I spent the weekend visiting several exhibitions in Auckland that I had been wanting to see. These included Lee Bae’s exhibition The Form Before at The Gow Langsford Gallery, as well as Pop to Present and Louise Bourgeois’ In Private View at the Auckland Art Gallery.
Lee Bae, The Form Before, Gow Langsford Gallery
I began at The Gow Langsford Gallery in Onehunga. The gallery is located in an industrial area and features high ceilings and large open spaces, which lend themselves well to the display of large-scale works. On both occasions I have visited, the exhibitions have shown large scale works so well.
The exhibition currently on show at The Gow is The Form Before by South Korean artist Lee Bae. As an artist working primarily with sculpture, I felt a strong connection to his approach to form, texture, and material. In particular, I was drawn to his free-standing bronze sculptures titled Brush Strokes. These works are intended to represent brush strokes, yet are cast in bronze and vary in scale. When I think of brush strokes, I think of lightness and movement, so seeing this idea translated into bronze sculptures was pretty incredible.
I was also interested in Lee Bae’s charcoal drawings on paper, which similarly reference brush strokes without the use of paint. Instead, these works are created entirely with charcoal. Across both the sculptural and two-dimensional works, there is a clear attention to detail, with each form carefully considered. Some works appeared to occupy space in a way that created a sense of suspension or lightness which I always find so interesting. Lee's work really got the cogs in the machine(my brain) going at this exhibition.
Overall, Lee Bae’s exhibition had me reflect on my own approach to creating form and texture. It reinforced the importance of considered decision-making in the making process, and demonstrated how just a few materials can still produce compelling work.
Pop to Present, Auckland Art Gallery
Next, I visited the Pop to Present exhibition at the Auckland Art Gallery. Pop art and avant-garde movements are of particular interest to me, so this was an exhibition I was keen to see. Featuring artists ranging from Jackson Pollock to Roy Lichtenstein, the exhibition covered a broad range of works. Seeing many of these pieces in person, rather than only in books was very surreal! In my opinion I think that The Auckland Art Gallery consistently curates great exhibition, and Pop to Present was no exception. The exhibition was laid out in a way that allowed each work enough space, avoiding overcrowding and allowing viewers to engage with individual pieces more comfortably which added to the overall experience.
One of the standout works for me was Roy Lichtenstein’s Gullscape. I have loved Lichtenstein’s work for as long as I can remember, particularly his process. He used an overhead projector to isolate and enlarge sections of photographs, observing that when viewed closely, images were composed of small dots created by ink. This observation went on to inform his practice and explains the distinctive use of dots that appears throughout much of his work which is so neat!
Louise Bourgeois, In Private View, Auckland Art Gallery
Lastly, I visited In Private View by Louise Bourgeois. Bourgeois was a French-American artist, and prior to visiting the exhibition, I knew very little about her work beyond her large-scale spider sculptures! Entering the exhibition not knowing much about the artist actually allowed me to engage with the work openly, and by the time I had moved through the exhibition, I had gained a much deeper appreciation of her practice.
One aspect of Bourgeois’ work that stood out to me was the way she referenced herself as both an artist and a mother. I found this particularly meaningful, as I have recently become a mother myself. Her work reinforced the idea that these identities do not need to exist separately, but can coexist as part of the same practice.
Bourgeois’ work throughout the exhibition was varied, encompassing free-standing sculptures, wall-mounted works, and pieces suspended in space. This got me thinking about how I might explore suspension within my own sculptural practice. One work that particularly stood out to me was Couple, which was suspended above a wooden, deck-like plinth. Made from aluminium, the piece was so captivating, I could have stood next to it for ages.
Another work I was drawn to was a small-scale house, which I understand to be a reference to Bourgeois’ childhood home. The house was enclosed behind bars and modest in scale, yet it encouraged close observation from multiple viewpoints.
I hope you enjoyed reading, and if you have the time, be sure to check the exhibitions out while they're on, because they are so much more incredible in person.