Thursday 2 September 2010

Abstract issues

You've got three days left to get to Simon Morris's show at Two Rooms gallery in Auckland (if you're an out-of-towner like me, you'll need a map - god bless you, GPS-enabled iPhone).




Last weekend was my first visit to Two Rooms, and I was smitten with the spaces. It's also good to see a gallery committed to contemporary abstract painting, an area curators of contemporary art in New Zealand seem to have little appetite for.

Morris's new series of Daily paintings looked terrific in the long sun-lit space: one of my favourite things about these works is the way they shift when viewed in natural and artificial light: in natural light they're cooler and more restrained - in artificial light a glow comes through.

I also got my first chance to see Joachim Bandau's work in the flesh, after admiring from afar online.


The next show up at Two Rooms, Colour Light Time, curated by David Thomas, brings Bandau's and Morris's work together, along with a number of other artists working within and over the tradition of the monochrome. With the recent news that Stephen Bambury is joining the Two Rooms stable, this all seems to point towards a concentrated focus on contemporary abstract art.




If you're in the vicinity, you should also check out Steve Carr's very fetching show at Michael Lett gallery (and off-shoot at split/fountain)/ I've always enjoyed Carr's lighthearted work and unobtrusive craftsmanship - I was particularly taken by the carved gloves in 'The Weight of the Sun'.

Images from top
Simon Morris Daily Paintings, on show at Two Rooms until 4 September
Joachim Bandau's March 2010 exhibition at Two Rooms
Steve Carr's Hanging Glove, at Michael Lett

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