In View: Reflections of Whakatere Ashburton’s Unique Artistic Treasures

In View  features a selection of artworks from the Ashburton Art Gallery Incorporated Collection (AAG Inc.) and the…

Falling if not Flying

Michael Greaves

This recent body of work from Ōtepoti Dunedin-based painter Michael Greaves are a continuation of the last four…

and with his kiss i became a braided river

Wesley John Fourie

Waitaha Canterbury contains nearly sixty-four percent of the braided rivers found in Aotearoa New Zealand. Their dynamics are…

Toro

Jenna Packer

The symbol of the bull is seen throughout history, from Palaeolithic depictions of the auroch, to the Minotaur…

An Iconography of Doubt: Paintings of Collective and Private Disaster

Esther Deans

Esther Deans’ thesis exhibition is an accumulation of ideas and imagery from four years of study towards her…

The Magic of Needle and Thread

The Ashburton Embroiderers' Guild

The Ashburton Embroiderers’ Guild has a rich, longstanding history in our local community. In 1978, the Ashburton branch…

Pāua Play

Jane Venis

For this exhibition, Jane Venis has hand-built a variety of instruments that incorporate the culturally potent material of…

Seriously Valuable Art

Seriously Valuable Art argues that art needn’t be expensive to be beautiful, important and life-enhancing – Artists can…

Mana Māna

Kim Ireland

Mana to mean strength, authority, and determination. Māna is to refer to him/her, he/she. Mana Māna is the…

Jubilee: Selected works from the Ashburton Society of Arts Collection

Group exhibition

The Ashburton Society of Arts (ASA) was formed in November 1964 to “promote the study, practice and cultivation…

ASA | 60th Annual Exhibition

The Ashburton Society of Arts (ASA) Annual Exhibition returns to the Gallery this July for its 60th incarnation….

Tuitui Tangata

Group exhibition

The European art of embroidery and quilt making was taught to Cook Islands women by early missionaries’ wives…

Legacy Issues: Lens-based Investigations of Waitaha Canterbury Whenua

Group exhibition

Legacy Issues brings together contemporary photographic artists Mitchell Bright, Conor Clarke, Ella Hickford, Moana Lee, Mike O’Kane, Tim…

Altar, Beautifying Understanding

Ynes Guevara

In this new suite of paintings Timaru-based artist Ynes Guevara looks to feminine archetypes to explore the magical…

Zonta Ashburton Female Art Awards 2024

Now in its eighth year, the Zonta Ashburton Female Art Awards exhibition presented by The Zonta Club of…

Scents Take up the Ringing

Jo Burzynska

Sound and scent have regularly combined in the imagination across cultures. Through both Jo Burzynska’s own research, and…

The Enlightenment Project (expanded)

Marian Maguire

The Enlightenment Project (expanded) aims to make sense of this important age of European history, and the worldwide…

Wind and Waves

David Elliot

Living in Port Chalmers I’m constantly aware of the ebb and flow of both the harbour waters and…

Crooked Spur

Chris Pole

In Crooked Spur Chris Pole has sought inspiration from excursions throughout the volatile Southern Alps, Kā Tiritiri-o-te-moana. This…

Suffrage in Stitches

This year, we celebrated the 130th anniversary of women’s suffrage in Aotearoa New Zealand. When the Electoral Act…

Eating stars together at dusk

Saskia Bunce-Rath

In Saskia Bunce-Rath’s work, thread is deployed, as she says, in ‘a painterly way’ to create images that…

From the Earth

Hakatere Ceramics

From the Earth is the exhibition of the Hakatere Ceramics and Pottery Club.  The show opens with an…

Nurture Nature

Iain Cheesman

Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland-Based Iain Cheesman is primarily a maker of objects that link sculpture with painting, poetry and…

Ngā Taonga o Hakatere: One Hundred Years of Forest & Bird

For a century Forest & Bird has been a leading independent conservation charity in the protection of Aotearoa…

Ngā Hau Ngākau

Ngā Hau Ngākau is an exhibition which is currently touring New Zealand. Consisting of 36 paintings by Robin…

Over the Range: Waitaha Canterbury Landscape Paintings from the Collection

Ashburton Art Gallery was recently generously gifted eight artworks by the Braided Rivers Community Trust from the former…

Exquisite Corpse

Project 21

Exquisite Corpse features Nelson-based jewellers Kay van Dyk, Joel Fitzwell, and Katie Pascoe, who operate as collaborative contemporary…

ASA | 59th Annual Exhibition

The Ashburton Society of Arts (ASA) Annual Exhibition returns to the Gallery this July for its 59th incarnation….

