Groundwork Contemporary Sculpture 2021, Cambridge - Presented by - St Peter's Cambridge
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Groundwork
Contemporary Sculpture 2021, Cambridge
Presented by
Over the last twenty years, Sculpture in Aotearoa New Zealand, has
FOREWORD been embraced widely, and there have been many major commissions
of outstanding works for cities and smaller towns alike. Ambitious
Kate Darrow private initiatives have thrived, including Brick Bay in Matakana,
Project Curator Connells Bay on Waiheke Island, and the impressive Gibbs Farm,
which has become a world-class beacon of international sculpture.
Many prestigious sculpture events, such as Scape in Christchurch and
Sculpture on the Gulf, have become permanent fixtures in the national
art calendar. This growth in public awareness can be attributed to many
factors - a growing consciousness of contemporary art in general, the
development and encouragement of arts philanthropy, and the actions
of some enlightened civic leaders and individuals.
Creating and presenting sculpture has always had its own unique
challenges; it can be expensive to make, require engineering and
technical fabrication, and need careful planning for installation,
whether in a domestic, civic or commercial environment. However,
with a proliferation of places to experience sculpture and increased
support and engagement, audiences have expanded, and innovation
and expertise have flourished. The result is more sculptures in private
collections and public spaces responding energetically to architecture,
landscape, urban sites, and gardens big and small.
The works presented in Groundwork, Contemporary Sculpture come
out of the studios of some of our most prominent artists. Given the
uncertainty of COVID 19 and the cancellation of many annual events
scheduled for 2021, we have been able to put together an exhibition
and gather an audience. The mix of artists presented spans three
generations, each playing an important role in the development of
sculptural practice in Aotearoa and teaching and mentoring younger
artists. To art audiences, most have become household names and are
represented in significant public and private collections around the
country.
There is a great variety of material, subject matter, and technique on
display in this exhibition. From hand-carved marble to ephemeral
masking tape at each end of the spectrum, with bronze, steel, fiberglass,
and perspex in between. The different approaches to form creates a
great opportunity to think about contemporary sculpture in its many
dimensions. The ideas expressed in the works are far-reaching, from
formal abstracts that encourage meditation of form and space to
elegant figurative and representational works that provoke, amuse, and
charm. A deeper consideration exposes environmental, political, and
social issues providing much food for thought and, we hope, hearty
discussion.
From my experience, despite careful preparation, there is never a
guarantee how works in any exhibition will ultimately respond to one
another. There is always a certain magic when you step back and see
the artworks together - not just as you hoped they might be but in other
quite surprising ways; as I write this, that mercurial action is still ahead.
After the many conversations about sculpture, sites, and logistics, I am
looking forward to seeing what happens when the works are in place
and you, the audience, can enjoy them.
Kate Darrow
It is with much excitement that St Peter’s welcomes artists, art-
WELCOME lovers, and the Waikato community to our beautiful campus to view
Groundwork, Contemporary Sculpture. Given the gap left by the
Dale Burden cancellation of many major art events in 2021, we are privileged to
Executive Principal showcase the work of many outstanding New Zealand artists.
St Peter’s has a natural affinity for beautiful outdoor artistic works.
We have begun collecting our own contemporary sculptures and are
delighted to share them with the community. We firmly believe that
art in students’ lives is a great thing with the potential for lifelong
positive impact. I am sure that school students from both St Peter’s
and the wider Waikato will be inspired by the art on display. We look
forward to welcoming everyone onto our campus.
Thank you to all who have made this exhibition possible – to our
partners’ MESH Sculpture Hamilton, Montana, for providing the
refreshments at the Opening Event, and our Project Curator, who has
done an outstanding job in putting this exhibition together. May you
enjoy the talent of the artists and the beauty of the sculptures.
Dale Burden
Karen O’Meeghan The Trustees of MESH are delighted to have the opportunity to work
Chair of the with St Peter’s School, Cambridge, to present this exhibition of some
MESH Trust Board of the best contemporary sculpture New Zealand has to offer.
