New Zealand Modern: Paintings and Sculpture from the Collection

A collection show that looks at the development of Modernism in the New Zealand visual arts during the 1920s to 1940s.

There is no common agreement about when Modernism actually got hold of contemporary New Zealand's visual art. Some commentators say that the attraction of painting's new role in the twentieth century developed from Cubist and Constructivist examples. Others claim that Modernism simply reflects the culture of industry that helped shift attitudes to what visual art could mean for New Zealand's society.

New Zealand Modern invites this question: why did it take two generations for a contemporary attitude to art making to take hold of New Zealand's visual art?