In Shifting Light

In Shifting Light

Exhibition Details

The art works featured In Shifting Light represent how different artists have responded to New Zealand landscapes - landscapes of history and imagination, landscapes that contain public and personal symbols and landscapes as sites of social and personal experiences. As such, the exhibition concerns itself more with reflections on meanings of landscapes than with the artistic genre and reminds us that landscape is essentially a social construct.

New Zealand and Pacific Art, senior curator, Ron Brownson says, that throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the diverse landscapes of New Zealand were a principal theme within our visual art. Many painters were fascinated with our landscape's shifting and diverse lighting situations. They contrasted time of day with the specifics of a place. This exploration let artists encounter New Zealand's topographic drama.

"When James Trevithick looked shoreward in his remarkable painting Auckland Harbour by Moonlight, from the North Shore (1881), he had no pre-conception that this nightscape would become one of the first visions of a moonlit Auckland. Generations later, Buster Black would reveal how mystical the city's street lighting appears when viewed from the Waitakere Mountains," says Brownson.

This collection-based exhibition brings together 40 works across a variety of medium including a poignant Ans Westra photograph taken at the Early Settlers Museum in Dunedin, the mysterious video and CAD topographies of Mladen Bizumic and paintings by Charles F Goldie, Ralph Hotere and Colin McCahon. These works reflect landscapes as sites through which to define ourselves as a people and place - light and darkness conveys the spiritual and emotional responses to these sites.

Date
Curated by
Ron Brownson
Location
New Gallery
Cost
Free entry

Related Artworks

View Artwork

Not on display

Hauturu Doc (with soundtrack 'Adagio Under My Thumb' by the Rolling Stones)
Hauturu Doc (with soundtrack 'Adagio Under My Thumb' by the Rolling Stones)

Mladen Bizumic

Production date
2003
Medium
computer animation transferred to video, single channel, standard definition (SD), 4:3, black and white, stereo sound
Size (h x w)
1min 44sec
Credit line
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2003
Accession no
C2003/1/29
View Artwork

Not on display

The Night Shift (Little Barrier Island in the Harbour of Venice)
The Night Shift (Little Barrier Island in the Harbour of Venice)

Mladen Bizumic

Production date
2003
Medium
ink on paper
Size (h x w)
580 x 830 mm
Credit line
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2003
Accession no
C2003/1/28
View Artwork

Not on display

Mountain III
Mountain III

Buster Black

Production date
1963
Medium
oil on board
Size (h x w)
556 x 735 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1997
Accession no
1997/10/6
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Not on display

Drunk asleep in bus shelter, Wellington
Drunk asleep in bus shelter, Wellington

John Daley

Production date
1969
Medium
black and white photograph
Size (h x w)
135 x 203 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1976
Accession no
1976/2/3
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Not on display

The Story of the Arawa Canoe
The Story of the Arawa Canoe

Charles F Goldie

Production date
circa 1938
Medium
oil on panel
Size (h x w)
115 x 197 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1994
Accession no
1994/21
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Not on display

Buller's Table Cloth
Buller's Table Cloth

W D Hammond

Production date
1994
Medium
acrylic on canvas
Size (h x w)
1682 x 1675 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery, 1997
Accession no
1997/6
View Artwork

Not on display

Empire (Bush)
Empire (Bush)

Gavin Hipkins

Production date
2007
Medium
C-type print
Size (h x w)
1445 x 1000 x 65 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery, 2007
Accession no
2007/30/2
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Not on display

Te Wairoa (Falls)
Te Wairoa (Falls)

Gavin Hipkins

Production date
1999
Medium
C-type colour photographic print
Size (h x w)
600 x 400 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased with funds from the Graeme Maunsell Trust, 2002
Accession no
2002/14/25
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Not on display

State Highway I
State Highway I

Ava Seymour

Production date
1997
Medium
colour photograph of a photomontage
Size (h x w)
735 x 920 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 2003
Accession no
2003/30/2
View Artwork

