Category Archives: Art

Te Papa to display a selection of European art from New Zealand’s collections

15 October 2012 – 2.34pm

Angels and Aristocrats: Early European art in New Zealand public collections, an exhibition of European paintings spanning five centuries from about 1340 to 1830, opens at Te Papa on 20 October 2012. The exhibition is developed as a touring exhibition from Auckland Art Gallery

Toi o Tāmaki which comprises a selection of works from Mary Kisler’s book of the same name, published in 2010.

Divided into themes of religious art, landscape art, narrative paintings and portraiture, Angels and Aristocrats is drawn from the collections of Auckland Art Gallery, Te Papa, Christchurch Art Gallery, Dunedin Public Art Gallery and Whanganui’s Sarjeant Gallery.

The exhibition begins with small medieval panels of saints alongside grand baroque works such as Guido Reni’s St Sebastian, through to depictions of the Roman campagna and the rich landscapes of the Netherlands, exemplified in paintings by Claude Lorraine and Aelbert Cuyp.

Guido Reni (1575–1642), Italy, Saint Sebastian, about 1617–21, oil on canvas. Gift of James Tannock Mackelvie, 1882. Mackelvie Trust Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

Guido Reni (1575–1642), Italy, Saint Sebastian, about 1617–21, oil on canvas. Gift of James Tannock Mackelvie, 1882. Mackelvie Trust Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

Genre painting focuses on all aspects of human behaviour, whether heroic and humble. In Pieter Breughel the Younger’s Village Fair, for example, (ostensibly a celebration of two village saints, St Anthony and St Hubert) rich and poor celebrate the kermesse, where feasting and drinking (and falling drunk among the chickens) allowed brief respite from everyday drudgery.

Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564–1638), Flanders, A Village Fair (Village Festival in Honour of Saint Hubert and Saint Anthony), early 1600s, oil on panel. Purchased by the Mackelvie Trust, 1961. Mackelvie Trust Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564–1638), Flanders, A Village Fair (Village Festival in Honour of Saint Hubert and Saint Anthony), early 1600s, oil on panel. Purchased by the Mackelvie Trust, 1961. Mackelvie Trust Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

The power of portraiture to ‘keep the memory alive’, whether through formal portraits, or the careful rendering of a loved one’s features, is strongly represented by paintings from the 17th century to the early 19th century. The illegitimate but widely admired Maria, Countess Waldegrave (Dunedin) by Sir Joshua Reynolds, sits in the company of Thomas Gainsborough’s George Lavington, Bishop of Exeter, whose grim expression suggests he certainly would not approve.

Thomas Gainsborough (1727–88), England, George Lavington, Bishop of Exeter, 1760s, oil on canvas. Purchased by the Mackelvie Trust, 1960. Mackelvie Trust Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

Thomas Gainsborough (1727–88), England, George Lavington, Bishop of Exeter, 1760s, oil on canvas. Purchased by the Mackelvie Trust, 1960. Mackelvie Trust Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

The core touring exhibition includes 52 paintings drawn from the collections of Auckland Art Gallery, Te Papa, Christchurch Art Gallery, Dunedin Public Art Gallery and Whanganui’s Sarjeant Gallery. While at Te Papa Angels and Aristocrats will include 12 extra genre and classical landscape paintings, including George Dawe’s enormous Genevieve, painted in response to Coleridge’s famous romantic poem Love.

Angels and Aristocrats: Early European art in New Zealand public collections is at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa from 20 October 2012 – 27 January 2013. Visit www.tepapa.govt.nz/angels

Download a printable version (PDF, 92kB)

For further information, images and interview requests please contact:
Tina Norris
Ph : 04 381 7233 or 021 225 7538
Email: Media@tepapa.govt.nz

Angels and Aristocrats: Early European Art in New Zealand Public Collectionsis an Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki touring exhibition curated by Mary Kisler, Senior Curator, Mackelvie Collection, International Art.