The Construction of Colour

Rachel Ratten

Despite being an avid quilter for 20 years, Timaru-based artist Rachel Ratten is more widely known as a…

I am human, I am not a robot

Ashburton College, Year 11

I am human, I am not a robot — Year 11 Art students of Ashburton College were proposed…

Indigo

Indigo is a Central Otago based collaboration of eight artists featuring Luke Anthony, Shaun Burdon, Judy Cockeram, Rachel…

All the Colours, All the Light

Gabby O'Connor

In the Antarctic, moisture particles in the air can freeze and act as tiny prisms, reflecting a rainbow…

Zonta Ashburton female art awards 2023

Now in its seventh year, the Zonta Ashburton Female Art Award exhibition presented by The Zonta Club of Ashburton in…

THIS IS FINE, EVERYTHING’S FINE

Audrey Baldwin

ZAFAA22 Premier Award winner Audrey Baldwin returns to the Gallery with her exhibition THIS IS FINE, EVERYTHING’S FINE. …

Legacies

Ashburton Art Gallery is delighted to be hosting Legacies, the 2022 programme of artist cinema commissions from CIRCUIT…

In the Round

Robin Arnst

In this exhibition, local artist Robin Arnst has employed the circle as a motif, both as a method…

Tatau: Sāmoan Tattooing and Photography

Tatau: Tatau Sāmoa ma ata puʻe Tatau: Sāmoan Tattooing and Photography presents the work of four photographers who…

Indecipherable Celebration

Gareth Brighton

Indecipherable Celebration presents recent work by Ōtautahi Christchurch based painter Gareth Brighton. Since graduating from Ilam School of…

Earthly Origins: Touchstones of Fired Earth

Group Show

Through their different artistic practices, the artists in Earthly Origins: Touchstones of Fired Earth consider and utilise antiquity…

Capturing Colour and Light

Ngaio McKee

Ashburton artist Ngaio McKee has maintained a creative practice since the mid-1970s, and is a versatile artist with…

Local Knowledge

Gregory O'Brien and Euan Macleod

With Euan Macleod based in Sydney and Gregory O’Brien in Wellington, the works in this exhibition are a…

The Wind of the Homeland – Henry Lowen-Smith

Henry Lowen-Smith

Along with his former mentor, Austen Deans, much of the output of painter Henry Lowen-Smith’s artistic career is…

Rare and Unrivalled Beauty

Prizewinning Landscape Paintings from the Kelliher Art Trust Collection Thirty-two paintings from the Kelliher Art Trust Collection South…

The Moon and the Pavement

A partnership between The Physics Room and Ashburton Art Gallery  | Artists | Teresa Collins, Yukari Kaihori, Susu,…

Alchemy

Alchemy is a glance into an artist’s studio where the intimate relationship with materials is revealed. In the…

The Whistling Bull

David Elliot

The Whistling Bull: David Elliot and Jack Lasenby, features the art of David Elliot, who illustrated eleven of…

ASA | 58TH ANNUAL EXHIBITION

Local Exhibition

The Ashburton Society of Arts (ASA) Annual Exhibition returns to the Gallery this July for its 58th incarnation….

gift

Group Show

gift is a wonderfully eclectic group exhibition centred around the concept of gift-giving. The exhibition encompasses different cultures,…

Freed Up In Lockdown

Ewan McDougall

Ewan McDougall was born in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), New Zealand. His family later moved to Oamaru where he…

Urban Ashburton

Recent development within the town has resulted in marked changes to Ashburton’s urban environment. The revitalisation of the…

Zonta Ashburton Female Art Awards 2022

The Zonta Ashburton Female Art Awards (ZAFAA) return to the Ashburton Art Gallery for the sixth year. With…

Pork Chop Express

Jacquelyn Greenbank

ZAFAA21 Premier Award Winner Jacquelyn Greenbank returns to the Gallery with her exhibition Pork Chop Express. As an artist…

Cryosphere

Jonathan Kay

Jonathan Kay’s photography examines environmental, political, and scientific agendas, documenting landscapes that are located on the fringes of…

