I SEE RED
Works from the Collection

29 November 2025 - 15 February 2026

I See Red brings together paintings, prints and sculpture that explore the colour red in all its shades. Selected from the Gallery’s permanent collection, the exhibition is an opportunity to showcase some favourites pieces, as well as some works that haven’t had an airing in some time. In some works red predominates while others feature only an accent of red.

Red is a strong colour that demands your attention. Ever since our earliest ancestors began applying iron oxide to cave walls and their bodies, the colour red has played a major role in art, rituals, and spirituality. The use of red can evoke excitement, danger, anger or love in the West. The colour red is associated with purity in India, and in China it traditionally symbolizes luck. Red is also a primary colour, crucial to the creation of other hues. 

I See Red includes works by Rob McLeod, Don Driver, Rita Angus, Petrus van der Velden, Peter Roche, Theo Schoon, and Euan McDougall. 

Ralph Hotere, Red, 1997, lithograph