Arts And Music New works to go on show

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32474, 8 December 1970, Page 12

Arts And Music New works to go on show

me spring art exhibition reason is tapering off, there is unlikely to be a summer drought for gallery-goers in Christchurch. Both major Christchurch galleries have major shows scheduled in the next few months.

In the Robert' McDougall Gallery, holiday visitors will have an opportunity to see assembled the works by leading New Zealand painters, printmakers and potters acquired by the gallery in the last 12 months.

Prominent among these are a large W. A. Sutton -oil of the Port Hills purchased from the artist’s one-man show in the C.S.A. gallery about the middle of the year, and Don Binney’s “Christchurch Garden Bird,” bought from the Group Show last month.

The gallery has also 1 acquired a number of prints, i and some early New Zealand works, including a Kinder water-colour, and a ‘ Nerli work (he was one of * Frances Hodgkins’s teachers), i A new name in the collection | is that of R. N. Field, a Bri- , tish art teacher who was, ‘ with others, brought out in the 1930 s under a special Government scheme. There is also an Archibald Nicoll landscape, an early water-cblour by W. A. Sutton, a Sidney Nolan print, which was given to the gallery by the Mayor (Mr A. R. Guthrey), and some pottery. At present the gallery is showing a collection of U.N.E.S.C.O. reproductions entitled "Painting 1900-1925: Major Movements in European Art.” This will continue until December 17, and the works from the permanent collection will go up then as a holiday exhibition. Looking ahead to next year, the gallery’s director (Mr B. D. Muir) is planning two major exhibitions of Canterbury art in March: recent Canterbury paintings, and then recent Canterbury prints. Works for these shows will be borrowed from the artists. Several overseas exhibitions are already tentatively scheduled for next year, but because of the vagaries of shipping experienced with overseas shows this year the gallery has not yet set any dates for them.

In the C.S.A. gallery, the one-man show recently opened by Tony Geddes will continue until January, and it will be supplemented later this month with two collections: eight posters for the 1972 Olympic Games by leading German graphic artists, and a collection of chil-' den’s art drawn from the art society’s classes held in the gallery on Saturday mornings. These will go up on Friday and will stay over Christmas and the 'New Year. Throughout the holidays the C.S.A.’s selling gallery will remain open, and the society is also seeking ~a loan exhibition as an extra holiday attraction. Two one-man shows by Alan Pearson and Tony Fomison are definitely scheduled for March, and it is possible that Ralph Hotere, a former Hodgkins fellow, will have a one-man show in February. But he has made no decision yet, and may wait until July. The major event on the society’s calendar for the early months of next year is a retrospective exhibition by Rudy Gopas. This is scheduled for April.