MESH Sculpture Hamilton is a charitable trust formed in 2010 by a
group of business and community leaders to raise money for and
commission nationally significant artworks, which are then gifted to
the city. By working closely with Hamilton City Council and private
landowners, MESH provides the opportunity for donors to see their
contributions supporting a long-term philanthropic enterprise
in line with the council’s public art plan. MESH does not receive
ratepayer funding and is 100% privately funded. MESH has a unique
structure with a strong commercially minded Trust Board and a
separate curatorial panel made up of recognised members of the arts
community.
MESH has to date gifted four major contemporary sculptures to
Hamilton. These include Te Pumanawa o te Whenua, by Seung Yul
Oh, at the Claudelands Events Centre; Te Waharoa ki te Ao Maarama,
by Lonnie Hutchinson, Pembroke Street Hamilton Lake; Tongue of the
Dog, by Michael Parekowhai, situated at Southern Victoria Street; and
Te Tatau ki Kirikiriroa, by Robert Jahnke, Victoria on the River Park. We
look forward to securing more beautiful works to be enjoyed by the
Waikato community.
Karen O’Meeghan
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Judy Darragh
WORKS 1
Mixed Laser Blooms, ongoing work since 1997 $
Acrylic plastic - variable size 7 large, 6 medium, 16 small
Over the past 24 years, Judy’s Laser Blooms have multiplied like a
voracious virus (timely in today’s current pandemic). Their neon-like
edges seem to glow from within their own sustainable light source,
giving them a beautiful and almost dangerous allure – a “living”
plastic life form. In this work, the artist explores the idea that in nature,
bright fluorescent colours symbolize poison or toxins, whilst humans
can only create these hues through artificial manufacture. Entering
the chapel foyer, the work takes on new meaning as it engages with
the beauty and light of the stained glass in this historic space. .
2 Seung Yul Oh
Booboon, 2010 $
Automotive paint and fibreglass - 2450 x 150 x 150 mm - Edition 2/3
Like many of Seung Yul’s recognizable and idiosyncratic works that
reference popular culture, everyday objects’ scale and context are
disrupted. Here the matchstick becomes permanent, elegant, and
monumental, yet retaining the meaning it holds with powerful,
lifesaving, and destructive capabilities alike. .
Stephen Woodward
3
Recline, 2019 $
Cervaiole white marble 1700 x 750 x 400 mm
Taking the form of a reclining figure of tumbled house shapes,
Stephen presents a contemplation on homes, and our lives lived
in them - with the everyday repetition of things to do, always
culminating in rest. Sculpted in marble, the work acts as a monument
to houses and the experience of inhabiting these spaces.
4 Natalie Guy
Shade (black), 2016 $
Bronze, unique, black patina - 400mm diameter
Natalie has reworked the modern classic George Nelson-designed
1947 Bubble Lamp. Presenting the object in bronze, she transforms its
materiality and upends its utility. The lampshade is no longer light in
weight, nor can it emit light. Instead, it becomes an object of beauty
in its own right, paying homage in an everlasting material.
5 Natalie Guy
Throwing Shade (white), 2016 $
Bronze, unique, white patina - 400mm diameter
Throwing Shade echoes Shade (black) as a permanent monument to
a modernist icon.
$ Available for purchase
Martin Selman
WORKS 6
Button, 2013 $
Carrara marble - 400 x 400 x 140 mm
Working in Italian marble, Martin’s work becomes part of a long
history of classical sculpture linking back hundreds of years. However,
his fine workmanship celebrates and subverts this tradition in his use
of everyday 21st century objects as subject. In this work, the beauty
of the material and technical expertise defy the marble’s weight and
solidity, creating the illusion of a cushion’s softness and lightness -
immortalized in stone.
7 Chauncey Flay
Osterns Inversion 11, 2001 $
New Zealand greywacke, steel - 3700 mm tall
“In all my works, there is a physical process of breaking and putting
back together. The language of geometry references architecture as
a healing and rebuilding process. The faceting of stone is a slow and
meditative reductive process that expresses the relationship between
matter and time.” Chauncey’s recent work represents an exciting shift
to a larger scale, providing a more physical and direct encounter with
the viewer and environment.
Anton Parsons
8
Haptic, 2020 $
Stainless steel - 1500 x 1500 x 600 mm
Often large in scale, Anton works are highly finished and often
reference manufacturing and machinery. Seen without a practical
function, the abstract and minimal forms become intriguing in their
own right. Braille is a recurring motif in his work, scaling up the
raised dots of meaning to create abstract emblems that conceal their
meaning. In Haptic the word myopia is spelled in the oversized dots,
playing with the idea of narrow or single vision.
