Fresh Gallery Otara is proud to present…
Take 40: The collection of Giles Peterson
TAKE 40: The Giles Peterson Collection Curated by Giles Peterson
Opening: Thursday 16 April, 6 – 8pm
17 April – 9 May 2009
Curator’s floor talk: Saturday 26 April, 12noon – 1.30pm
TAKE 40 is an exhibition of contemporary art by 40 artists and designers from New Zealand and the Pacific Rim from my personal collection. Several of the works are from exhibitions I have curated over the years.
TAKE 40 includes art work from my first curated exhibition in 1994; other works are newly commissioned or acquired pieces, the most recent being in 2009. There is a sense of history to the exhibition: it’s a journey though a personal collection which never started intentionally as a ‘collection’ but has evolved to be a powerful representation of contemporary art from the Pacific Rim.
TAKE 40 features multimedia work including graffiti art, painting, drawing, animation, hip hop music video, sculpture, photography, installation, embroidery, textile, street fashion and tattoo. The artists come from Aotearoa, the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Niue, Hawai’i, Papua New Guinea, the Pacific coast of Mexico and Australia.
The show celebrates over fifteen years of independent curating, including landmark exhibitions Island Crossings (2000) – the first exhibition of contemporary Maori and Pacific art to tour to Australia; Out of the Blue (2001); and Urban Pacific (2007): all of national and international significance.
Quite a lot of the art in TAKE 40 looks at youth and street culture which reflects my interest in young people, and my work with young Pacific artists and designers. Teaching as I have for over 15 years keeps me fresh and always learning.
“Working with young people is really invigorating and they are one of my main target audiences when I’m thinking about exhibitions.”[1]
The mix of work by new generation and established artists and designers makes for an interesting exhibition; the diversity of creative expression and talent on display creates a charged space where a polyphonic discourse is exchanged: a platform where the artist’s voice is heard and given primacy.
TAKE 40 marks more than 40 independent, curated exhibitions and also my fortieth birthday. The TAKE 40 artists explore a range of issues and concerns such as identity and identification, spirituality, the environment, globalisation, technology, representation, colonisation, survival and about what it is to speak from the position of different cultures. It’s a forum for interaction, discussion and exchange.
“If we are not moved, if we stand still – the status quo is our reward.“[2]
Giles Peterson, April 2009
“I see the exhibitions that I curate as catalysts and markers of change.” – Giles Peterson
LIST OF ARTISTS
Taryn Beri, Kiwi Biddle., Quinton Carrington, Joanne Currie Nalingu, Matt Dowman, Jenny Fraser, Ian George, Kay George, Niki Hastings-McFall, Lonnie Hutchinson, John Ioane, Anita Jacobsen, Juse1, Robyn Kahukiwa, Leilani Kake, Emily Karaka, Marlaina Key, Shigeyuki Kihara, Taylor Kingi, Lily Laita, Andy Leleisi’uao, Janet Lilo, Lina Marsh, Tracey Moffatt, Herman Pi’ikea Clark, Diane Prince, Rosa Peraza, Shona Pitt, Rosanna Raymond, Marlon Rivers, Lusia Samuelu, Siliga David Setoga, David Suine, Taniela Taniela Jr, Ema Tavola, Tracey Tawhiao, Sopolemalama Filipe Tohi, Niwhai Tupaea, Glenda Vilisoni and Dennis Japanangka Williams.
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[1][1] A. McCarthy, ‘Curator in Diversity: Giles Peterson’s dynamic exhibitions‘, Neochroma Magazine, Auckland: Whitecliffe College of Art and Design, March 2003, p4
[2] L. Lippard, ‘ Mixed Blessings: New Art in Multicultural America‘, New York: Pantheon Books, 1990, p22
