Other People Think showcases contemporary international art

Other People Think showcases Auckland’s contemporary international art collection

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki offers fresh insights into its remarkable international collection in a new exhibition, Other People Think: Auckland’s Contemporary International Collection, opening this Saturday 10 March.

Other People Think presents a selection of newly acquired artworks that speak to the range and dynamism of contemporary art today. The exhibition acknowledges the generosity of philanthropists and artists who have contributed powerfully to the expansion of Auckland’s collection for the enjoyment of visitors to the Gallery. The exhibition explores issues and experimentations that captivate artists today, and reflects shared themes of contemporary life such as memory, connections to place, and the realm of the imagination.

Taking its title from a light sculpture by Chilean artist, architect and filmmaker Alfredo Jaar, Other People Think prompts visitors to consider alternate perspectives, and the potential of contemporary art to foster understanding and empathy in a complex and shifting world.

The exhibition features work in a variety of media, including painting, drawing and photography, as well as video, kinetic and installation art by foremost contemporary artists such as Hiroshi Sugimoto, Nalini Malani, Andreas Gursky, Taryn Simon, Yang Fudong, María Nepomuceno, Emily Kame Kngwarreye and more.

Auckland Art Gallery Director and curator of the exhibition, Rhana Devenport says Other People Think makes visible the Gallery’s focus on collecting art from the Asia Pacific region, including South America, which acknowledges and reflects the changing demographics of New Zealand’s largest and most diverse city.

Devenport states; ‘In recent years we have consciously shifted our contemporary art collection from a Euro-American focus to one that is more attentive to who and where we are in the world.’

‘Importantly, more than half the works are by women artists. Thinking about this year’s celebration of 125 years of women’s suffrage in New Zealand and the imbalance of gender in most art museum collections, three rooms are dedicated wholly to projects by women, namely Nalini Malani, Judith Wright and Rebecca Baumann.’

‘Many of the works in this exhibition have recently entered our Collection thanks to the generous support of philanthropic organisations such as the Chartwell Trust, the Lyndsay Garland Trust and Auckland Contemporary Arts Trust. The exhibition is in part a celebration of their vision and the support they offer to ensure that the Gallery’s contemporary international collection continues to strengthen and grow.’

Other People Think will be launched with a free, late-night event that’s open to all. Called OPT IN, the event runs from 7–10pm on Saturday 10 March and offers live entertainment alongside artist talks, food and a pay bar. Visitors will also enjoy the one-and-only opportunity to encounter Yayoi Kusama’s popular and participatory installation The obliteration room after hours.

Other People Think is free for New Zealand residents and runs until Sunday 10 June.

Exhibition events:

After hours talk: Nalini Malani
Thu 8 Mar 2018 6pm
Join visiting Indian artist Nalini Malani for an illustrated talk, 'It is now time to pay close attention to female subjectivity if anything called progress is to be achieved.' Her widely acclaimed 2012 installation and video work, In Search of Vanished Blood, features in the exhibition Other People Think.

Nalini Malani is a leading interdisciplinary artist whose practice combines themes such as migration, globalisation, poverty and the oppression of women with motifs from classical literature and mythology. Her work has recently been the subject of a major retrospective exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

OPT IN: art / bar / food / performance
Other People Think Opening Event
Sat 10 Mar 2018 7–10pm
7pm – Artist talk: Judith Wright with Auckland Art Gallery Director Rhana Devenport
9pm – Artist talk: Rebecca Baumann with Auckland Art Gallery Curator Julia Waite

Join us for a fun – and free! – evening of art, food and entertainment as we celebrate the opening of our latest exhibition, Other People Think: Auckland’s Contemporary International Collection.

See live performances from Haere Mai Taiko and Henrique Morales Trio. Be inspired by visiting artists Judith Wright in conversation with Rhana Devenport and Rebecca Baumann in conversation with Julia Waite. And enjoy a rare opportunity to encounter Yayoi Kusama’s The obliteration room after hours. There’ll be a pay bar and food available throughout the night.

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