Motoko Watanabe

Motoko Watanabe

Motoko Watanabe is a Ōtepoti (Dunedin) based artist. Within Motoko’s practice, less is more. Her large scale, softly…

Braided Threads

Ashburton Embroiderers' Guild

Due to COVID-19 lockdown and subsequent considerations, the Ashburton Embroiderers’ Guild show ‘Braided Threads’ has been postponed from…

Configure

Group Show

Inspired by Womanhouse, the historic art installation and performance space exhibited in Los Angeles, California in 1972, the…

Duration

Gaylene Barnes

Gaylene Barnes is a farmer and a filmmaker. In her solo exhibition Duration, she pairs these backgrounds to observe the…

Cellular Memory

Elizabeth Thomson

For over 30 years, Wellington-based sculptor/installation artist Elizabeth Thomson has been drawn to areas of scientific knowledge such…

Microscopic Worlds | On the Importance of Small

Interactive Exhibition Services

Microscopic Worlds: On The Importance of Small investigates the microscopic fabric of the natural world. Through this investigation,…

ASA | 57th Annual Exhibition

Ashburton Society of Arts

The Ashburton Society of Arts (ASA) Annual Exhibition returns to the Gallery this July. This exhibition is a…

Cinéma of the Rorschach

Mark Soltero

Working almost exclusively in a monochromatic palette, Mark Soltero will be transforming our foyer wall into a cinematic…

On Returning

Hamish Coleman

“Particular locations in Hakatere insist on providing a backdrop for many of my nighttime dreams: a sort of…

A Stone to Strike and a Rock to Stumble Over

The Associates

The Associates are an affiliation of artists, representing a variety of disciplines, exchanging and sharing the knowledge and…

Chromasill

Janna van Hasselt

ZAFAA20 Premier Award Winner Janna van Hasselt returns to the Gallery with her special blend of colour and…

Abandoned Works

John Wishart

John Wishart’s exhibition Abandoned Works consists largely of sculptural pieces, and was originally displayed at the Southern Institute…

Faka-Tokelau: Living with Change

Te Papa Touring Exhibition

This thought-provoking photographic exhibition explores Tokelau’s unique way of life through the lenses of two New Zealand photographers,…

dominic burrell glass

Dominic Burrell

Whanganui-based glass artist Dominic Burrell enjoys his summer breaks in and around Hakatere Ashburton spending time with family…

Porosities

Ina Johann

Porosities is a solo exhibition by Christchurch-based artist Ina Johann comprising drawing, painting and photography in Johann’s distinctive…

zonta ashburton female art awards 2021

awards exhibition

This award exhibition presented by The Zonta Club of Ashburton in partnership with the Ashburton Art Gallery showcases the works…

weather beaten – atmospheres and experiences

Jennifer Harrison

Our 2021 exhibition programme opens with a new series of work by local painter Jennifer Harrison. Having recently…

Lost & Found/ Flotsam & Jetsam

Blue Black

This playful exhibition brings together a selection of recent and new works by Dunedin-based ceramicist Blue Black. A…

Te Pakeketanga o te whakaao

Mount Hutt College

The Gallery is the proud custodian to The Chair, a painting by renowned New Zealand artist Philip Clairmont,…

Fafetu

Lakiloko Keakea

Fafetu is a major exhibition of work by Tuvaluan master artist Lakiloko Keakea, including 40 new works made…

Thinking Unfolding

Print Council Aotearoa NZ

The idea of a book as an art object evolved in the mid-20th Century when artists began experimenting…

Elements

Hakatere Ceramics and Pottery

Elements is the annual exhibition of the Hakatere Ceramics Group.  The show opens with an awards evening on the…

ASA | 56th annual exhibition

Ashburton Society of Arts

Now in its 56th year this popular annual awards exhibition by the Ashburton Society of Arts features over…

Seismic Shift | Coastal Erosion in the Southern Hemisphere

Adrian Hall

Adrian Hall will be taking over the foyer wall in June with a large photographic installation which explores…

north by northwest

Dr Mizuho Nishioka

A cutting-edge approach to photography will be on show in the Carr Family Gallery this spring through Dr…

Celebrating Fibrecrafts

Ashburton Fibre Arts Group

To celebrate the Golden Anniversary of the Ashburton Creative Fibre Group, Celebrating Fibrecrafts is a showcase of both…

echo of memories

Michael Holland

This winter, the large dream-like paintings of Christchurch-based painter Michael Holland will fill the Carr Family Gallery and…

intersecting views

Group Exhibition

This year Ashburton College art students have been exploring the works of three artists included in the Ashburton…

