Presence: New Acquisitions and Works from the Collection

Since the mid-1960s the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery has been building a strong permanent collection of work from Aotearoa New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region.  Presence: New Acquisitions and Works from the Collection includes new acquisitions from photographers Mark Adams and Peter Peryer, alongside Shigeyuki Kihara’s haunting performance video Taualuga: the last dance. Also included are Lisa Reihana’s stop-frame animation, A Maori Dragon Story, sculptural works by Reuben Paterson and photography by Fiona Pardington. The history, land and narratives associated with Taranaki form the inspiration for photography by Ann Shelton, Ralph Hotere’s Taranaki Gate Series and important paintings by Tony Fomison and Colin McCahon, including McCahon’s seminal Parihaka triptych. Meanwhile, Terry Urbahn’s video and sound work saLOON, Hiroyuki Matsukage’s interactive installation Star and Paul Hartigan’s photographic diptych, Vic’s Galactica Bar and Sluice Club play on popular culture and celebrity adulation. Anton Parson’s architectural intervention Jamb completes this selection along with a major accumulative, almost hallucinogenic work by Egyptian-born, Sydney-based artist Hany Armanious, who represents Australia in this year’s Venice Biennale.

Including Shigeyuki Kihara

18 June – 28 August

Govett-Brewster Art Gallery