The thrum of the tide

The thrum of the tide is a project by artists Jenny Gillam and Eugene Hansen (Maniapoto) that delves into the 20th century story of Te Ana Ru cave, known as ‘the ballroom cave’. The exhibition features taonga pūoro by Riki Bennett. Presented in association with the Auckland Arts Festival.

20 February 2021 — 6 June 2021  |  See exhibition detail

Ana Iti: How should we talk to one another?

Recent McCahon House Resident Ana Iti (Te Rarawa) presents a new exhibition of work created during her time at the McCahon House studio between July and September 2020. The exhibition will look at the writing of Māori woman authors, and the journey of language learning.

27 February 2021 — 23 May 2021  |  See exhibition detail

Steve Carr and Christian Lamont: Fading to the sky

Recent McCahon House Resident Steve Carr has collaborated with emerging artist Christian Lamont to present a new exhibition at Te Uru. A series of works from each artist will be presented in the gallery, overlapping and abstractly communing around themes of light, atmosphere and grief.

27 February 2021 — 30 May 2021  |  See exhibition detail

Shannon Te Ao: Ka mua, ka muri

Ka mua, ka muri explores experiences of time, history and song. Showing for the first time in Aotearoa, the exhibition was originally co-commissioned by two major Canadian galleries, Oakville Galleries, Toronto and Remai Modern, Saskatoon, with the support of Creative New Zealand. For this homecoming exhibition, Te Ao has added new works from his recent 2020 exhibition Mā te wā, as well as a new text work in collaboration with Kurt Komene (Te Ātiawa, Taranaki Whānui).

6 March 2021 — 23 May 2021  |  See exhibition detail

Anna Crichton: Wayward works

Anna Crichton: Wayward works Te Uru presents Wayward works, an exciting selection of originals and work in print by local illustrator Anna Crichton. Over many years, award-winning satirical illustrator Anna Crichton has enhanced both New Zealand and overseas publications with her sharply drawn cartoons, caricatures and illustrations.

6 March 2021 — 23 May 2021  |  See exhibition detail

Lisa Walker: She wants to go to her bedroom but she can't be bothered

An ambitious retrospective exhibition looking at Lisa Walker’s 30-year career as a pioneer of contemporary jewellery. Previously shown at CODA Museum in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands (2020); Museum Villa Stuck in Munich, Germany (2019), RMIT Design Hub Melbourne (2019), and Te Papa in Wellington (2018), Te Uru is delighted to present this major exhibition across two floors, accommodating over 250 pieces – a homecoming for these works that have travelled across the world.

5 June 2021 — 29 August 2021  |  See exhibition detail

Maori moving image ki Te Uru

Te Uru is delighted to present the latest iteration of Māori Moving Image. Examining photographs, texts and oral histories, the exhibition will portray the resilience and continuation of mātauranga Māori through a selection of moving image works by artists whose practices examine ‘the archive’.

12 June 2021 — 10 October 2021  |  See exhibition detail

The moon was talking

West Auckland photographer Edith Amituanai MNZM presents a series of portraits made with Year 11 art students at Kelston Girls College through the Ministry of Education’s Creatives in Schools initiative.

31 July 2021 — 27 February 2022  |  See exhibition detail

Mercury in retrograde

Mercury in retrograde: clay, earth, mud and ceramics brings together four artists working dynamically with the grounding materials of the earth. Artists Iza Lozano, Zhu Ohmu, Maia McDonald, and Te Ara Minhinnick present works that embrace, innovate and invert the practice of ceramics, challenging traditional notions and broadening our understanding of clay as an ever-contemporary material.

10 November 2021 — 12 December 2021  |  See exhibition detail

Marti Friedlander: Portraits of the Artists

Marti Friedlander (1928–2016) - one of New Zealand’s most outstanding and influential photographers - made portraits of artists, writers, potters, actors, film makers and musicians from 1959 to 2015. This was a conscious project on her part, initially motivated by her belief that creative people in the arts did not receive the public recognition they deserved from mainstream New Zealand society.

10 November 2021 — 28 November 2021  |  See exhibition detail

Stars start falling

Stars start falling brings together existing and newly commissioned works by Teuane Tibbo, Ani O’Neill and Salome Tanuvasa, many seen here in public for the first time.

10 November 2021 — 20 February 2022  |  See exhibition detail

Steve Carr: In Bloom

In bloom was developed by artist Steve Carr during his 2020 residency at McCahon House in nearby French Bay. Cast in bronze from car tyres and presented with living plants, In bloom presents a contrast in materials to provide a moment of reflection on states of permanence and change.

20 November 2021 — 6 March 2022  |  See exhibition detail

Antireality perversion void

Building upon her own transdisciplinary art practice, recent McCahon House artist in residence, Jess Johnson, has curated a collection of ceramic objects by makers who work from the underbelly of contemporary ceramics, where the gothic, punk, macabre, mythological, and magikal prevail.

4 December 2021 — 27 February 2022  |  See exhibition detail

Portage 21

The Portage Ceramic Awards are an annual showcase of contemporary ceramics in Aotearoa. After last year’s 20-year retrospective, which brought together the winning works from 2001 to 2019, this year marks the return of the open-call competition and includes new work made throughout 2020 and 2021.

4 December 2021 — 27 February 2022  |  See exhibition detail

George Watson: Kotiro, Emepaea

Kōtiro, Emepaea is the first major solo exhibition by George Watson (Ngāti Porou, Moriori, Ngāti Mutunga) comprising a newly commissioned video and installation. The work draws on the artist’s ongoing interest in the literature and life of modernist writer Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) in order to explore concepts of imagination, desire, belonging, and the politics of memory in settler Aotearoa.

18 December 2021 — 20 February 2022  |  See exhibition detail