ELIZABETH THOMSON: Cellular Memory

4 June - 1 August 2021

For over 30 years, Wellington-based sculptor/installation artistElizabeth Thomson has been drawn to areas of scientific knowledge such as botany, micro-biology, oceanography and mathematics. With images and concepts from those fields as her starting point, Thomson’s works take flight ...

JOHANNA ELIZABETH QIAO TONG: 
Movement, Stillness, Silence

1 December 2020 - 1 March 2021

The paintings and drawings of Movement, Stillness, Silence, survey the evolution of an important Southland painter. Johanna Elizabeth Qiao Tong was born (1983) in Gore ...

Tony Fomison: E ngaro ana i te Pouri - Lost in the Dark

5 March - 30 May 2021

We are very grateful to Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand for the opportunity to present an exhibition of works by Tony Fomison. Having their genesis in the late 1960’s and spanning the early-to-mid 1970’s, these carefully selected paintings represent not only a troubled time in the artist’s life but also an exploration of what it means to be an outsider ...

SUE COOKE: Long Hee Lee - A Songless Land

1 December 2020 - 1 March 2021

In 2015, Whanganui-based landscape artist Sue Cooke, received a year-long grant from the Pollack  Krasner Foundation in New York that funded drawing, research and development of proposals for artwork based on the past and current deforestation of New Zealand’s indigenous forests. ...

JIM COOPER: The Cellophane Circus Visits the Royal Suite

1 November 2020 - 7 February 2021

‘The Cellophane Circus Visits the Royal Suite’ brings together a selection of work made over the past 3-4 years in his Port Chalmers studio. Included is a selection of his rag rug works that resemble paintings, as well as ceramic and papier maché animals and figures, and his enormous strings of ceramic beads ....

MUKA YOUTH PRINT EXHIBITION

Saturday 17 October 2020 - One Day Only

On Saturday 17 October the annual Muka Youth Print Exhibition returned to the Gore for ONE DAY ONLY. This children-only event gives young people (aged 5-18) an opportunity to purchase original contemporary art, by well-known artists, in an environment where adults are not permitted.

FROM RITA ANGUS TO DICK FRIZZELL

7 December 2019 - 22 March 2020

Landscapes from the Kelliher Art Trust Collection

Classic Kelliher landscapes by Peter McIntyre and Austen Deans alongside the Trust’s recent acquisitions by some of the best-known artists of the era such as Toss Woollaston, Michael Smither, Dick Frizzell and Stanley Palmer. 

MICHAEL SMITHER: Drawn

7 December 2019 - 22 March 2020

A selection of drawings by Michael Smither, gifted to the Gallery from the collection of Jim Barr and Mary Barr in Wellington.

NIGEL BROWN: Southern Interactions

2 October - 1 December 2019

Showcases a selection of works donated to the Gallery by significant NZ painter Nigel Brown and his partner Sue McLaughlin including many paintings from when the couple lived at Cosy Nook on the southern coast. 

TIMELY ADDITIONS

28 September - 1 December 2019

Audrey Baldwin, Daegan Wells, Gaby Montejo, Liv Worsnop, Lonnie Hutchinson,
Nathan Pohio, Rob Hood, Zina Swanson

Examines the role of public art and its impact on place and place-making in post-quake Christchurch. An exhibition in partnership with The Physics Room Contemporary Art Space in Christchurch.

REMEMBERING RODIN

29 June - 22 September 2019

French sculptor Auguste Rodin is one of the world’s most well-known artists, and his work had a profound influence on the development of modern art. Born in 1840, he went on to produce some of the world’s best known and most celebrated sculptures including The Age of Bronze (1876), The Thinker (1880) and The Kiss (1882).

SOUTHLAND TREASURES FROM THE AGE OF RODIN

29 June - 27 September 2019

The Eastern Southland Gallery has combined with Invercargill Public Art Gallery to present the collaborative exhibition Southland Treasures from the Age of Rodin.

EASTERN SOUTHLAND EMBROIDERER'S GUILD

1 - 23 June 2019

Biennial exhibition from the Eastern Southland Embroiderers’ Guild featuring both traditional and contemporary pieces using a wide variety of techniques.

THE TAPESTRY TRUST: A History In Stitch

1 - 23 June 2019

​A project initiated and developed by The Tapestry Trust of New Zealand to stitch a series of panels depicting the history of Aotearoa New Zealand. 

ANITA DE SOTO: Our Frocks Like Mountains

13 April - 26 May 2019

​Series of paintings based on historic images of colonial women, created during Anita DeSoto’s three-month residency in Riverton, as the Southland Art Foundation’s William Hodges Fellow 2018.

ROB McLEOD: The Problem With Freud

13 April - 26 May 2019

​A selection of Wellington artist Rob McLeod’s large colourful plywood-based paintings gifted by the artist to the permanent collection.

TREVOR MOFFITT: South

16 February - 7 April 2019

Exhibition by NZ narrative painter Trevor Moffitt focusing on the South and including work from the ‘Gold Miner’, ‘My Father’s Life’, ‘Mackenzie’ and ‘Hokonui Moonshine’ series.

THE WADING BIRDS OF DRYBREAD

16 February - 7 April 2019

12 Months in Central Otago - Recent Works by Gregory O'Brien.

Early last year well known painter, printmaker, poet and writer Gregory O’Brien took up the 2018 Henderson Arts Trust artist-in-residence programme in Alexandra’s elegant Ernst Plischke designed Henderson House ...

