NZs Most Popular Outdoor Art Event Returns With A Stunning Sculptural Showcase

After a three-year hiatus, New Zealand’s most popular outdoor art event - Sculpture in the Gardens - returns to the Auckland Botanic Gardens with a spectacular display of works from artists across the motu, opening on 16 November.

Sculpture in the Gardens is a free event running for three months. The 2021 exhibition attracted more than 350,000 visitors.

The event’s curators Linda Tyler, Terry Urbahn and Catherine Hamilton say visitors to the exhibition will be delighted, inspired and intrigued by the selected artworks.

“We were blown away by the talent and creativity of the artists who submitted works to the exhibition. Narrowing it down to just 16 works was really difficult.

“The selected artworks are simply incredible. They were carefully chosen for their playfulness, the strength of the messages they carry, and for the skills demonstrated by the artists working in a variety of materials.

“Head along to see quirky and thought-provoking works, soaring monumental sculptures, and sound and light art works, each thoughtfully placed for maximum effect in the stunning Auckland Botanic Gardens,” says lead curator Linda Tyler.

Visitors will be treated to a visual feast of artworks including a steel and glass work by multi-award-winning artist Emma Camden (Whanganui); multi-metre high corten steel flower buds by popular sculptor Jane Downes (Banks Peninsula); a major interactive sound installation in wood and steel by artist, academic and curator Gina Ferguson and audio artist Dale Cotton (Avondale, Auckland); and a powerful ode to nature in wood and resin by internationally renowned artists Brit Bunkley and Andrea Gardner.

A series of patchwork globes made from recycled gallon drums representing Mother Earth by colour-loving sculptors Metal Metcalfe (Hawke’s Bay) will stop visitors in their tracks. Well known Wellington artist Paul Forrest draws attention to New Zealand’s disappearing butterflies with his colourful red admiral kaleidoscope series.

Glen Eden, Auckland designer and artist Chris Moore’s bright pink kinetic work is inspired by New Zealand Bubble Gum coral. At over five-metres high, it will be seen from most vantage points at the gardens. You’ll need to look up to spot Mangere, Auckland photographer and artist Chester Nicholls’ resin and glass fibre work rippling out from its chosen tree. Keep looking through the trees to catch Nicholls’ second work, a colourful burnt orange pod installation wrapped around a trunk, symbolising new life.

Award-winning Cromwell-based marble sculptor Josh Olley’s large and smooth singular hand offers a moving message from a father to his children. Rotorua Artist and sculptor Jamie Pickernell has created a fun, fairy tale-like sculpture featuring a cow and a bird-like creature, inviting us to consider what animals might wander around the Botanic Gardens millions of years from now. Multi-media artist Greg Piper (Northcote, Auckland) has created an arresting 3.25-metre-high sculpture as a lament for the huia, intended to help us question our responsibilities to creatures that still survive.

Taranaki-based stone and steel artist Oriah Rapley’s artwork is inspired by the pohutukawa at Cape Reinga. Her seemingly delicate work made of Taranaki andesite and corten steel invites us to consider the idea of ‘going home.’ Well-known sculptor Greg Tuthill (Palmerston North) has created a many-sided acorn in corten steel, which explores the relationship between geometry and the plant world. Watch out for the slithering sliding long fin eels created by sculptor James Wright (Clevedon) that symbolise the importance of clean creeks in our ecosystems. Wright’s artist son Jorge Wright (Clevedon) also offers a tribute to nature with a playful impressionist suite of trees in corten steel that seem to blow in the wind.

Dr Tyler says many of this year’s artists are well known and award-winning, while others are earlier in their careers.

“There’s a terrific mix of crowd favourites who have exhibited at previous events, and others offering fresh and exciting new perspectives,” she says.

Three awards will be announced at the exhibition: The Supreme Award, The Friends of Auckland Botanic Gardens Acquisition and the Burrill People’s Choice Award.

There will also be an indoor exhibition featuring hundreds of smaller sculptural works and domestic ware in a range of price points for visitors to enjoy or purchase.

Auckland Council Policy and Planning Committee chair Councillor Richard Hills says he is delighted to welcome the return of Sculpture in the Gardens.

“Auckland Botanic Gardens is a space where all Aucklanders can freely enjoy Auckland’s natural environment, incredible curated gardens, and an array of events and artworks. We’re so excited to be bringing Sculpture in the Gardens back. We love hosting the exhibition and public feedback is always overwhelmingly positive. Gardening is an artistic expression, and combining these two artforms creates a memorable experience for our visitors.

“The exhibition curators have done a great job of putting together a balanced selection of superb artworks that will be thoughtfully placed in our beautiful garden settings,” he says.

The biennial exhibition was established in 2007.

Sculpture in the Gardens is grateful for the support of Auckland Council, Friends of the Botanic Gardens and for the generosity of its sponsors and patrons.

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