THE WADING BIRDS OF DRYBREAD

Paintings by Gregory O'Brien 2016-2020

The Wading Birds of Drybread | Paintings by Gregory O’Brien 2016–2020 From January 2018 until January 2019, Wellington-based artist…

Disrupted Space

Anthony Davies

English-born, Whanganui-based print artist Anthony Davies comes to the Ashburton Art Gallery with two series of work contrasting…

Once a Wilderness

Ben Lysaght

We still love the idea of a wilderness, an untouched land to discover. However for the most part,…

The creators’ room

awards exhibition

The Creators’ Room is an organisation which aims to provide senior Visual Artist students (Year 11-13) with a…

Zonta Ashburton Female Art Awards 2020

Congratulations to Janna van Hasselt for winning ZAFAA20 with her beautiful ceramic work Totter.  More information here. This award exhibition…

the trappings of ghosts

Melissa Macleod

After winning the Zonta Ashburton Female Art Award in 2019, Melissa Macleod returns to the Ashburton Art Gallery…

AWEIGH

David Rickard

Aweigh; The anchor is said to be aweigh immediately when it is clear of the bottom of the…

the small print 2019

Print Council Aotearoa New Zealand

Print Council of Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ) is a member run, national non-profit organisation that promotes fine art…

DRAWN TO SOUND

Hannah Joynt and Jane Venis

Hannah Joynt is a contemporary drawing practitioner who works in a range of media, processes and scales. Jane…

echoes from the sound barrier

David Rickard

Contemporary artist David Rickard returns home for a solo exhibition in Ashburton. Echoes from the Sound Barrier will…

NATURE REVEALED

DEBBIE LAMBERT

Local painter Debbie Lambert’s solo exhibition Nature Revealed has been two years in the making and captures the…

Replicating Rodin | Sculpting the figure

In conjunction with the touring show, Remembering Rodin/Te Whakamahara ki a Rodin, visitors are invited to come in and…

AEIOU – Explore the Māori Alphabet

AEIOU is an entertaining, family exhibition all about the Māori alphabet. Enjoy learning Māori words through a diverse…

Gathering of Threads

Ashburton Embroiderers' Guild

Forty-seven years ago an advert in the window of an Ashburton craft shop in The Triangle established the…

REMEMBERING RODIN

French sculptor Auguste Rodin is one of the world’s most well-known artists, and his work had a profound…

Atlas of Nowhere

Marjan Verstappen

Marjan Verstappen’s practice encompasses drawing, sculpture, photography, and working with communities. Through these actions she explores concepts of…

Stronger Together | Celebrating Diversity

As our country comes to terms with the mosque shootings of 15 March, we have seen the overflowing…

Ashburton Society of Arts | 55th Annual Exhibition

Now in its 55th year this popular annual awards exhibition by the Ashburton Society of Arts features over…

A Life Less Ordinary

Born from research towards her Master of Media Arts, Humby is intrigued by the beauty of everyday objects in nature and the poetic potential in the ordinary. The exhibition is comprised of various objects of naturalia, artificialia, exotica and mirabilia all presented in juxtaposition to one another.

Croactus

Tony Bond

Christchurch-based artist Tony Bond has brought some playfulness to our foyer space with his wall installation Croactus comprised of 51 colourful ceramic sculptures.

In Your Likeness

In conjunction with the prestigious Adam Portraiture Award exhibition, we will be celebrating our creative community through an interactive exhibition which invites visitors to create a portrait. Visitors will be guided through the basic techniques of creating a portrait and their finished works will be added to the exhibition alongside portraits from the Gallery’s art collection.

2018 Adam Portraiture Award

It is New Zealand’s most prestigious portraiture competition which boasts a major cash prize of $20,000 and attracts national recognition. The award is generously sponsored by the Adam Foundation and is one of the country’s longest running art prizes.

Zonta Ashburton Female Art Award 2019

This annual award exhibition is especially for female visual artists working in the wider Canterbury area. It acknowledges excellence in emerging and mid-career female artists as well as providing a platform for female youth.

