THE doors are about to open on art works normally found hanging in the homes of Wellingtonians.
Behind Closed Doors, a new exhibition opening this week at Victoria University’s Adam Art Gallery, features works drawn exclusively from private collections in Wellington. Gallery curator, Laura Preston, says the exhibition sets out to show the history of New Zealand art from 1946 to the present with works not normally seen by the public.
“It’s an ambitious show and provides a rare opportunity to see works that complement the holdings of New Zealand’s public and corporate collections,” Preston says. “This exhibition shows it’s possible to produce a museum-quality show from works owned by Wellington’s private collectors.”
She says when gallery director and exhibition curator, Christina Barton, began searching out works for the exhibition she drew on her knowledge of Peter McLeavey who has run his Cuba Street gallery for more than 40 years.
“She began with artists he celebrated and dealt with, traced owners, and tracked down others from various sources. Her searching uncovered some significant characters and a surprising number of committed art lovers in the city.”
The exhibition includes paintings by Toss Wollaston and Colin McCahon, works by Michael Smither and Rita Angus, and multimedia art works by Peter Robinson and Ronnie van Hout.
In August a book will be launched documenting a selection of the works as they appear at home, photographed by Neil Pardington with text by Lara Strongman.
Alongside Behind Closed Doors the Adam Gallery is staging In Camera, a changing programme of exhibits and projects around and about art collecting. Every five weeks the Kirk Gallery will host a new exhibition with a public programme of floor talks, panel discussions and film screenings designed to stimulate discussion on issues raised by these exhibitions. The opening talk this Friday (June 3) is by Marcus Moore discussing the art works from the collection of g. bridle.
Behind Closed Doors: New Zealand Art from Private Collections in Wellington, Adam Art Gallery, June 4 to December 18.