City Scene - 3

Blue House

Ahuriri, Napier

June 2008, Ajr

StreetscapeNZ - 52

West Quay, Ahuriri

Napier, North Island. May 2009. Ajr

Museum and Art Gallery Redevelopment Announced

Image Courtesy Hawke's Bay Museum & Art Gallery Great news announced last night! The Napier City Council has launched a $17-million plan to redevelop the Hawke's Bay Museum and Art Gallery and this is what it will look like - I think anyone who knows the existing building will agree this is a HUGE improvement. The redevelopment will kick off in mid-2010 and director of the museum and gallery, Douglas Lloyd Jenkins says he is committed to retaining the history and character of the current building while introducing light and space, and making better use of existing areas. "Our exhibitions are innovative and extremely well-received and we have some of the best collections in New Zealand but a lack of space means we aren't always able to fulfil our potential," he says. "This project aims to re-package the outside to match the wealth of objects and projects outside." The redevelopment will make full use of the existing architectural features and it will add more storage, work space and archive rooms. A work by one of my favourite New Zealand artist, Sara Hughes will also run the length and height of the facade of the new building, creating a striking first impression for visitors. Sara's work at Christchurch Art Gallery last year had a real WOW factor and you can see that if you put her name into my blog's search box, above left. It goes without saying that the redeveloped building will be equally enlivened by her bright, bold expression. The Hawke's Bay Museum and Art Gallery has a rich history of cutting edge architecture. The first wing was designed by acclaimed Art Deco architect Louis Hay in the 1930s. The Century Theatre, which has become the cornerstone of culture and performance in Hawke's Bay, was designed in the 1970s by leading modernist architect, Guy Natusch; and the architect for the 2010 redevelopment is Richard Daniels of Opus International Consulting. Daniels was the lead architect on the Staples Rodway Building in Hastings and the new Hawke's Bay Regional Council offices in Napier. A project website has been set up and you can view redevelopment progress from today - August 8th - at http://www.forus.org.nz/. More information on Sara Hughes, who works with bold colour and repetitive pattern on a grand scale, can be found at http://www.sarahughes.co.nz/

Caffiene Fix

Napier. May 2009. Ajr

Early Morning

Ujazi Cafe, Napier

StreetscapeNZ - 27

City Centre

Napier, Hawke's Bay

For others in this series click on StreetscapeNZ in the index line below this posting

When Art Meets Tin Cans

Works by Ben Pearce. Images supplied by Artist.

I’ve written about Napier artist/sculptor Ben Pearce before – click on his name in the label line below and you’ll be able to read about him in his studio for instance. Now he’s emerged from his home-based workplace to present a new show at Hawke’s Bay Museum & Art Gallery called Utterance. It’s all about survival, adaptation and communication - “work that explores the physicality of altered and protected memoryscapes; a kind of memory map town, using the image of the tin can to allude to survival, disasters and preservation.” Ben has also made a full-scale grandfather clock as “a kind of tribute” to his great-grandfather, who worked as a watchmaker but he views the piece as “a kind of treehouse at the same time, a place for solace and isolation.” Ben’s world of ‘fantastic creatures, of writhing chrysalis-like forms that appear to colonise tin cans carefully created from hardwood timbers, is set to open in Napier on March 7th and runs until May 17. www.hbmag.co.nz www.benpearce.co.nz

In the Black

"Coral/Floral" by David Trubridge. Napier 2008. Ajr

Just by way of a change, let me introduce David Trubridge's wildly popular lighting design, "Coral/Floral" in black. I photographed this last year in David's hometown, Napier. You don't often see it in black so of course I HAD to snap it. For others in this series click on David Trubridge in the label line below. www.davidtrubridge.com

StreetscapeNZ - 15

The Waterfront

Ahuriri, Napier

For others views of New Zealand streets, click on StreetscapeNZ in the label line below this post.

StreetscapeNZ - 3

Napier

North Island

June 2008 Ajr

Switched On

Nood, Christchurch. Sept.2008. Ajr

I couldn’t resist taking yet another photograph of ‘Coral/Floral,’ the best selling kitset light designed by Napier’s David Trubridge. This shot was taken in the Christchurch store, Nood (New Objects of Desire). I’ve also photographed it here and if you click on David Trubridge in the label line below you will see it in another guise - along with several other examples of David's sculptural works.

Meet the People - 16

Another in the series Meet the People - Ordinary and Extraordinary New Zealanders doing Interesting Things - Angela Bashnick has created a gorgeous spot, Port'O'Call - part gift shop, part old-fashioned tea shop - in Napier's popular portside suburb of Ahuriri. It's all romance, flowerbuds and feminism and if you're the sort who likes to reminisce about days gone by, this is the place for you. You can choose your own cup, plate and saucer from Angela's collection of old china; you can dress up in fancy hats; or you can simply indulge in the heavenly edible treats that she displays under glass domes. It's always inspiring to see someone thinking outside the square - especially when it comes to the hospitality industry.