By Te Papa | Also posted in Exhibitions, News | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Behind the Scenes of Angels and Aristocrats

8 October 2012 – 5.06pm

Te Papa’s latest art exhibition, Angels & Aristocrats, opens on the 20th October in the Level 5 galleries.  The exhibition draws on a number of collections from around New Zealand including artworks from Te Papa’s collection which you will see on display.  Some of these paintings required attention in the conservation lab before the exhibition began, to allow them to be fully appreciated on display.  As paintings age they begin to deteriorate and changes occur in their appearance and condition.  Both deterioration and change are a result of the interaction of all the materials which make up a painting and the environment around them.  Therefore, as conservators we sometimes have to intervene and carry out treatment to repair and stabilise the art work.

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Mrs Humphrey Devereux; 1771; Copley, John Singleton. Ultra-violet examination of the painting during cleaning. The varnish fluoresces a bright blue colour which indicates a synthetic varnish layer. The painting is partially cleaned at this point hence the patchy nature of the fluorescence. You can also clearly see the test cleaning spots and two areas of damage which appear as white marks in the image, 2012, Photograph by Katherine Campbell. © Te Papa

Conservation procedures aimed at preventing or slowing deterioration include repair of tears, correction of canvas distortions and consolidation of flaking paint.  Restorations may also be performed when the aesthetic appearance of the painting and the intention of the artist have been compromised, and can include the removal of discoloured surface coatings and the filling and retouching of loss.

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The rectangular shape on the subject’s face is a cleaning test which reveals the original colour of the composition beneath, 2012, Photograph by Katherine Campbell. © Te Papa

 

One of the paintings that underwent conservation before the exhibition was Mrs Humphrey Devereux painted by John Singleton Copley in 1771.  The varnish layer on this portrait, applied in the 1960’s during a previous conservation treatment, had diminished the tonal ranges of the work as it became very degraded and matte over time, therefore requiring removal.  The varnish removed from the portrait was very dark yellow and quite thick and it took several weeks to complete the removal using a solvent mixture arrived at through a testing regime to ensure its effectiveness without any damage to the underlying paint. 

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Before varnish removal, 2012, Photograph by Katherine Campbell. © Te Papa

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Removal of the old varnish had a dramatic effect on the overall colour, balance and depth of the painting, 2012, Photograph by Katherine Campbell. © Te Papa

 

The painting was re-varnished with a clear, synthetic resin to emulate the original surface.  The varnish selected is one that has been developed specifically for the conservation profession and is known to be stable and reversible which ensures that any future cleaning will not need to be repeated for a long time and if it does eventually become necessary, it can be done with the least possible intervention. The final part of the treatment was to carry out inpainting or retouching over the areas of old damage and then a final layer of varnish was sprayed onto the painting before it was refitted into its frame.

Mrs Humphrey Devereux; 1771; Copley, John Singleton. After treatment, 2012, photograph by Kate Whitley © Te Papa

By Katherine Campbell | Also posted in Conservation, History | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)

Don Binney 1940 – 2012

18 September 2012 – 5.41pm

Don Binney, 1977-79?, Auckland. Marti Friedlander. Purchased 2007. Te Papa

In the recent death of Don Binney New Zealand art has lost a major contributor to its diverse tradition of landscape painting.  Binney began painting his stylized images of birds in the landscape in the early 1960s.  These unique and startling images quickly established his reputation.  The ‘oversized’ birds combined a personal take on hard-edged abstraction with conservationist and painterly concerns.  The design and structure of his paintings emphasised the shape and contour of the bird while integrating it with similar forms in the landscape. A dynamic tension was established between these elements which underlined a complex interaction between stasis and implied movement, latency and potential. The style worked with and against the energy it both created and contained. 

Hard edges did not preclude emotional and spiritual depth however – the cry of the tui from McCahon’s Northland Panels is given a startlingly physical presence in Tui over Te Henga 1964 or Colonial garden bird 1965. 

Colonial garden bird, 1965, Auckland. Don Binney. Purchased 1971. Te Papa

Colonial garden bird, 1965, Auckland. Don Binney. Purchased 1971. Te Papa

While a central place is now occupied by the bird images in Binney’s oeuvre, his practice also embraced the landscape itself and its particular New Zealand characteristics. He integrated these with political concerns relating to settlement and ownership in the decade of the 1980s.  The wider Pacific context also appeared in paintings such as Pacific frigate bird I 1968 in a treatment akin to that in Rita Angus’s Rutu 1951 and was referenced again in works in the 1990s.   Stylistically his work maintained a continuum with nineteenth century topographical artists John Kinder and Alfred Sharpe and earlier twentieth century artists such as Christopher Perkins. Binney was a contemporary of Rita Angus, Bill Sutton, Michael Smither, Robin White and Michael Illingworth.   He, like them, combined in his work a passionate engagement with the landscape with exploration of its formal and symbolic capacity. 

