Latest news with #HastingsArtGallery
Scoop
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
New Exhibitions By Vanessa Arthur And Yasmin Dubrau Set To Inspire Audiences
Press Release – Hastings Art Gallery Two up-and-coming Hastings artists – one with recent international exposure and another having her very first hometown exhibition – are about to show their latest work at the home of contemporary art in Hawke's Bay. Wonder Goggles: Vanessa Arthur and Tales of a New Moon: Yasmin Dubrau open this Saturday, June 14. Arthur is a contemporary jeweller, while Dubrau works between weaving, photography, watercolour, mobiles and origami. Wonder Goggles explores connections between jewellery, paint and everyday surroundings. It includes wearable and painted objects crafted from offcuts, precious metals, stones and industrial materials. Arthur describes Wonder Goggles as an exhibition which grapples with a 'deficit of wonder'. 'People today often have a question and they look on their phone or rely on Google to get the answer, rather than wondering about it or using their own imagination and ideas to find an answer. The aim when making this exhibition was to explore our everyday environments with wonder, thinking about these spaces through a fresh lens. 'This is the first time I've made something in a bigger scale – the height of the gallery has allowed me to create a metal structure. It's arranged to be directly in your path of observation as you enter, with lots of details to focus on. The octagonal shape of the gallery is great for that kind of viewing.' Arthur has recently spent time overseas, exhibiting at Munich Jewellery Week – one of the most influential events for international contemporary jewellery – as part of a group of New Zealanders and at Galerie Door in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. 'It's great to see what's happening over there and talk to a different audience,' Arthur says. 'But I think it's really great to build strong connections with audiences in Aotearoa first. It's important to have a solid foundation here to take overseas.' Tales of a New Moon is Yasmin Dubrau's first solo exhibition at a public gallery. She creates abstract landscapes in her work, drawing patterns and shapes from the environment and architecture. Dubrau's watercolours reference Japanese ink painting and calligraphy, as she lived there for several years. Dubrau has been a practising artist for about two decades. She has exhibited internationally – for instance in Japan and France – and nationally in cities like Auckland and Invercargill. Originally from Motueka, she lived in Auckland and Japan before moving to Hawke's Bay nine years ago. Although she has recently exhibited at The Rabbit Room in Napier, Tales of a New Moon marks the first time she has exhibited in her current hometown. 'It's quite rare to have an opportunity like this,' Dubrau says. 'I feel like I know a lot of people who had no idea that I made art or what kind of art I make. A lot of people know me through my previous job, as manager and teacher at the Hōhepa Rose Weavery, and art doesn't necessarily always come up, let alone the opportunity to see it in action.' Gallery Director Sophie Davis says it's a treat to have such talented Hastings artists exhibiting at the gallery. 'We're excited to open these exhibitions alongside each other, and for audiences to enjoy the conversation between them. Vanessa and Yasmin share an interest in hands-on processes and experimentation with traditional craft forms – they tap into local, national, and international conversations.' The exhibitions will both run until 11 October. The gallery will be holding a programme of events alongside the exhibitions – check for the latest details.
