Nau Mai, Haere Mai! Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tāmaki Re-opens Its Doors And Announces Spring/summer Exhibition Schedule

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is reopening its doors with extensions on spring exhibitions and the announcement of its summer exhibition schedule. Auckland Art Gallery will re-open to Members only first, at 10am, Monday 15 November to Tuesday 16 November and then to the public, from 10am, Wednesday 17 November.

‘We’re so excited to welcome visitors back to Auckland Art Gallery, and to give everyone a much-needed opportunity to recharge with exhibitions and experiences designed to soothe the soul and stimulate the imagination. We’ve extended the dates on Bill Culbert | Slow Wonder and have a new exhibition, Romancing the Collection, which explores the hidden wonders of our collection from Picasso to pop art and portraiture. The breath-taking Māori portraits, which connect many New Zealanders to their tupuna, are also back on display,’ says Gallery Director Kirsten Lacy.

‘The Gallery is especially delighted to start the summer on the energy and youthful spirit of Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary. This major international exhibition invites us all into the world of revolutionary fashion icon, Mary Quant, to experience a little of the “youthquake” she helped inspire with her exuberant, fresh designs and innovative brand.’

New to open this month, Manpower: Myths of Masculinity explores the depiction of male bodies in the Gallery’s collection. The exhibition examines the changing attitudes to sexuality from the time of the artworks’ acquisitions by their Victorian-era collectors and through the decades that followed.

In late November, Vocabulary of Solitude, a large-scale installation by international contemporary artist Ugo Rondinone, will see life-size clowns and a full colourful rainbow wrap take over the three-storey-high North Atrium, reflecting the Gallery’s commitment to presenting contemporary art by the world’s leading artists.

Alongside Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary, visitors to the Gallery this summer will enjoy Max Oettli: Visible Evidence, Photographs 1965–1975, an exhibition of work by Swiss-New Zealand photographer Max Oettli. Oettli’s vintage photographs showcase life in Tāmaki Makaurau in the ‘60s and ‘70s and, in some cases, will be exhibited publicly for the first time.

Coming up at Auckland Art Gallery are:

Manpower: Myths of Masculinity: Opening Mon 15 Nov – FREE

Manpower: Myths of Masculinity brings into focus the many images of eroticised male bodies that have underpinned the rich holdings of Auckland’s public art gallery since its foundation in 1888. The exhibition charts changing attitudes to sexuality around the time of the artworks’ acquisitions and in the decades that followed, beginning with the appeal and meaning of such frankly sensual images for their Victorian-era collectors.

Vocabulary of Solitude by Ugo Rondinone: Sat 20 Nov – FREE
Known for his spectacular, yet deeply philosophical, installation works, Rondinone’s art is characterised by the sweet melancholy produced when combining the happiness of rainbow colours with a stillness, sadness and atmosphere of ennui.

Rondinone’s performatively costumed and made-up clowns stand in as those figures who remain outside society’s mainstream. In a time in which we’ve spent hours contemplating solitude, Rondinone offers the opportunity to explore notions of being though his community of jesters. Supported by the Auckland Contemporary Art Trust.

Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary: Opening Fri 10 Dec – Adults $24.50

An international exhibition exploring the work of legendary fashion designer Mary Quant opens at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki this summer. Here from the V&A in London, Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary takes a look at the fashion icon who harnessed the youthful spirit of the sixties and embraced new mass production techniques to create a new look for modern women.

Receiving unprecedented access to Dame Mary Quant’s archive, as well as drawing on the V&A’s extensive fashion holdings, which include the largest public collection of Quant garments in the world, the show brings together over 120 garments, as well as accessories, cosmetics, sketches and photographs.

Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary is a V&A exhibition touring the world. It is supported by VIVA, Mini, HSBC, Newstalk ZB, AUT and Omnigraphics.

Max Oettli: Visible Evidence, Photographs 1965–1975: Opening Sat 18 Dec – FREE

During a decade of massive urban and social change, Max Oettli worked as one of New Zealand’s most innovative contemporary photographers. Based in Auckland, this was a period when independent photography was developing rapidly. Oettli ensured that his camera was a creative mirror. Unlike local camera club artists, Oettli avoided traditional picture making, preferring the realism of expressive black and white photography. Motivated, committed and risk-taking, Oettli took photographs at all hours of the night and day. Using the amazing freedom and practicality of 35mm cameras, his ground-breaking photographs are relevant and revelatory about how we know place and time.

Including many unfamiliar photographs, Visible Evidence reveals the intersections between the private and public lives of Tāmaki Makaurau. This exhibition has been made possible through the artist’s generous gift of his vintage photographs.
 

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