Te Papa’s collection of Don Binney’s work will help to inform future generations of the important position this artist holds in the crucial period when international modernism was becoming integrated into the fabric of New Zealand’s visual and artistic heritage. 

The art team and the staff at Te Papa  would like to extend our deepest sympathy and aroha to Don’s family and friends in this time of loss and sadness for the New Zealand art community. 

Fatbird, 1964, Auckland. Don Binney. Purchased 2002. Te Papa

Fatbird, 1964, Auckland. Don Binney. Purchased 2002. Te Papa

-Tony Mackle, Collection Manager Works of Art on Paper

By Lissa Mitchell | Also posted in Birds, Collections Online | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Farewell Don Binney

16 September 2012 – 1.02pm

We are saddened to hear that contemporary New Zealand artist Don Binney has passed away.  Our thoughts are with Don’s family and friends.

Don Binney, 'Pacific frigate bird', 1968, Te Papa

Don Binney, ‘Pacific frigate bird’, 1968, Te Papa

By Sarah Farrar | Also posted in Birds, News | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Te Papa is coming to Gisborne!

12 September 2012 – 11.05am

The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is coming to Gisborne! The Education and Discovery Centre teams will be based at Tairawhiti Museum for a week of exciting art workshops and learning programmes. Schools in the Gisborne area are taking part in free hands-on workshops, exploring kākahu (cloaks), taonga (treasures) and their connection to the area of Gisborne. Two large artworks, in the form of cloaks, will be created by the students, using digital photography and mixed media. The cloaks will be on display at Tairawhiti Museum and then at Te Papa in Wellington for thousands of visitors to see.

The education staff at Tairawhiti Museum

The education staff at Tairawhiti Museum. Aaron Compton and Jen Pewhairangi. Courtesy of Dudley Meadows, Tairawhiti Museum.

Joining the team is Te Papa educator Khali Philip-Barbara, who is no stranger to the Gisborne community. Having grown up in Gisborne, Khali is excited to be returning to her roots to work with local students, extending Te Papa’s reach beyond the Wellington Region. The Te Papa team come from a variety of backgrounds, including Wellington, Sweden, Ruatoki, the Pacific Islands and Gisborne. 

The Gisborne Outreach Team

The Gisborne Outreach Team (from top left, clockwise) Ati Teepa, Herbert Bartley, Khali Philip-Barbara, Kim Gustavsson, displaying their favourite taonga.

Added to the mix is gifted master carver Anaru Rondon from The Bay of Plenty Matata. Anaru is offering a workshop that will give people a rare chance at making traditional tools using customary methods. 

For more information contact Tairawhiti Museum or Te Papa’s Education Team.
Te Papa will be based at Tairawhiti Museum from 17 – 21 September. This is part of Te Papa’s annual national outreach programme. Te Papa wish to thank the staff at Tairawhiti Museum for their support of this programme.

By gabby lawton | Also posted in Education, Kids, Museums, Māori, Pacific, Uncategorized | Comments (2)

Unforgettable: Michael Parekowhai’s ‘On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer’

8 September 2012 – 6.03pm

If you live in the Wellington region then I really hope you’ll come to Te Papa and visit Michael Parekowhai’s On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer, which is on show on Level 5 until 23 September 2012.

Rather than describing my own experience of these works, I thought I’d share with you some of our visitors’ comments instead…

Hear Courtney Johnston talking about it on Radio NZ.

Excerpt from a letter to the editor from Wellington’s Capital Times, 5 September:

My ten year old boy and I visited Te Papa while the beautiful Steinway, carved, inlaid and painted to within a semi – quaver of its life, was being played. Have you ever seen the insides, let alone put your head beneath the lid (and under the watchful “Don’t Touch!” gaze of the attendants) of a grand piano, as Chopin is being played? We neither. Until today!  

The beautifully played music (thanks Ariana Odermatt) and the applied imagination of Parekowhai filled the exhibition space, as it did my body, mind and heart. This installation reflects and celebrates my understanding of bi- culture. Far out! Kia ora! 

