KEY POINTS:
Who says that bigger is better? Abstract expressionist painter Robert Motherwell clearly didn't think so - he once declared it possible to "paint a monumental picture that's only 10 inches wide, if one has a sense of scale, which is very different from a sense of size". And
New York painter and collagist Perle Fine said it's possible for a painting to have impact even in a "postage stamp size". It's this sense of the small but wonderful that is the underlying theme behind a new exhibition on display from today at the prestigious Gow Langsford Gallery in Auckland.
Clock the Ton features 100 new and existing artworks from selected gallery artists, which include John Pule, Dick Frizzell, Shane Cotton, Allen Maddox, Martin Ball, Darryn George and Sara Hughes. Each piece of art on display is less than 600mm2 with a range of media and styles represented, from Reuben Paterson's glitter and acrylic on canvas to Simon Ingram's video work. The miniature works act as a contrast to the grand spectacle of Postmodern art and the Modernist movement, with most of the pieces on display being small enough to carry in a suitcase.
Gow Langsford Gallery manager Anoushka Akel says the gallery team were attracted to putting together an exhibition of smaller pieces. "We were also interested in the idea of scale, so we built it from there. "The exhibition is very playful, interesting... We wanted it to be quite lighthearted for the end of the year."
Though the artworks may be small, they still pack a punch. "It's lightweight, but there's also weight behind it and some really interesting works."
Akel says the gallery team saw it as a great way to open the world of art up to younger collectors or those who may not have been interested before: nothing in the exhibition is priced above $10,000, with the lowest around $700. She says it's about access. "I see it as an introduction to some of the artists' works."
The response from the artists has been fantastic, says Akel, with most involved creating new small-scale works for the exhibition. Sara Hughes is sending some from Berlin, and London-based artist Tim Maguire is flying into the country with four works to be displayed.
"We wanted people to walk in to the gallery and it look somewhat chaotic, sort of like an artist's studio - with a whole lot of different ideas on display," says Akel.
Clock the Ton is on from now until January 30 at the Gow Langsford Gallery, 26 Lorne Street, Auckland. (Please note the gallery is closed from Dec 25 to Jan 5.)