Towards Another Figure

Emma Fitts has increasingly focused her attention on developing her textile practice since taking out the Premier Award…

Fluid Scapes

SANDRA HUSSEY

ARTIST TALK AND OPENING
SUNDAY 20TH JANUARY AT 2PM
For this exhibition Sandra Hussey has been drawn to a palette inspired by the New Zealand landscape and waterways. She experiments with the physical qualities of paint, with her works being constructed like a collage, working both directly on the canvas and also layering skins of paint onto the surface of the canvas.

Snark: A Victorian Odyssey

David Elliot

We welcome the imagination of David Elliot to the Gallery with his exhibition Snark: A Victorian Odyssey which explores the mystery behind his award-winning book Snark. Through the “evidence” presented in this curious collection of illustrations and artifacts Elliot invites us to investigate what really happened on the Snark expedition.

The Process of Place

Clive Humphreys

This exhibition of large charcoal and watercolour works explore sites of forest remants and bush on Waiheke Island. Clive Humphreys has spent years studying and learning from the British watercolourists and this is evident in the works in this solo show.

Truth or Consequences

The five artists selected for the 2018 CIRCUIT artists’ film commissions all use the moving image to confront the complexity and fragility of reality. Their formal techniques and topical concerns are diverse, but they all share an interest in exploring how a documentary impulse can facilitate an encounter with our shared world.

Complement and Contrast

Works from the Gallery Collection

Over the summer period we will present the Gallery’s growing collection with our exhibition, Complement and Contrast which brings to light old favourites along with new acquisations from the past.

A Celebration

Malcolm Harrison

This wonderful exhibition highlights the life and work of one of New Zealand’s most acclaimed textile artists Malcolm Harrison (1941-2007) showcasing works sourced from the artist’s own personal collection.

Ashburton Sculpture Symposium 2018

For a second time the Gallery has partnered with the Ashburton Sculpture Symposium (formerly the Ashburton Stone Sculpture Symposium) to support this special event which brings eleven sculptors from across New Zealand and from overseas to Ashburton.

Muka Youth Prints 2018

No Adults Allowed!

We are very excited that Muka Youth Prints is back at the Ashburton Art Gallery for one day only on the 9th of November 12:00-6:00pm. The project is based around the concept that the best way to make young people acquainted with contemporary art is to get real works of art into their hands.

Emergence

David Green

Dunedin-based artist David Green will created an immersive and experiemental space for our visitors in the Carr Family…

Celebrat8ion

Barbara Jaine

This exhibition is the result of over four decades of art-making by local artist Barbara Janie. It celebrates the various subjects and mediums she has experimented with over the years.

(un)conditional IV

Armstrong, Vea and Hewson

Armstrong, Vea, and Hewson have made new work responding to the (Un)conditional series of exhibitions, which explores the concepts of hosting, being a guest, trade, exchange, reciprocity, utu, and manaakitanga, as well as Ashburton as a particular site.

snapdash!

Janna van Hasselt and Harley Peddie

This site-specific exhibition by Christchurch-based duo Janna van Hasselt and Harley Peddie will transform the Carr Family Gallery into a space where two and three dimensions collide. This playful exhibition combines painting and sculpture and engulfs the viewer in bright pattern.

ASA 54th Annual exhibition

Group exhibition

Now in its 54th year this popular annual awards exhibition by the Ashburton Society of Arts features over 400 artworks from local, national and guest artists in a variety of categories.

The Water Project

Group exhibition

Thirteen New Zealand artists have responded to the invitation to ‘be the water’ and create new work which challenge, inspire and call to action every individual inhabiting the natural world.

ZAFAA18

Awards Exhibition

This awards exhibition presented by The Zonta Club of Ashburton in partnership with the Ashburton Art Gallery highlights the work of emerging and mid-career female artists based in Canterbury.

Memory of place takes flight

Fiona Van Oyen

Fiona Van Oyen’s solo exhibition Memory of Place Takes Flight is an extension on her striking multi-panel work I think this is part of my garden…, which took out the Premier Award for ZAFAA17.

Landlines

Juliet Novena Sorrel

For severals days from the 30th of September Dunedin based artist Juliet Novena Sorrel will use observational drawing and mapping as tools for exploring Mid-Canterbury’s natural identity.

Forever Young

Heather Sarin

This exhibition of recent work by local artist Heather Sarin explores the wonders and excitement of discovering something new. Sarin has made work across a variety of mediums including drawing, painting, collage and printmaking.

depARTment

Past and Present students of art

depARTment draws together the artwork of current and
post-secondary school students with the aim to highlight the value of the art programmes in our school curriculum.

