Yesterday, I helped strap fifteen paintings & drawings into the stomach of an absurdly long freight truck. This work - it suddenly looked like such a humble offering, packaged up in plain, homemade corrugated card boxes! - will be offloaded at The Arthouse gallery in Christchurch sometime this afternoon. One final painting on canvas and four 3D sculptural pieces will accompany me in my car as passengers when I drive North on Sunday.
Whew. I felt a wave of really strong feeling as that truck pulled away. For some reason, this 'arrival' has a different note to it than it has in previous years. Making this work has been a deeply involving and fascinating journey - this part has not been all that different, at least not obviously so - but the Questions of Balance work seems to have drawn together tight and loose threads from so many different times and aspects of my life. I have the strong sense that the particular explorations of this show mark both the end of something and the beginning of a whole new chapter.
I'll be posting my artist's statement here in the next day or two - meantime, the exhibition is up on the gallery's webpage if you would like to pop in there to have a look-see.
My patient youngest son is in the process of helping me give my website a major lift ( to coincide with the opening next Wed., 26 August) - over the next wee while, new pages will be up to explore, including a more in-depth Antarctica page and a sound-related 'room' called LISTEN with the sub-titles 'Elemental Antarctica', 'Stories & Musings', 'Native NZ' and 'Conversations'. It'll take a while to get it all properly orchestrated, but I'm quite excited about what he's doing with it. I've got so much material that's been sitting in the 'pending basket' waiting for something to be made of it. A web update seems like a good place to start.
If any of you happens to be in Christchurch next week, please do come and join us for a celebratory opening... things will be happening at 62 Gloucester Street from 5.30PM till around dinner time. The doors will be wide open - all welcome. (Oh, and the exhibition will be up till 13 September.)
+QoB_CB+09_Gathering+Momentum_mini.jpg)
Gathering Momentum - CB 2009
Oil, chinagraph pencil, liquin & pastel on 600gsm Acquarelle
Ooh - all the best for the opening - so sorry to miss it. I'm going to be in ChCh for the weekend. We will be at the Phantom Billstickers poetry poster launch in ChCh at 5.30 on Friday night, if you are around come along!
ReplyDeleteWill also be in Chch briefly but hope to catch you!
ReplyDeleteAll the best. I sense a deep excitement. LOVE the photo of the painting ... amazing work.
HI PC - what a pity you're there just two days after the opening; the show will still be on, though (it runs till 13 Sept., so if you have a gap somewhere along the line, do pop in to the gallery? I will be heading North on the Friday morning, so will miss the PB poetry poster launch, unfort. It's such a great idea. Have a great weekend whatever it holds!
ReplyDeleteKay - you're so supportive, thank you. Mike's opening in Chch is going to be SO exciting for you all. The Arthouse is literally just around the corner from the City Gallery (they share a parking garage car, I think!) so we may well see each other! Have a terrific time, L, C