Art
Quasi
For five years Ronnie van Hout’s partial self-portrait Quasi looked out over Te Ngākau Civic Square from his perch atop City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi. Now overseas, the face-hand hybrid remains etched in the city’s memory.
Pobblebonk
Primordial worlds organise themselves out of chaos in Kushana Bush’s exhibition Pobblebonk, on at the Dowse Art Museum until the 28th of March 2027.
Ākau Tangi
12 bird-like windsocks migrate from land to sea and turn wind into movement and sound in multi-hyphenate artist Phil Dadson ONZM’s sculpture Ākau Tangi.
The third entity
Artists Sam Walker and Chloe Summerhayes complete one another’s unfinished paintings to produce a series of uncanny works at their exhibition Hotel California, on at Nine Fathom Deep until the 22nd of October.
Small universes
Adorn Yourself Accordingly is on at Enjoy Contemporary Art Space until the 24th of October. Using natural and synthetic materials, ancestral and modern processes, three artists explore the possibilities of contemporary adornment.
Green Islands
Isabella Smith talks to Regan Gentry about his sculpture Green Islands, comprising four native trees and plants – toetoe, pōhutukawa, harakeke, and tī kōuka – made out of Number 8 fencing wire, stainless steel staples, and galvanised pipes and plates.
Flip the gaze
The Sāmoan word aitu can be translated to mean ‘ancestor’, ‘spirit’, and ‘observer’, while mata means ‘eyes’. Lindah Lepou™’s exhibition Mata’AITU (voyeur) is on at Pātaka Art + Museum until the 8th of November and asks, have we evolved or devolved?
Excitable Alphabet
Poet Jenny Bornholdt and artist and sculptor Anton Hart share their latest exhibition Excitable Alphabet at Bowen Galleries until the 19th of September. Jenny’s words transform as Anton translates them into 3D totem-like sculptures and grooved discs.
Shapeshifter
Andrea Gardner’s Tableaux, on at Nine Fathom Deep Art Gallery until the 10th of September, sees the artist shapeshift through colourful, textured, staged scenes in an eclectic series of photographs.
Ngā Kina
Found on the waterfront, Michel Tuffery MNZM’s Ngā Kina sculpture is composed of nine concrete kina grouped on the seawall where the culverted Kumutoto Stream meets the sea, reminding us of the pā site that once stood on the shore, and the synergy between land and sea.
The Philanthropist’s Stone
Scott Eady’s The Philanthropist’s Stone stands proudly on lower Cuba Street commanding attention, inviting play, and commemorating one of Wellington’s most generous benefactors.
The Ground Will Not Hold
On show at Bowen Galleries until the 15th of August, transdisciplinary artist George Turner’s exhibition The Ground Will Not Hold explores the relationship between national identity and environmental collapse.