In Splendour Moot, Adornment Re-framed

Elfi Spiewack

The amalgamation of the past and present is reflected in Lyttelton-based contemporary jeweller Elfi Spiewack’s exhibition. Jewellery has always been worn as a symbol of self-expression and identification even if the meaning, purpose, materials and designs have changed drastically over the centuries.

New Perspectives on Landscape

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

New Perspectives is a group exhibition of fiive recent Masters of Fine Art graduates from the Dunedin School of Art, Fiona Van Oyen, Sue Pearce, Robyn Bardas, Miranda Joseph, and Hannah Joynt.

pigs, penguins and polecats

David Elliot

Whether hiding in the margins or taking centre stage, animals make regular visits to
David Elliot’s imaginative world and provide ongoing visual inspiration for his stories
and illustrations.

Young Country

Kerry Hines, photographs by William Williams

Young Country is a exhibition that brings together nineteenth-century photography and contemporary poetry to offer a new and often surprising view of New Zealand’s past. Combining the talents of poet, writer and researcher Kerry Hines and the photographic images of William Williams which have been reproduced by international recognised photographer Wayne Barrar.

Impressions

Local group exhibition

This exhibition celebrates the work of 10 local landscape painters who capture the awe-inspiring scenery of Canterbury. For these artists paintings are made on site in the traditional nature of landscape painting.

Doofus a.k.a Assemble, Disassemble, Reassemble

Mark Braunias

Contemporary artist Mark Braunias has made a work directly on the foyer wall over 10 days in Jaunary. This large painting goes by the nickname ‘Doofus’

Forest Lives

Anya Sinclair

Forest Lives is a solo exhibition of newly made works by Anya Sinclair which explore the forest as a fictional environment.

Unless

Annabel Menzies-Joyce

Taking inspiration from the much loved children’s book The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, Christchurch artist Annabel Menzies-Joyce’s solo exhibition brings together a new body of work inspired by her ongoing investigation into our natural environment and responsibility to protect it.

The Joy of Stitching

Ashburton Embroiderers' Guild

This popular biennial exhibition showcases a vast selection of work from members of the Ashburton Embroiderers’ Guild. Members are invited to submit pieces which demonstrate the wide variety of styles and techniques currently being applied by embroiderers.

ASA 53RD Exhibition

Group show

This annual exhibition by the Ashburton Society of Arts, now in its 53rd year features artwork from local, national and guest artists in a variety of categories.

Variations For Troubled hands

Steve Carr

Sculptor, photographer and film artist Steve Carr will  captivate local audiences with a large-scale exhibition set to take over all Gallery spaces this autumn. Variations for  Troubled Hands will bring together three projects by Carr from 2014, 2015 and 2017, and will coincide with the launch  of a new publication by the artist.

Uncovered

The Ashburton Licensing Trust Collection

Recently the Gallery accepted responsibilty to store and care for a majority of artworks held by the Ashburton Licensing Trust under the conditions of a long term loan. ‘Uncovered’ brings to light a selection of works formerly seen scattered amongst the public spaces of the Ashburton Hotel.

Portraits

John Badcock

Renowned Geraldine painter John Badcock will have a solo exhibition of recent portraits at the Ashburton Art Gallery this Autumn. The subject of portraiture is one that Badcocks has frequented throughout his career which spans more than 30 years.

Faces and Places

An interactive, evolving exhibition

Join us for an exhibition which explores your unique identity and place in the world. You will be both the artist and the subject of this exhibition as we explore portraits and landscapes.

ZAFAA 2017

The Zonta Club of Ashburton in partnership with the Ashburton Art Gallery present a new Canterbury focused all female art award with the ‘Zonta All Female Art Award’ (ZAFAA) exhibition. 

The Blurred Fringes of the Hyperbolic

Michael Armstrong

With over four decades of exhibition history, South Canterbury artist Michael Armstrong will be returning to Ashburton fo a solo exhibition in 2017.

Mayfield Residence

The Social

Ten members from ‘The Social’ will occupy the op shop Overflow, in Mayfield for two days. Over this time they will accumulate the materials for their exhibition and will interact with local residents. Their experiences will form the identity of their show and the objects for their installation.

Strange Attractor

James Robinson

Strange Attractor is an exciting body of  work by Dunedin based painter James Robinson. This exhibition brings together a selection of paintings and works on paper along with a visual diary containing additional drawings which inform the completed works.