9 Ben Foster
Silver Figure, 2019 $
Aluminium, waterborne automotive paint - 500 x 1900 x 500 mm
Edition of 3
Ben describes himself as a minimalist, interested in reducing natural
forms to their most simple, drawing on subtleties to highlight
contrasts. His sculptures explore how features can be abstracted to
the barest representation yet still conveying particular characteristics,
such as movement and tension.
$ Available for purchaseStephen Woodward
WORKS 10
Black Branch, 2009 $
Indian Black Granite - 1800 x 220 x 200 mm
In this work in stone Stephen examines a branch and the life force of
trees. He makes an environmental plea to consider the consequences
of destroying forests and the future for ourselves and our planet.
“I present landscape and landforms as images to critique human
nature; our need to overlay everything with notions of identity, or
productivity or settlement.”
11 Jeff Thompson
Tin Owl, 2014
Recycled corrugated iron
The undeniable master of corrugated iron, Jeff has used the material
in his work, to incredible effect, for over 30 years. He has created
many much-loved public artworks, such as the Gumboot in Taihape
and Holden in Te Papa. Tin Owl joins many animals in his repertoire,
including life-size elephants, giraffes, and cows, among others. As the
owl is an important symbol from the St Peter’s crest we are delighted
to have this work on loan from a generous friend of the school.
St Peter’s, Cambridge collection.
12 David McCracken
Just Get Me Off, 2020 $
Corten steel - 3300 x 1800 x 1000 mm
David’s latest metal sculptures appear to be large, rusted toothed
constructions, remnants of the industrial age. This work is a looped
form like a zipper suspended from a metal frame. It explores the
notions of flexibility and rigidity in conflict.
13 Mary-Louise Browne
Seeing is Believing, 2020 $
Neon and Perspex - 1500 mm diameter
Mary-Louise’s work explores her fascination with language and
its dual power to interpret and misinterpret, to provide clarity or
confusion, and to inspire or cofound. Seeing is Believing examines the
possibilities and problems of language in the public domain. Here the
neon text is in reverse and yet still readily accessible. Is the real work
perhaps in the shadow that it casts?
$ Available for purchaseBen Foster
WORKS 14
Kārearea (New Zealand Falcon), 2020 $
Aluminium, waterborne automotive paint -
H 1800 x W 550 x D 300mm
The falcon form is reduced to minimal facets, yet retains this
endangered native bird’s essence and majesty. The work is placed in
the landscape of the school grounds against the backdrop of Mount
Maungatautri’s acclaimed national bird sanctuary.
15 Gregor Kregar
A Sound of Thunder, Stegosaurus Lime Rock, 2019 $
Mirror polished stainless steel and painted stainless steel -
2110 x 2200 x 1300 mm (including base)
Gregor creates both figurative and abstract sculptures using a
broad range of media. In this work the formalist elements of the
geometric prism are juxtaposed with the playful child’s toy dinosaur.
The dinosaur now made in stainless steel and on a large scale has a
renewed majesty and beauty, inspiring perhaps the same wonder
experienced by a child when first discovering the amazing world of
dinosaurs.
16 Jeff Thompson
Flock, 2021 $
Recycled corrugated iron - various sizes
Here Jeff presents a flock of humble chickens made with recycled
corrugated iron where the colours of rust and old paint beautifully
suggest these sturdy birds’ plumage in our free-range setting.
Yolanda Hickman
17
Thickets (paisleydolphinsnakeskincarcondensationbottlebritish
camoufluagedogfireiceblockwoodandalbatross), 2021 $
Polyvinyl alcohol, resin, fibreglass and lacquer on marine ply
2800 x 1400 x 1400 mm
Yolanda’s recent sculptural works feature outline-style shapes
of animals, plants, technology, and motifs from popular culture.
“I’m really interested in the contemporary nature of images - how
we’re surrounded by images all the time and how we try to deduce
meaning from them,” She currently has a large public work outside Te
Papa as part of the 4 Plinths sculpture project in Wellington.