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NEW PERSPECTIVES ON LANDSCAPE

15 December 2018 - 10 February 2019

Fiona Van Oyen, Sue Pearce, Robyn Bardas, Miranda Joseph and Hannah Joynt.

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​Group exhibition exploring the landscape and natural world through the eyes of five recent Masters of Fine Arts graduates from the Dunedin School of Art.

MARUAWAI: Valley Of Water

6 October - 9 December 2018

Paintings by Janet de Wagt

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​Paintings by Dunedin artist Janet de Wagt capturing the Mataura River and Southland coastline in all their moods.

AGAINST THE GRAIN

6 October - 9 December 2018

New Zealand Women Artists from the Collection

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​Works by notable women artists drawn from the permanent collection to mark 125 years of Women’s Suffrage.

ABOVE THE LONG WHITE CLOUD: Whites Aviation

4 August - 30 September 2018

​In 1945 Leo White combined his love of photography and flying to establish Whites Aviation, a company that went on to change the way many New Zealanders saw the land in which they lived...

ALTERED GROUND

12 May - 29 July 2018

Etching From The Permanent Collection

Etching is a form of intaglio printmaking that dates back to the 16th century. Intaglio printmaking (or gravure) is a process where an image is scored into a metal surface....

SET IN STONE

12 May - 29 July 2018

Lithographs From The Permanent Collection

Lithography literally means to write or draw on stone. Lithographic lime-stones are large, perfectly flat surfaces that artists love to work on. Using a greasy crayon or liquid, an image can be applied to the smooth surface then chemically treated so that the artist’s work is bonded to the stone...

ROD EALES

24 February - 6 May 2018

Portrait of an Icon - The Crown Lynn Swan

Portrait of an Icon celebrates an iconic feature of New Zealand’s social and cultural heritage, the Crown Lynn swan vase. Crown Lynn is one of New Zealand’s more notable manufacturers. ...

FROM BALTIMORE TO GORE

9 December 2017 - 19 February 2018

Baltimore Artists from the John Money Collection

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From Baltimore to Gore brings to light some significant treasures from Money’s 55 years in that city, and tracks the careers of some key artists including: May Wilson, Lowell Nesbitt, Liz Whitney Quisgard and Sally Hopkins.

MARILYNN WEBB: Five Decades in Murihiku

17 September - 3 December 2017

An exploration of the landforms, histories and spiritualties of southern New Zealand, as developed by Marilynn Webb since her arrival as Frances Hodgkins Fellow at the University of Otago in 1974.

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ABOUT FACE

5 August - 10 September 2017

Selected Portraits from the Collection

An exhibition exploring the unique way in which artists see others, as well as the equally fascinating way in which they view and present themselves... 

NICOLA JACKSON: The Bloggs

29 July – 10 September 2017

Dunedin-based artist Nicola Jackson is known for her vivid use of colour, intricate detail, papier-mâché forms and her ongoing exploration of human anatomy.

MIKE O’KANE: Just Playing

3 June – 23 July 2017

The role of play takes centre stage in this exhibition of two new series of work by Mike O'Kane...

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BLUE BLACK: Lost & Found/Flotsam & Jetsam

3 June – 23 July 2017

This installation brings together a selection of recent work and new pieces created especially for Eastern Southland Gallery...

MOTOKO WATANABE

14 April – 28 May 2017

Dunedin artist Motoko Watanabe presents a collection of woven sculptures. The works on display deconstruct the weaving process by focussing on details of form and by moving beyond function...

LARGE SCULPTURES FROM THE COLLECTION:

Don Driver, Peter Nicholls and Scott Eady

14 April – 28 May 2017

This exhibition showcases the large scale works of three sculptors - Don Driver, Peter Nicholls and Scott Eady - from the Gallery’s permanent collection.  They are all large in scale but that’s where the similarities end...

STACEY BUTLER: Yarns over the Farm Fence

25 February – 9 April 2017

Yarns over the Farm Fence is a body of work completed by local artist Stacey Butler as part of her Master of Fine Arts.  The exhibition is made up of three groups of photographs that together create an agricultural timeline with a sustainability focus.

NIGEL BROWN: All the Jokes about Survival

25 February – 9 April 2017

All the Jokes about Survival is an exhibition of selected paintings from the personal collection of respected and celebrated New Zealand artist Nigel Brown. Over a period of several years these works have been gifted by the artist and his partner Sue McLaughlin to the Eastern Southland Gallery’s permanent collection.

Trevor Moffitt: Paintings 1966 - 2001

17 December 2016 – 19 February 2017

In July 2015 the Gallery was very fortunate to be gifted an extensive collection of paintings by Trevor Moffitt, built up over a number of years, by Enyth Good of Auckland. With paintings beginning with Mackenzie from the mid 1960’s and ending with Hokonui in the mid 2000’s, this exhibition showcases that very generous gift. 

EION STEVENS: A Jigsaw Life

15 October – 11 December 2016

This exhibition brings together a selection of Eion Stevens' shaped paintings covering the period 2005-2016. It is a survey of a 12 year journey through one distinct component of his painting career.

NIGEL BUXTON: Willow

13 August – 9 October 2016

Willow features a recently completed series of works based on willow trees situated on a farm in South Canterbury. The exhibition includes drawings done some 30 years ago and more recent works using a collaged photographic montage approach incorporating oil and chalk pastel.

MARY MCFARLANE: Room Temperature

13 August – 9 October 2016

Room Temperature presents a large scale sculptural installation that Mary McFarlane has been developing over a number of years. Wire-wove walls form two rooms containing furniture, objects, and embroideries; all of which have been handmade, altered or collected by the artist.