Yours and Ours

recent Gifts to the Gallery

Over the summer period we will be celebrating the generosity of individual donors and supporters of the Gallery through Yours and Ours, an exhibition of recent gifts to the permanent collection.

I am / We are

Nigel Brown

Nigel Brown has been at the forefront of contemporary New Zealand painting since his emergence as an artist in the 1970s. This selection of artworks, spanning 35 years of his career so far, presents diverse subjects that are all explored in Brown’s distinctive and enduring style.

Painter

Euan Macleod

Euan Macleod Painter is the first major touring exhibition of Macleod’s work on this side of the Tasman. Christchurch-born, but resident in Sydney since the early 1980s, Euan Macleod has produced a singular, remarkable and gripping body of work.

Everyday Things

A Video group show

This exhibition features video works that look at ordinary actions and comprises six films which highlight the strange, surprising and humorous everyday moments. It features artists Angela Tiatia, Seung Yul Oh, Daniel Von Sturmer, Steve Carr, Layne Waerea and Kate Woods.

Drain the swamp. Cut the wood, put up the flagpole

Cheesman, Greenbank & Youle

With strong connections to Ashburton and the wider Canterbury region, contemporary artists Jacquelyn Greenbank, Iain Cheesman and Wayne Youle join forces in a collaborative multi-disciplinary installation specifically created for the Ashburton Art Gallery.

Revisiting the Magic

David Elliot | The Word WItch

We will be revisiting the magic of Word Witch with a mix of seen and unseen illustrations by David. Be prepared to be spellbound and have your imagination tickled all over again.

Six artist respond to the poetry of Joanna Margaret Paul

New Zealand Artists

‘Six Artists respond to the poetry of Joanna Margaret Paul’ is an exhibition of short moving image works each inspired by a selection of Paul’s poetry. This exhibition celebrates the significance of Paul’s work which offer a catalyst for a collection of new film works.

Their Name Liveth

Commemorating our fallen

This project centres specifically on Mid-Canterbury soldiers who lost their lives in service to World War One.

Through A Different Lens / Film Work

by Joanna Margaret Paul

This exhibition curated by Peter Todd, Through a different lens makes available a selection of 13 films by Joanna Margaret Paul which until now have had limited exposure. Joanna Margaret Paul (1955-2003) was a prolific artist with an inter-disciplinary practice.

Kermadec

Lines in the ocean

In May 2011 nine artists were invited to voyage upon the HMNZS Otago from Devonport Naval Base in Auckland, northward through the Kermadec region, toward the Kingdom of Tonga. The ‘seariders’ were selected because of their connection to the Pacific, through art, ancestry, upbringing and everyday life.

When Worlds Collide!

Rachel Ratten

This is a solo exhibition of new work by Timaru based artists Rachel Ratten. Ratten recently completed a Masters of Fine Arts with distinction from the University of Canterbury and has spent the past three years focussing in her professional development as a painter.

Recent Works

Jan Chaffey

Tai Tapu artist Jan Chaffey will bring to light the fragility and beauty of our native flora and fauna in her upcoming exhibition in Ashburton. Taking inspiration from a life devoted to our “inherited environment” Chaffey explores the remarkable nature of New Zealand native plants.

Bosshard Browne Collection & Drawings

Jeffrey Harris

This exhibition showcases a private collection of work from one of our country’s most powerful painters, Jeffrey Harris, collected by his friend and former dealer Patricia Bosshard Browne.

Yokohama Linework

Shaun Gladwell

Australian artist Shaun Gladwell work Yokohama Linework combines to unlikely disciplines skateboarding and the act of drawing. Yokohama Lineworks is a performance and video work which captures a sixteen minute journey as Gladwell skates through the street of Yokohama.

Static No. 16 (fisher-yates shuffle)

Daniel Crooks

New media artist Daniel Crooks and the Chartwell Collection will be Ashburton for the first time, with Static No.16 (fisher-yates shuffle).

ANZAC

LAURENCE ABERHART

For more than three decades, Laurence Aberhart has been photographing World War One memorials that include a single figure in New Zealand and Australia. This exhibition commemorates the centenary of WWI.

The Great Bridge Brouhaha

David Elliot

Inspired by the mischievous Nor’west wind and the creation of the first Ashburton Bridge, David Elliot’s The Great Bridge Brouhaha is a temporary, site-specific drawing.