$ Available for purchaseChel Chan
WORKS 18
Mind, Body, Spirit, 2011
Bronze, glass, wood
This was created in honour of the 75th St Peter’s Jubilee by a then
Year 13 art and design student. The materials used (bronze for
strength and body, glass for transparency and the spirit, wood for
mind and growth) were chosen to embody the innate qualities of the
St Peter’s educational philosophy.
St Peter’s, Cambridge collection.
19 Alberto Garcia Alvarez
2 in 1, 2020 $
Aluminium alloy - 2700 x 1000 x 1000 mm
Alberto Garcia-Alvarez was born in Spain and came to New Zealand
in 1973. He taught at Elam School of Fine Arts in Auckland for 22
years and has had a powerful impact on a generation of younger
artists. Primarily a painter, his work is minimal, geometric and plays
with texture and beautiful saturated colour contrasts. In his artistic
exploration he transfers some of these abstract ideas to sculpture,
examining similar concerns of shape, edge, and balance in 3D. Here
in 2 in 1 the intersecting shapes engage in harmony to create a work
striking in its simplicity and elegance.
20 Virginia King
Pacific Radiolaria, 2020 $
Marine-grade 316 Stainless steel, hand-worked - 1300 x 150 mm
This double-sided stainless steel work references marine protozoa and
the beautiful and intricate silica exoskeletons they produce. Laser cut,
each circle is hand finished, and the points all painstakingly welded.
Pacific Radiolaria draws attention to the acidification and threat to
marine life dependent on the balance of temperature, salinity, and
nutrients in the world’s oceans. Referencing fossil forms of Radiolaria
that date from the Cambrian era the work has a message about
fragile ecosystems and the desperate need to preserve them.
21 David McCracken
Lovely Boy, 2019 $
Stainless steel - 2150 x 600 x 600 mm
From a series of works that explores the form of a rocket and/or
missile, David considers the contrasting functions of each. One
representing exploration, discovery, and new worlds, while the other
has a darker, more destructive nature. Highly polished, expertly
fabricated, and with bright automotive paint, the aesthetic suggests
shiny hot-rods and the excitement of objects designed to hurtle
through space.
$ Available for purchaseDavid McCracken
WORKS 22
Towards a Better World, 2015
Stainless Steel
This is the latest addition to the School Collection. Purchased with
funds from an alumni parents fundraising initiative.
St Peter’s, Cambridge collection.
23 Veronica Herber
Juju Mama, March 2021
Washi Foto tape - 7000 x 1500 mm
Along with the installation in the kahikatea forest, this wall work by
Veroncia was completed during her recent time spent at the school.
Here she uses her signature Japanese tape placed directly onto the
wall in her most recent geometric design.
St Peter’s, Cambridge Artist in Residence 2021
24 St Peter’s Student Work
Kai, March 2021
Aluminium cans, photograms, air dry clay, acrylic on canvas
All current St Peter’s Visual Art students and staff have contributed
to this collaborative installation which examines food, its production,
and consumption. Values and customs are depicted from both local
and international perspectives. Students have chosen humour, social
messages, and personal experiences to share their interpretation of
“Kai.”
St Peter’, Cambridge student work
25 Gregor Kregar
Immersive Echoes, 2011
Stainless steel
This is the first contemporary sculpture purchased for the school by
a group of Alumni parents. Choosing a work by a leading artist, their
goal was to inspire students with artistic excellence, presenting a work
that could be seen every day as they move around the campus.
A larger work from this series stands outside Christchurch
International Airport.
St Peter’s, Cambridge collection
26 Anton Parsons
Gate, 2020 $
Corten steel and aluminium - 1500 x 1500 x 600 mm
In this work Anton uses aluminium discs to once again denote
braille. Suggesting that the sculpture should be read, or understood
physically, in relation to the body and environment.
$ Available for purchaseGregor Kregar
WORKS 27
Triceratops on Corten Rock, 2017 $
Marine-grade stainless steel and corten steel
2110 x 2200 x 1300 mm (including base)
In elevating the everyday object to the position of art, Gregor plays
with our expectations and forces us to re-examine and take a deeper
look.
