DREAM STATE DESIGN
exhibitions - visitor experiences - products
New Zealand art exhibitions
Diverse in medium and subject, many of the art exhibitions I designed aimed to engage a broader audience. The examples here deal with three different approaches and relationships in their development.
With Ralph Hotere: Black Light I worked with the curator and artist to establish the groupings and juxtapositions of the works; The long-term art exhibitions at Te Papa; Toi Te Papa and Made in New Zealand explored curatorial ideas around art and identity and included a diverse range of object materiality; Brian Brake’s Monsoon was developed as a touring show and I worked with a curator to ensure the works were produced and presented to the approval of the artist's estate.
Image: Toi Te Papa at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Ralph Hotere: Black Light
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Working with the artist and curator on a chronological layout, the spatial design solution allowed the gallery to be divided by a single wall, with the vertical ‘cuts’ providing vistas to traverse time and helped manage the separation of light levels required between painting and sculpture.
Thematic stories profiling the art of Māori via the mediums of whakairo (carving) in wood and pounamu (greenstone) and development of digital media via touch screens, expanded the discussions around the question 'what is art?'
Made in New Zealand: Stories of art and identity
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The concept of the exhibition title wall was a ‘3d blister box’ (sans plastic) and featured an iconic artefact as the hero object, reinforcing the tagline Stories of art and Identity.
Brian Brake: Monsoon
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Neon was a key design element, used to interpret and frame the four sections of the monsoon cycle, heat, rain, fertility and nourishment. Working with the artist's estate, the exhibition was designed to tour and photographic prints and frames were standardised. Large murals were included to provide flexibility of arrangement at other venues.