake, the haunting music of Rhian Sheehan, with the woven beauty of mahi raranga by local artists Fran Spenser and Vicky King.

Together the exhibition acknowledges the threads that connect us as a community during this time of upheaval and renewal - and as we look to the future.

Sue Tennent

Distant Lands

23 May - 26 July 2019

Sue Tennent lives and works in Fairlie.

She graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Design Studies (1983) and a Bachelor of Architecture with First Class Honours (1987). She worked as an architect for many years, in large studios and as a sole practitioner.

Since moving to New Zealand with her family in 2014, Sue has refocused her creative practice. She works mainly in oils, bringing to life hidden stories of discovery, journeying and family history. Her years as an architect brings to her art a desire to create a sense of place and a love of composition..

Catherine Day

Undercurrents

This is Catherine Day’s first exhibition in the South Island after shifting to Fairlie from Wairarapa in 2014. These works indicate an urge to locate herself in a new environment, with their reference to ridges, grids and contours - a kind of mapping.  She imagines what lies beneath the surface as well as reflecting on what she sees in her new surroundings.

Catherine exhibited the first works in this series in the South Canterbury Art Society Annual Awards Exhibition in 2016 and in 2017 one of her paintings won First Prize in the Watercolour section of the same awards show.  She has also had the opportunity to exhibit a selection of these works at 77 Art + Living, Fairlie.

Catherine brings to her art practice an extensive background as a musician (piano is her instrument), and music teacher as well as some years working as a studio potter.  She graduated with a Masters Degree in Fine Arts (Massey University, Wellington, 2009) where she majored in sculpture - creating installations using found objects, sound and moving image. Her first solo exhibition was held at Aratoi, Wairarapa Museum of Art and History in 2011.

Lisa Chandler

The Dividing Line

Nelson and German based painter Lisa Chandler explores protest movements and the things that divide and define us.

Alpine Energy Art Awards & South Canterbury Art Society Annual Exhibition

26 October - 10 November 2019

The South Canterbury Arts Society Annual exhibition showcases a wide range of work by regional members and recognised Art Society members from around New Zealand. The exhibition is proudly sponsored by Alpine Energy.

The Clouds Project

28 September - 20 October

The Clouds Project  is a multi-media exhibition by various artists in response to Aristophanes' satirical comedy The Clouds (423 BCE).

As part of the exhibition there will be a series of rehearsed readings of a contemporary New Zealand version of the play, directed by Gail Tatham, with music composed by Tracey Bingham and props designed by local artist Michael Armstrong.The rehearsed readings will be held on the following days and times:

Wednesday 9 October, at 7 pm
Friday 11 October, at 7 pm
Saturday 12 October, at 2.30pm
Wednesday 16 October, at 7 pm
Friday 18 October, at 7 pm
Saturday 19 October, at 2.30 pm

Admission to the readings is free, but seating is limited and should be reserved beforehand by phoning the Aigantighe Art Gallery on +64 3 688 4424.

The Clouds Project is proudly Supported by the Creative Communities Scheme.

Earth & Fire

South Canterbury Pottery Group

7 - 22 September

South Canterbury Pottery Group’s 47th exhibition celebrates and promotes the creativity of ceramic artists from around the region. This exhibition also includes work by guest artists Tatyanna Meharry and Rick Rudd

Un/Earthed

7 - 22 September

In the Foyer, Un/Earthed- Pottery from the Aigantighe Art Gallery Collection, highlights pottery from the Aigantighe Art Gallery's permanent collection from the late 1950's to the early 1980's. The exhibition includes works by Len Castle, Juliet Peter, Mirek Smisek and Peter Stitchbury.

Abstractions - Works from the Aigantighe Collection

29 June - 11 August

This exhibition highlights abstract paintings and sculptures from the Aigantighe Art Gallery's permanent collection from the late 1950's to the early 1980's. The exhibition includes works by Colin McCahon, Melvin Day and Russell Clark.

Reinventing the Peel

Glenn Burrell

29 June - 11 August

In the Main Gallery, Wellington based artist, Glenn Burrell, has pushed the boundaries of what a painting can or should be in re-creating everyday objects using layers of paint.

Biomorphic Oxidation

Robert Westaway

4 May - 2 June

Robert Westaway's exhibition comprises of several large scale abstract paintings. Each is created through an experimental process wherein Westaway mixes traditional paint media with chemical and organic substances. These components react with one another,  to create an array of colours, forms and patterns. Westaway’s patterns often resemble living organisms or active chemical compounds such as rust, acid, smoke, fungi and moss.