Bodytok Quintet

A sonicsfromscratch production

Bodytok Quintet is a compelling, interactive, five-screen portrayal of human sonic ingenuity and non-verbal expression.

TONGA ‘I ONOPOONI

TONGA CONTEMPORARY

The Ashburton Art Gallery is delighted to present Tonga ‘i Onopooni: Tonga Contemporary an exhibition of work by thirteen Tongan New Zealand artists toured by Pataka. From sculpture to painting, photography, video and installation, the exhibition showcases the strength and vitality of their work.

Matakaea, Shag Point

Robyn Webster and Bernadette Hall

Christchurch based multimedia artist Robyn Webster collaborates with writer/poet Bernadette Hall in her exhibition Matakaea, Shag Point. This show explores Webster and Hall’s uncovering and discovering of Shag Point a site which is rich in history 15km South of Moeraki.

Forged

Johanna Zellmer

Jeweller Johanna Zellmer’s interest in national identities and cross-cultural matters is explored in her exhibition Forged on show at the Ashburton Art Gallery. Her work for this show is constructed from commemorative coins that reflect a period of German History.

Stealing Lines: Drawing from the Collection

This exhibition showcases drawings from the collection alongside new site specific works created by two contemporary artists Michael Armstrong and Natalia Saegusa.

Titokowaru’s Dilemma

Marian Maguire

The protagonist of Marian Maguire’s new print series is an impressive figure of nineteenth-century Taranaki. Titokowaru was a trained Maori tohunga but a Christian convert; an advocate of peace but an outstanding military strategist; a powerful and charismatic leader but one who lost the support of his followers.

Zonta Youth Art Awards

Zonta Club Ashburton

The Zonta Club of Ashburton in conjunction with the Ashburton Art Gallery present the Zonta Youth Art Awards 2015. This exhibition promotes and supports creativity within Mid and South Canterbury by encouraging youth to express themselves artistically.

Spirit of Discovery

Robin Arnst

In local artist Robin Arnst’s exhibition Spirit of Discover we see the use of modern technology to capture paintings. Arnst has used a photocopier to alter the surface and visual effect of her own original paintings. This act of reworking and reprinting works opens a new direction for Arnst in this latest body of works on show.

Threads In Harmony

Ashburton Embroiderers' Guild

This biennual exhibition of new works by the Ashburton Embroiderers’ Guild showcases a spectacular collaborative work that contributes to a nation wide project as well as individual works by the 35 Guild members.

51st ASA Exhibition

group show

This annual exhibition by the Ashburton Society of Arts, now in its 51st year features artwork from local, national and guest artists in a variety of categories.

Midnight Blooms

Tara Douglas

Light, colour and the obsessive cutting of paper flowers by Tara Douglas make up an installation that immerses the viewer, encasing them in a mysterious otherworldly environment.

Lesser-known tales

Works from the collection

Over the past 19 years The Ashburton Art Gallery has built an unique collection of work reflecting its geographical location. Each piece has a strong connection to Ashburton with a story to tell about the people, time and place.

Current Affairs

PHILIP TRUSTTUM

Renowned senior artist Philip Trusttum celebrates the opening of the new Ashburton Art Gallery with his opening show of recent paintings

Who am I?

Group show

Who Am I? is a unique and playful exhibition which focuses on identity through the art of portraiture. How someone sits in a portrait, their expression, what they are wearing, who they are with and what they are surrounded by can tell us a lot about a person.

Henry’s Map

David Elliot

Henry is a very particular sort of pig. “A place for everything and everything in its place,” he always says. This loveable little pig will warm your heart and rekindle your love for children’s picture books.

All Women

Bev Short

Wellington-based photographer Bev Short has spent more than two years travelling the length and breadth of New Zealand capturing images of women who inspire her – the result is a collection of original and intimate portraits capturing the essence of Kiwi women.

Demolish

Ross Gray

Ross Gray is one of New Zealand’s most distinctive urban inspired artists, he is an advocate for the preservation of heritage buildings and his passion is reflected in his latest exhibition –Demolish.

Still/Life

Sarah Harper

Harper is a local artist who paints from her studio in Mt Somers. She explores her chosen subject with emotion and vigour. She says “My works are often a reflection of the struggle I have with the environment in which I have chosen to live. They are varied and very emotive.”