Not on display

The lamp in my studio
The lamp in my studio

Colin McCahon

Production date
circa 1945
Medium
oil on cardboard on hardboard
Size (h x w)
666 x 805 x 43 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, on loan from a private collection
Accession no
L1998/28/1
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Not on display

Evening at Petone
Evening at Petone

Marcus King

Production date
circa 1920
Medium
oil on canvas
Size (h x w)
420 x 373 x 38 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Friends of the Auckland Art Gallery with funds from the J B Spring Bequest, 1996
Accession no
1995/6
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Not on display

Evening
Evening

Raymond McIntyre

Production date
circa 1905
Medium
oil on canvas
Size (h x w)
386 x 310 x 35 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1971
Accession no
1971/21/1
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Not on display

Auckland Harbour by Moonlight, from the North Shore
Auckland Harbour by Moonlight, from the North Shore

James Trevithick

Production date
1881
Medium
oil on canvas
Size (h x w)
610 x 920 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of Mary and Jim Crawford, Morrinsville, 1995
Accession no
1994/31
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Not on display

After the storm (Timaru Beach 1882, showing the wreck of the ships Benvenue and City of Perth, 1883)
After the storm (Timaru Beach 1882, showing the wreck of the ships Benvenue and...

John Gibb

Production date
1883
Medium
oil on canvas
Size (h x w)
906 x 1380 x 57 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, bequest of Mr Thomas Peacock Esq, 1922
Accession no
1922/2
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Not on display

Snake Tree
Snake Tree

Tony de Lautour

Production date
2000
Medium
oil on canvas
Size (h x w)
483 x 712 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 2000
Accession no
2000/7
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Not on display

Lot's Wife, Waitomo Caves
Lot's Wife, Waitomo Caves

Charles Blomfield

Production date
Unknown
Medium
oil on canvas
Size (h x w)
485 x 740 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, The Ilene and Laurence Dakin Bequest, purchased 1998
Accession no
1998/5/1
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Not on display

Anzac Day, Dunedin 1965
Anzac Day, Dunedin 1965

Gary Baigent

Production date
1965
Medium
gelatin silver print
Size (h x w)
136 x 202 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 2005
Accession no
2005/10/1
View Artwork

Not on display

Early Settlers Museum, Dunedin
Early Settlers Museum, Dunedin

Ans Westra

Production date
1971
Medium
black and white photograph
Size (h x w)
203 x 252 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1985
Accession no
1985/5/4
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Not on display

Untitled
Untitled

Giovanni Intra

Production date
1995-1996
Medium
acrylic on gesso on paper
Size (h x w)
2800 x 2800 mm
Credit line
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 1996
Accession no
C1996/1/4.1-65
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Not on display

Strategic Plan
Strategic Plan

Peter Robinson

Production date
1998
Medium
oil and acrylic on canvas
Size (h x w)
2500 x 5000 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery, 1999
Accession no
1999/30
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Not on display

Empire (Beach)
Empire (Beach)

Gavin Hipkins

Production date
2007
Medium
C-type print
Size (h x w)
1700 x 1247 x 63 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery, 2007
Accession no
2007/30/1
View Artwork

On display

Aramoana Nineteen Eighty Four
Aramoana Nineteen Eighty Four

Ralph Hotere

On display

Production date
1984
Medium
acrylic on canvas
Size (h x w)
2450 x 1825 mm
Credit line
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 1984
Accession no
C1994/1/134
View Artwork

Not on display

Untitled (Studded Suit)
Untitled (Studded Suit)

Giovanni Intra

Production date
1990
Medium
wool, polyester, metal studs
Size (h x w)
1600 x 560 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and Chartwell Collection, purchased 2003
Accession no
2003/43
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Not on display

Sunday
Sunday

Jae Hoon Lee

Production date
2005
Medium
duratran print, aluminium, Perspex (lightbox)
Size (h x w)
1820 x 450 x 120 mm
Credit line
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2006
Accession no
C2006/1/3.1-2
View Artwork

Not on display

Takapuna Beach, Takapuna, 1981
Takapuna Beach, Takapuna, 1981

Robin Morrison

Production date
1981
Medium
gelatin silver prints
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the estate of Robin Morrison, 2002
Accession no
2002/18.1-3
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Not on display