Tom White, Island Bay (abridged).

Find out more about the exhibition and about a special event next Thursday night.

If you’ve already seen the works and want to share your response, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Sarah Farrar

Curator of Contemporary Art

By Sarah Farrar | Also posted in Collections Online, Events, Exhibitions, Museums, Māori, News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Born in a manger, found in a barn: Te Papa offers assistance to Futuna Chapel

6 September 2012 – 4.44pm

Over a decade ago Jim Allen’s carved Christ figure was stolen from John Scott’s architectural icon, the Futuna Chapel in Wellington.

Its whereabouts remained a mystery until it was recovered from an abandoned Taranaki farm  last week. The New Zealand Police returned the Christ figure to The Friends of Futuna Charitable Trust at a moving ceremony at the Chapel earlier today, Thursday 6 September.

In recognition of the importance of the chapel as a national treasure Te Papa has agreed to assist the Trust by holding the figure in storage until it goes back on permanent display in the chapel next March. While in temporary storage at the Museum, the Trust will arrange a conservation assessment and any restorative work that may be required.

NZ Police carrying Jim Allen's Christ figure into Futuna Chapel. Photo: Phil Reid, Fairfax NZ.

NZ Police carrying Jim Allen’s Christ figure into Futuna Chapel. Photo: Phil Reid, Fairfax NZ.

An icon of New Zealand architecture, the now deconsecrated chapel was designed by one of the first ‘modernist’ Maori architects, John Scott. The architect invited contemporary artist Jim Allen to collaborate on several aspects of the chapel’s design, including the coloured windows – a key feature of the building — and, of course, the crucifix.

‘Recovering the statue has been a goal of the Futuna Trust since it was established in 2003 to celebrate, restore and maintain the chapel, which is regarded as one of New Zealand’s modern architectural masterpieces.’ Nick Bevin, Wellington architect and chair of the Futuna Trust.

Te Papa currently has three important works by Jim Allen on public display on Level 5.

Sarah Farrar, Curator of Contemporary Art

By Sarah Farrar | Also posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Lili’s gift

5 September 2012 – 4.17pm
Lili Kraus II, 1946. Frank Hofmann. Gift of the Frank Hofmann Estate, 2010. Te Papa

Lili Kraus II, 1946. Frank Hofmann. Gift of the Frank Hofmann Estate, 2010. Te Papa

“Dear friends, may this beautiful instrument bring you happiness and inspiration. All my love, Lili Kraus, London, Christmas 1959.”

So read the handwritten inscription in the piano Michael Parekowhai obtained for On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer currently on display at Te Papa.

In the museum’s collection there are photographs of Lili taken around 1946/47 by two different photographers – Brian Brake/Spencer Digby Studios and Frank Hofmann.

Portrait of Lili Kraus, circa 1947, Wellington. Brian Brake, Spencer Digby Studios. Spencer Digby / Ronald D Woolf Collection. Gift of Ronald Woolf, 1975. Te Papa

Portrait of Lili Kraus, circa 1947, Wellington. Brian Brake, Spencer Digby Studios. Spencer Digby / Ronald D Woolf Collection. Gift of Ronald Woolf, 1975. Te Papa

Perhaps the piano in these pictures is the same one revamped and giving pleasure and evoking emotion on level 5 at present?

You can find out more about Lili on the Christchurch City Libraries’ blog and Christchchurch Art Gallery blog, and read more about the piano restoration on the NZ Herald site.

By Lissa Mitchell | Also posted in Collections Online, Photography | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer

28 August 2012 – 11.28am

Michael Parekowhai’s Venice Biennale exhibition installation at Te Papa

Michael Parekowhai’s Venice Biennale exhibition On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer opened at Te Papa on Friday. The installation looks stunning, clustered in the middle of the space and the sound with the acoustics of the gallery with that high ceiling is wonderful.

The exhibition is only on for a month till September 23 2012, so a short exhibition period. I hope many people come in to experience this installation while it is here.

It is the first time the three major elements of Michael’s installation have been shown in one gallery space – the two black bronze replica piano’s and bulls and He Korero Purakau mo Te Awanui o Te Motu; story of a New Zealand river, 2011, the elaborately carved red ‘Maori piano’ – the playable steinway concert grand.