To Whom It May Concern,

Brian High

11 May - 2 June

Local artist Brian High’s latest exhibition, is an immersive and mesmerising video installation, which explores the beauty of nature and the rapidly changing landscape that surrounds us all.

SMER SMER (스멀스멀)

Hanna Shim

16 March - 5 May

SMER SMER (스멀스멀) is a Korean onomatopoeic word for ‘slowly growing/approaching’ or a ‘bug crawling’ sound.

This exhibition presents the viewer with a suite of surprising sculptures based on bacteria, fungus, plankton, jellyfish and bugs. These large rambling and delightful objects are made of fabric and fibre, soft materials which are typically associated with maternal, homely and domestic qualities.

In contrast to the softness of the materials Shim’s soft sculptures challenge the hard-edged and rigid architectural space of the gallery.

Neither Fish, Nor Flesh, Nor Good Red Herring

Madeleine Child

11 March - 28 April

Madeleine Child’s playful installation looks back to the history of Japanese Netsukes (a small toggle used for attaching a container to the sash of a kimono). She uses these miniature sculptural forms as a springboard to create her own unique toggles.

Child records the artist’s mark on her material – the handling, fondling and fiddling of clay as she moulds her sculptural forms. But she also highlights the fact that the artist is not always in control of the art making process - Child embraces the fight against gravity and the temperamental nature of clay that create elements of randomness and the accidental in her ceramics.

The Salon

15 December - 14 April

This intimate exhibition draws artworks from the Gallery’s diverse and rich permanent collection. The Salon showcases a selection of paintings from the mid nineteenth century through to the beginning of the twentieth century.

Dreams Journey

Debbie Templeton-Page

2 February 2019 - 3 March 2019

I believe\feel that each of us are spiritual beings having a human experience . That each and every rock, animal,plant etc have their own energy\ life force. That we are all connected -  Dreams Journey explores these feelings and connections.

The archaeology of the discarded, forgotten and thrown away.

Jay Hutchinson

15 December 2018 - 27 January 2019

Jay Hutchinson explores site-specific physical environments through a textile-based practice. He shifts and abstracts the banal and discarded into something new and quietly confronting. Hutchinson challenges preconceived notions - prompting us (the viewer) to examine the way we live our lives and interact with our urban environments and of course…the discarded.

from the Edge of Spaces

Edwards + Johann

15 December 2018 - 27 January 2019

Edwards + Johann’s collaborative work interweaves drawing, painting, performance, video and installation with photography. Their images seem both inherently stable yet temporal. They present a territory in which sensitivities and questions of existence can be played out. This territory reflects a basic human condition …to connect, work, play and test the space we inhabit to deal with crises.

Assemblage of Space

20 November - 9 December 2018

This exhibition drawn  from the Gallery’s diverse 3-dimensional collection, celebrates the creation of space and form in sculpture.

Polychrome

15 November - 9 December 2018

This year Polychrome will display artworks by Ara Post-graduate Arts and Media students from both the Christchurch and Timaru campuses. It includes a diverse range of styles and celebrates the artistic talents of the region.

Alpine Energy Art Awards & South Canterbury Art Society Annual Exhibition

27 October - 11 November 2018

The South Canterbury Arts Society Annual exhibition showcases a wide range of work by regional members and recognised Art Society members from around New Zealand. The exhibition is proudly sponsored by Alpine Energy.

Land Marks - Architectural forms of South Canterbury

8 September 2018 - 21 October 2018

This exhibition coincides with The New Zealand Institute of Architects Festival of Architecture and is an exploration of South Canterbury’s rich architectural heritage from the past to the present.

(Un)conditional V

8 September 2018 - 21 October 2018

(Un)conditional V is a partnership project between The Physics Room and the Aigantighe Art Gallery and is part of The Physics Room’s itinerant exhibition programme in 2018. This group exhibition includes Ana Iti, Clara Wells, Kerry Ann Lee, Miranda Parkes and Tim McLaughlin, who have been invited to create site-specific works for the internal gallery and the external garden and also negotiate the connection or disconnection between the two spaces.

Artarama18

18 August - 2 September 2018

Artarama is a festival of South Canterbury’s creative students aged 3 to 18. This is a fantastic opportunity to see artworks by students from around the region. Artarama is proudly sponsored by The Rotary Club of Timaru North, The Friends of the Aigantighe Art Gallery and the South Canterbury Art Society.