Valley of the Fruitcakes
Valley of the Fruitcakes

Ava Seymour

Production date
1997
Medium
colour photograph of a photomontage
Size (h x w)
735 x 920 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 2003
Accession no
2003/30/1
View Artwork

Not on display

Day Care Walkabouts
Day Care Walkabouts

Ava Seymour

Production date
1997
Medium
colour photograph of a photomontage
Size (h x w)
735 x 920 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 2003
Accession no
2003/30/3
View Artwork

Not on display

Mount Rolleston and the Otira River
Mount Rolleston and the Otira River

Petrus van der Velden

Production date
1893
Medium
oil on canvas
Size (h x w)
775 x 1080 x 55 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
Accession no
U/331
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Not on display

A candle in a dark room
A candle in a dark room

Colin McCahon

Production date
1947
Medium
oil on plywood
Size (h x w)
380 x 310 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, on loan from a private collection
Accession no
L1998/28/99
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Not on display

Sunset
Sunset

James Nairn

Production date
1903
Medium
oil on cardboard
Size (h x w)
251 x 308 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1970
Accession no
1970/13/2
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Not on display

Takaka: night and day
Takaka: night and day

Colin McCahon

Production date
1948
Medium
oil on canvas on hardboard
Size (h x w)
915 x 2130 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Rutland Group, 1958
Accession no
1959/9
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Not on display

Homage to Eiffel
Homage to Eiffel

Para Matchitt

Production date
1994
Medium
spray paint and wire
Size (h x w)
2100 x 1200 x 495 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery, 2002
Accession no
2002/2/1.1-2
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Not on display

Wind
Wind

Richard Killeen

Production date
1971
Medium
oil on board
Size (h x w)
490 x 800 mm
Credit line
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2006
Accession no
C2006/1/19
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Not on display

Untitled
Untitled

Francis Upritchard

Production date
2006
Medium
lamp components
Credit line
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2007
Accession no
C2007/1/17
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Not on display

The Night Shift (The Fall of Romanticism)
The Night Shift (The Fall of Romanticism)

Mladen Bizumic

Production date
2003
Medium
ink on paper
Size (h x w)
580 x 830 mm
Credit line
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
Accession no
C2003/1/27
View Artwork

Not on display

Stormcloud
Stormcloud

Petrus van der Velden

Production date
Unknown
Medium
oil on canvas on board
Size (h x w)
1050 x 545 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1975
Accession no
1975/33
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Not on display

Tree, Ponsonby (Freemans Bay 1 a.m.)
Tree, Ponsonby (Freemans Bay 1 a.m.)

Max Oettli

Production date
1971
Medium
black and white photograph
Size (h x w)
198 x 303 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1975
Accession no
1975/58/5
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Not on display

Maze
Maze

Tony de Lautour

Production date
2005
Medium
acrylic on canvas
Size (h x w)
2000 x 2800 mm
Credit line
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2005
Accession no
C2005/1/36
View Artwork

Not on display

Conan's Head
Conan's Head

John Hurrell

Production date
1989
Medium
acrylic on paper
Size (h x w)
2400 x 3150 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1989
Accession no
1989/38
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Not on display

AK79
AK79

Ava Seymour

Production date
2004
Medium
digital colour print
Size (h x w)
815 x 2390 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery, 2008
Accession no
2008/10/1
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Not on display

Exotica
Exotica

Ava Seymour

Production date
2004
Medium
digital colour print
Size (h x w)
815 x 2390 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery, 2008
Accession no
2008/10/3
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Not on display

Black Painting: Night Landscape
Black Painting: Night Landscape

Buster Black

Production date
1962
Medium
oil, enamel on hardboard
Size (h x w)
695 x 1300 x 15 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of Matthew McCahon, 2008
Accession no
2008/8
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Not on display

Menlo Mana
Menlo Mana

Joe Sheehan

Production date
2005
Medium
south west coast pounamu (Haast region), light bulb, brass fitting, electric cord
Size (h x w)
4125 mm
Credit line
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2005
Accession no
C2005/1/38