Scoop
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
New Exhibition At Hastings Art Gallery Examines Realities Of ‘Working The Land'
Press Release – Hastings Art Gallery What thrives on these soils recently opened and will run until 26 July. It features the work of Abigail Aroha Jensen, Yuki Kihara, Darcy Lange, Jimmy Maiai, George Watson and Daegan Wells. The latest exhibition at Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga – Hastings Art Gallery explores New Zealand's complicated relationship with agriculture. What thrives on these soils recently opened and will run until 26 July. It features the work of Abigail Aroha Jensen, Yuki Kihara, Darcy Lange, Jimmy Ma'ia'i, George Watson and Daegan Wells. Their artworks reflect on the experiences of workers and the economies of working-class towns like Heretaunga Hastings—communities which are often shaped by farming industries. The marketing slogan of Hawke's Bay 'Great things grow here' promotes opportunities for investment, industry and personal success. The artists in this exhibition complicate this narrative and explore growth, prosperity and working conditions, looking at the question of 'who' thrives and what it means to do so. The exhibition features a video by the late Darcy Lange – filmed in 1974, following tangata whenua sheep farmers in Ruatōria, north of Tūranganui-a-Kiwa Gisborne. Lange was one of the first video artists use the 'long-take' technique. This is the first time the video has been shown in the Eastern North Island. Yuki Kihara represented New Zealand at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022 and her work can be found in 30 permanent collections across the globe. Her photographs in What thrives on these soils, originally produced for MTG Hawke's Bay in Ahuriri Napier, explore different histories of connection between Hawke's Bay and Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, the Pacific Ocean, and weave together some of the stories of agricultural workers in Hawke's Bay. Other artworks in the exhibition offer different lenses – Jimmy Ma'ia'i works across textiles and installation, exploring the flows of labour and resources between Aotearoa and the Pacific Islands. Abigail Aroha Jensen uses sound and mixed media to explore the legacy of the Tokomaru Bay Freezing Works. Daegan Wells looks at the legacy of wool and George Watson considers the ideological nature of Māori and Pākehā architectures, drawing from the pastoral landscapes of Tairāwhiti. 'What thrives on these soils responds to Te Matau-a-Māui as a food producing region, and a place of 'growth' – both physical and economic,' Gallery Director and curator of the exhibition Sophie Davis says. 'This exhibition gathers artists researching and practising across the motu, from Tāmaki Makaurau to Tairāwhiti to the deep south of Colac Bay, to longstanding connections within Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. The artworks in the exhibition connect us to wider conversations, and delve into stories that are highly relevant to the Heretaunga-Hastings community.'
Scoop
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
New Exhibition At Hastings Art Gallery Examines Realities Of ‘Working The Land'
The latest exhibition at Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga – Hastings Art Gallery explores New Zealand's complicated relationship with agriculture. What thrives on these soils recently opened and will run until 26 July. It features the work of Abigail Aroha Jensen, Yuki Kihara, Darcy Lange, Jimmy Ma'ia'i, George Watson and Daegan Wells. Their artworks reflect on the experiences of workers and the economies of working-class towns like Heretaunga Hastings—communities which are often shaped by farming industries. The marketing slogan of Hawke's Bay 'Great things grow here' promotes opportunities for investment, industry and personal success. The artists in this exhibition complicate this narrative and explore growth, prosperity and working conditions, looking at the question of 'who' thrives and what it means to do so. The exhibition features a video by the late Darcy Lange – filmed in 1974, following tangata whenua sheep farmers in Ruatōria, north of Tūranganui-a-Kiwa Gisborne. Lange was one of the first video artists use the 'long-take' technique. This is the first time the video has been shown in the Eastern North Island. Yuki Kihara represented New Zealand at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022 and her work can be found in 30 permanent collections across the globe. Her photographs in What thrives on these soils, originally produced for MTG Hawke's Bay in Ahuriri Napier, explore different histories of connection between Hawke's Bay and Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, the Pacific Ocean, and weave together some of the stories of agricultural workers in Hawke's Bay. Other artworks in the exhibition offer different lenses – Jimmy Ma'ia'i works across textiles and installation, exploring the flows of labour and resources between Aotearoa and the Pacific Islands. Abigail Aroha Jensen uses sound and mixed media to explore the legacy of the Tokomaru Bay Freezing Works. Daegan Wells looks at the legacy of wool and George Watson considers the ideological nature of Māori and Pākehā architectures, drawing from the pastoral landscapes of Tairāwhiti. 'What thrives on these soils responds to Te Matau-a-Māui as a food producing region, and a place of 'growth' – both physical and economic,' Gallery Director and curator of the exhibition Sophie Davis says. 'This exhibition gathers artists researching and practising across the motu, from Tāmaki Makaurau to Tairāwhiti to the deep south of Colac Bay, to longstanding connections within Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. The artworks in the exhibition connect us to wider conversations, and delve into stories that are highly relevant to the Heretaunga-Hastings community.'