28 Johl Dwyer
Colour Labyrinth, 2021 $
Powder coated aluminium - 2500 x 300 x 300mm
In his work Johl consistently blurs the lines between painting and
sculpture. There is a continual investigation of abstraction and the
elements of colour, material, and form. Since 2018 he has been
creating larger-scale works that develop and hone his earlier ideas.
This work celebrates the beauty of geometry in nature.
29 Fred Graham
Kotuku, 2015 $
1300 x 1000 x 600 mm
Stainless steel - 1000 x 1000 mm
Fred Graham is a Tainui kaumatua of Ngāti Korokī Kahukura descent.
He is a renowned carver and inspiring mentor. As part of an important
group of artists who broke with traditional carving and materials, he
participated in the groundbreaking exhibition Contemporary Maori
Painting and Sculpture in Hamilton in 1966. Over his long career, he
has created many important and much-loved public sculptures. Birds
have always been an enduring subject close to his heart, and here he
presents Kotuku, the white heron. The bird is stylised in simple form,
capturing a moment kotuku balancing on one leg dryings its wings.
30 Veronica Herber
Keep your Eyes Up, Kahikatea Grove, March 2021
Bamboo, washi tape, bungee chord - 7 screens 8000 x 2500 mm
Alongside the students, Veronica has recreated an installation first
presented on Waiheke Island in 2017. Here she uses coloured masking
tape, together with bamboo poles for support, to create an installation
in the Kaihikitea grove.
St Peter’s, Cambridge Artist in Residence 2021
$ Available for purchasePaul Dibble
WORKS 31
Huia Construction, 2021 $
Cast Bronze and Corten Steel - 2850 x 2200 x 460 mm
Working primarily in bronze, within the twentieth-century European
sculptural tradition, Paul’s stylistic hallmarks include organic and
sinuous curves, richly burnished patinas and a finely weighted sense
of balance. Birds, the huia in particular, have special significance for
the artist and can be seen in a number of his sculptures as a reflection
on the natural environment, and the threat of development and
progress.
32 Gregor Kregar
Rusty Lullaby, 2020 $
Cast Iron - 1200 x 530 x 300 mm
Here the common garden gnome is elevated to art, requiring the
viewer to re-examine this suburban ornament. “I’m interested in
how something that is usually made out of plastic or concrete and
is associated with a low, kitsch aesthetic can be transformed into
an arresting monumental sculpture.” These gnomes also refer back
to Medieval times in Europe when they were regarded as scared
gatekeepers, watchers, and guardians.
$ Available for purchaseEXHIBITION IN
MANAGEMENT
BUILDING
1 Veronica Herber
Artist in Residence, 2021
Time Fragments, 2018
2
Archival inkjet print on photorag paper
1130 x 870 mm
Edition 2/19
3 Gradient Grey, 2017
Archival inkjet print on photorag paper
910 x 1150 mm
Edition 6/49
4 Medium Grid Small, 2020
Hand torn foto tape on Hahnemule Paper
380 x 300 mm
5 Grey Modern, 2020
Hand torn foto tape on Hahnemule Paper
380 x 300 mm
6 Juju Mama, 2021
Hand torn foto tape on Hahnemule Paper
360 x 285 (460 x 295mm framed)
7 Down by the River, 2021
Hand torn foto tape on Hahnemule Bristol Board
360 x 285 (460 x 295mm framed)
$ Available for purchaseA number of people have made this exhibition possible, and we
THANK YOU extend our gratitude for their support and assistance in bringing
Groundwork – Contemporary Sculpture to life:
Project Curator
Kate Darrow
Project Co-ordinator
Sharon Roux, Director of Advancement, St Peter’s
Galleries
Gow Langsford Gallery
Laree Payne Gallery
Starkwhite
Sumer
Tim Melville
Two Rooms
Sponsors
Montana Catering
TapeSpec
Graphic Design
Kath Carmody
Volunteers
Daryl Horn, Property and Facilities Manager at St Peter’s
The entire Property and Facilities Team at St Peter’s
Kerry Clarkin
Brian Roberts
Finally, and most importantly, to all the artists, without
whom the exhibition wouldn’t have been possible.
The proceeds from the sale of works in the exhibition
will go towards a new sculpture for the school
collection and the next MESH project.
Should you wish to purchase a work,
please contact
Project Curator Kate Darrow
021-706751.MESH-gifted sculptures to Hamilton
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