Requiem

F. van Hout

21 July - 12 August 2018

F. van Hout presents a series of painting inspired by his epic journeys through the South Island landscape. Abstract depictions of fragmentary landscapes that flashed past the eyes of the artist during his travels in on buses, cars and trains. But these paintings are also an act of remembrance towards other New Zealand artists and their portrayals of journeys through the same landscape.

Beasts and Creatures

18 June - 12 August 2018

This exhibition draws artworks from the Gallery’s extensive collection showcasing all the strange beasts and creatures hiding in the storerooms.

A Pandemonium

Janna van Hasselt

16 June - 15 July

A Pandemonium comprised of a series of ceramic works inspired by the Aigantighe Art Gallery’s Sculpture Collection.  Working from scanned catalogue cards of the Collection, van Hasselt experiences the objects in a flattened plane. She plays with this lack of information, editing out details and obscuring parts of the original object’s form to create pieces at a scale that suits their image.

RSM Law Plunket Art Show

26 May - 10 June 2018

Celebrating the 41st RSM Law Plunket Art Show this is a great opportunity to see and purchase some fabulous art from around New Zealand and support the Timaru branch of Plunket.

The Unravelling of Ornate Structures

Michael Armstrong

28 April - 20 May 2018

This new exhibition by Timaru artist Michael Armstrong explores the complexities of modern society and its impacts on the natural world. As Armstrong states “ Politics, economics and social change, our challenged and challenging relationship with capitalism, are, for me, all played out now against the background of global climate change and the risks involved with ignoring that.”

Helen Willcock

2 May - 20 May 2018

Local artist Helen Willcock presents her first solo exhibition at the Aigantighe Art Gallery. Willcock’s exhibition explores how lines distort, move and oscillate in front of the viewer.

Purely Pastel

7 April 2018 - 22 April 2018

The Aigantighe Art Gallery is showing the Pastel Artists of NZ (PANZ) Annual National Exhibition. For the first time. The exhibition showcases the best artworks by PANZ members and demonstrates the versatility of pastels as an artistic medium. The exhibition coincides with the PANZ National Convention in Timaru with talks, field trips and workshops. Please see www.pastelartists.co.nz for more information.

Urban Worlds

10 March - 15 April 2018

This group exhibition explores the complexities and histories of our built urban environment. The exhibition challenges perceptions of cities, towns and the spaces inhabited now and in the future.

Blue Gold

Claire Earlie Maxwell

27 January - 1 April 2018

Claire Earlie Maxwell's pictorial images mix her Irish background with the New Zealand landscape.  Often figurative, her work explores the relationship between the use of natural resources and the need to protect that legacy. Imagined Celtic deities and symbols interweave with New Zealand waterways and landscapes providing a platform for a personal response.

Claire Earlie Maxwell was born in Limerick, Ireland in 1953.  She trained at Limerick School of Art and travelled extensively in Europe, North America and the Middle East. She settled in New Zealand and became an NZ citizen in 1986.  She graduated from the University of Victoria in 1995.

Nga Hau Ngakau

Robin Slow, Brian Flintoff, and Bob Bickerton

2 December 2017- 21 January 2018

In Nga Hau Ngakau artists Robin Slow, Brian Flintoff, and Bob Bickerton weave together paintings, carvings, and music. The artists draw on the sounds and marks of the past to celebrate the forms and histories of the whenua (land) and manu (bird) - creating works that symbolise aspects of events and people in our histories and reflect on where we are in this moment.

Gallery 91, 2017

Julia Holderness and Petrena Fishburn

2 December 2017- 21 January 2018

In 1959, the Brookes established Christchurch’s first contemporary dealer gallery at 91a Cashel Street. The Gallery showed works by artists such as McCahon, Henderson and Woollaston, among others. Through re-making and the re-presentation of Gallery 91 archival material, contemporary artists Julia Holderness and Petrena Fishburn examine this slice of Christchurch’s artistic history alongside works from the Aigantighe Art Gallery’s permanent collection.

Polychrome

2-19 November 2017

Polychrome is an annual exhibition, including painting,drawing, sculpture, projection and digital works, that showcases the best artworks by Ara Timaru Arts and Media students’ from Level 4 to 6. For many of the students this will be their first public exhibition.