It is also perhaps the last time for a little while that this installation will be seen together.

By Megan Tamati-Quennell | Also posted in Events, Exhibitions, Māori | Tagged , , , , | Comments (3)

News from Loans

6 August 2012 – 5.08pm
Mirek Smisek, Vase, saltglazed stoneware, 1972-0038-1, purchased 1972 with Ellen Eames Collection funds. (in Mirek Smisek: 60 Years, 60 Pots)

Mirek Smisek, Vase, saltglazed stoneware, 1972-0038-1, purchased 1972 with Ellen Eames Collection funds.
(in Mirek Smisek: 60 Years, 60 Pots)

We are proud to be able to lend our collection items to support the amazing exhibitions in other New Zealand and international museums and art galleries. Te Papa is in a unique position to be able to lend a wide variety of items and respond to the needs of those building their own exhibitions, and who inevitably, interpret our items in new and exciting ways. We try our hardest to make our collection items available and begin each loan with a ‘we want to do this’ mindset.

Siapo (tapa cloth), Wallis & Futuna Islands, 1960s, FE012568, purchased 2010. (in Oceania: Imagining the Pacific)

Siapo (tapa cloth), Wallis & Futuna Islands, 1960s, FE012568, purchased 2010.
(in Oceania: Imagining the Pacific)

Our collections, which cover all kinds of art, deeply meaningful taonga Maori, everyday items imbued with great historical significance, exquisite photographs, fascinating items from Pacific cultures, and natural environment specimens, were seen in 28 different exhibitions in the 2011-2012 year.

Exhibitions such as Auckland Art Gallery’s Angels & Aristocrats: Early Art in New Zealand Public Collections and Wellington City Gallery’s sister exhibition Oceania: Imagining the Pacific stand out because we were able to provide vital works.

Anthonis Mor van Dashorst, Portrait of a young man, oil on wood panel, C16th, 1955-0001-1, Gift of Miss Noeline Baker, 1955 (in Angels & Aristocrats: Early Art in New Zealand Public Collections )

Anthonis Mor van Dashorst, Portrait of a young man, oil on wood panel, C16th, 1955-0001-1, Gift of Miss Noeline Baker, 1955
(in Angels & Aristocrats: Early Art in New Zealand Public Collections )

But we can’t ignore lending nine significant taonga Māori to Rotorua Museum of Art & History for their exhibition Nga Pumanawa o Te Arawa: The Bleeding Heart of Te Arawa, the exhibition that marked the opening of the re-built Don Stafford wing of their remarkable building. Neither can we pass by lending six taonga Māori to Puke Ariki for their outstanding exhibition Mutanga: Our Legacy Our Challenge Our Future or seeing Michael Parakowhai’s Venice Biennale piano He Korero Purakau mo Te Awanui o Te Motu: story of a New Zealand river in Christchurch along with his other works that make up On first Looking into Chapman’s Homer.

Don Driver’s powerful installation Ritual was a highlight in the City Gallery Wellington exhibition The Obstinate Object as was John Ioane’s potent installation Poly wants a cracker in the Deane Gallery there.

Ralph Hotere’s singular installation, Pathway to the sea, Aramoana was seen at Dunedin Public Art Gallery in their exhibition Dark Light and Mary Louise Brown’s black granite word poem Black sash featured in Back in Black.

We were able to support smaller institutions and community groups over the year. Two paintings of Katherine Mansfield appeared at the Katherine Mansfield Birthplace, seventeen items spent a day at the Tokelau Easter Expo in Porirua and Dame Malvina’s concert gown was on display for her 21st Anniversary Celebration concert. A ceramic by Mirek Smisek, included in the Mahara Gallery exhibition Mirek Smisek: 60 Years, 60 Pots, was seen at Mahara Gallery, Expressions Arts & Entertainment Centre, Puke Ariki, Sarjeant Gallery, Tairawhiti Museum & Art Gallery and Otago Museum.

I have not mentioned every loan but you can see that all in all it has been a good year.

Jo Torr
Loans Manager

Angels and Aristocrats at Te Papa

By Te Papa | Also posted in Museums, Uncategorized | Comments (0)
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