Artist Studios - 8

Leanne Culy. Napier, June 2008. Ajr

Leanne Culy spent most of her working life in Wellington as a graphic designer and stylist in the film industry. Now she works out of a fabulous studio in her Napier home creating her artworks on old oars. She has a passion for nostalgia, the way things were and much of her imagery is based around familiar New Zealand icons – the tiki, flax, shells, plants lace and teapots. She loves to mix European and ethnic symbols and colours. More recently she has also created Home Base Collections, a range of fabrics printed with her designs. www.homebasecollections.co.nz

Self-Portrait 5 - On a Beach

Napier. June 2007. Ajr

It's tall, thin shadow time again!

On Napier's foreshore.

That's Cape Kidnappers in the background.

A Playful Eye

"Gadget" Ben Pearce. Photo Supplied.

Napier Sculptor Ben Pearce draws on the toys and memories of his own childhood in the creation of his contemporary sculptures. I find something innately joyful in his works, something that effortlessly unlocks the pathways to my own childhood memories. As far as I’m concerned, that’s what successful artistic communication is all about.

Design Spot 6

Sandi Reefman, Napier. June 2008. Ajr

Meet Sandi Reefman, the Napier creator of the fabulous and rapidly-expanding Esther Diamond Collection – a quirky, colourful range of homeware products that incorporates the designs and artwork of several leading New Zealand artists including Dick Frizzell, Para Matchitt, Fane Flaws, Martin Poppelwell and Ben Pearce. I LOVE the idea of drying my dishes on a tea-towel emblazoned with a Dick Frizzell design or a witty work by Martin Poppelwell; or, in a loose moment, wiping dribbled food from my chin with a table napkin that really looks as though it ought to be framed. It’s all about getting contemporary art out to a much wider audience says Sandi, and I’m all for that. I think it’s a brilliant concept that deserves all the support it is currently getting. See here for more of this gorgeous range. www.estherdiamond.com www.eon.co.nz

Soft Landings

June 2008. Ajr This is just a tiny taste of the terrific cushions from the Esther Diamond Collection. Top: two from nationally acclaimed artist, Dick Frizzell; Bottom left; a witty offering from Napier-based Martin Poppelwell; Bottom right: a new take on the stag’s head from Napier artist, Leanne Culy. You can see a whole lot more of this creative take on household comforts by tuning in to: www.estherdiamond.com or www.eon.co.nz

Dreaming of The Farm

It’s snowing here in Christchurch – right now – snowflakes are fluttering into my garden as I write. So I have distracted myself with dreams of being tucked away in the luxurious comforts of The Farm at Cape Kidnappers – one of New Zealand’s newest luxury lodges. The sister property to Northland’s spectacular Kauri Cliffs, The Farm has been designed to reflect the region’s farm buildings and sitting high above the golf course, it has amazing views all the way back to Napier. The amazing par 71 golf course, designed by Tom Doak came first. It opened four years ago and even if you’re not a golfer, you should visit The Farm’s website and take a look at this incredible feat of construction. Located on the cliff tops of Cape Kidnappers (the ocean surges 800 feet below), “it has been hailed as one of the great modern marvels of golfing and is currently ranked 41st best golf course in the world by Golf Magazine.” I took the hilltop view of The Farm when I visited Napier last week. The interior shots are supplied. www.capekidnappers.com

Ugly Art

Napier waterfront. June 2008. Ajr

Am I the only person who finds this sculpture

on the Napier waterfront

supremely ugly?

Art & The Law

Napier. June 2008.Ajr

Here's another example of Napier's colourful mural art.

This time decorating the walls of the city's police station.

I rather like the irony of 'street art' - organised or otherwise - defining the police precinct.

Artist Studios - 7

Ben Pearce Sculptures. Top left:"Sam"; bottomleft:"Morris"; Bottom Right:"Hamish & Henriette."

In the making of his highly tactile, often toy-like wooden sculptures, Napier artist, Ben Pearce wonders if he might be “living out his frustrated childhood” – a childhood characterised by a fascination with the discovery of things and how they worked. In the absence of the toys he hankered after he often made his own. Today his silky wooden chrysalis forms are imbued with individual personalities, their little appendages, springs and ‘speakers’ swelling up with unspoken words and imaginings. And they have names – human names - like Sam, Morris, Hamish and Henriette, which doesn’t come as any real surprise when you learn that Ben has named the family cat Barry. When I visited Ben in his wood-filled home studio- complete with lathe, a craftsman’s tools, a million wooden off-cuts and sweet-smelling wood shavings - he was engrossed in the making of, what seemed to me, some sort of other-worldly fantasy city – an ever-expanding labyrinthine creation that threatened to take over his work space. www.cicadastudios.com