SCULPTURE SPACE
Explore the Fair beyond the Viaduct Events Centre, at the Sculpture Space, featuring a lineup of extraordinary artists pushing the boundaries of three-dimensional work in Karanga Plaza. Sculpture Space is open to the public throughout the Fair. Set against the backdrop of Auckland’s beautiful waterfront, don’t miss this unique opportunity to explore Sculpture Space and experience art in a whole new dimension!
CHRIS BAILEY
Ka Mua, Ka Muri, 2023
Presented by Milford Galleries Dunedin and Queenstown
Drawing on his Ngāti Hako, Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Porou and Irish ancestries, Chris Bailey’s sculptures are physical and symbolic markers of place, identity, and history. “Ka Mua, Ka Muri is part of a series of works exploring the contemporary challenges that our people face on a daily basis. “Ka mua, ka muri” is the Māori whakataukī (proverb) that tells us that to go forward we must also reflect on the past, sometimes interpreted as “walking backwards into the future. Looking to traditional knowledge bases and practices of our tupuna can often provide lessons or solutions for contemporary issues and challenges and can help us from repeating historic mistakes.” – Chris Bailey, Artist Statement
WAYNE YOULE
IF YOU HOLD STILL, TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT (HE SAYS WITH SHAKING HANDS), 2019
Presented by {Suite}
Wayne draws inspiration from a vast well of sources, including figures from his own family life and personal memories, as well as different times, aesthetics, and artists who have had a lasting influence on his practice. Wayne’s diverse practice is also strongly influenced by his bicultural heritage. A keen observer of the ever-shifting dynamics of Māori and Pākehā culture, his practice traverses issues of identity, race, and the commodification of cultural symbols.
DAVID McCRACKEN
Untitled, 2024
Presented by Gow Langsford
Sculptor David McCracken works primarily in fabricated steel. His practice often concerns elevating humble, everyday objects into memorable, large-scale sculptures. After years of working with metals, often experimenting at a large scale, McCracken has developed innovative ways of working that influence the forms he makes. McCracken is interested in manipulating materials to generate their own form, as opposed to casting, which he views to be a more static process.
TERRY STRINGER
Atlas for Ancestors, 2021
Presented by ARTIS Gallery
Terry Stringer is a leading New Zealand sculptor and a key figure in the history of art in New Zealand. Working predominately in bronze, the majority of Stringer’s sculptures depict figures and still-life subjects. His signature works have become synonymous with many high-profile public sites throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand. His contribution to New Zealand art was acknowledged in 2003, when he was the recipient of the country’s national honour, the ONZM (Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit).
VIRGINIA LEONARD
Untitled, 2024
Presented by Martin Browne Contemporary
Virginia Leonard’s ceramic works are ornate, visceral wonders, reminiscent of everyday domestic items like vases and jugs but transformed into melting masses. Influenced by Rococo art and Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, Leonard’s creations are colorful, sharp, and gilded, with a fantastical, Baroque sensibility. Fired intentionally to partially slump and crack, her pieces, glazed in vibrant colors and dripping with resin, symbolize her ongoing battle with chronic pain, turning it into something beautiful.
WALTER YEOMAN
Standing Flow, 2024
Presented by Megan Dickinson Gallery
Carved with a sensitivity to reflect its history, Standing Flow quietly resonates the element of water which covered this piece of Kauri for over a century. Sculptor Walter Yeoman acknowledges the journey of this ancient piece of wood, honouring its resilience by maintaining much of the original form and dimensions from its century long immersion in the waters of the Ahuroa River in Waipu, Tai Tokerau.