Sarjeant Gallery senior curator Greg Donson says 'Nō Konei - From Here' is a "true reflection" of the Serjeant collection's diversity. Photo / Michael McKeagg
Greg Donson has 400 years and 8000 artworks to choose from as he prepares for opening season at the redeveloped Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui.
It has been named Nō Konei – From Here and will run for six months from November.
Donson, the gallery’s senior curator, said every item in the collection had been reviewed – decade by decade – in the leadup.
“We were faced with the fact that we can’t tell a coherent New Zealand art history through our collection, nor a European one,” he said.
“What we do have is a really unique collection that has built up over 105 years through acquisitions, gifts and loaned material – from a huge range of artists.
“This exhibition is a true reflection of that diversity.”
He said he wanted people to have a sense of wonder about what they’re seeing when doors opened on November 9.
The oldest painting to feature in Nō Konei – From Here is Flower Study by Jan Baptiste, who was active between 1629 to 1640.
“In terms of bringing the exhibition together, it was about looking at key works out of the collection and building themes around them,” Donson said.
“The freedom of that is we can cross-pollinate over time and bring in historical works next to contemporary photography.”
One important work is Frederick Goodall’s The Flight into Egypt (1884) which is 2.62 metres by 4.13 metres and was on the original gallery’s back stairwell.
That has now been restored and is set to make a comeback.
“The sculpture of the wrestlers will also be there and that alone has inspired a whole narrative of people making works in response to it,” Donson said.
He said in the heritage building, visitors would see photography from the the likes of Yvonne Todd up against traditional paintings such as Curiosity by Eugen von Blaas (1891).
“There will be some surprising connections through there.
“In the new (Te Pātaka o Tā Te Atawhai Archie John Taiaroa) wing, again, we wanted our collection to be a springboard.”
Donson said the gallery’s Tylee Cottage residency, where visiting artists made work in response to being in Whanganui, had been a way to bring a lot of contemporary work into the collection.
“We’ve used that as a starting point, and that includes people who have been here recently like Marie Shannon, Zahra Killeen-Chance and Ann Noble, all who have made beautiful work.”
More than 20 artists with connections to Whanganui had made works in response to the season’s theme, Donson said.
“It’s about them being from here but also about artists making works from this point in time.
“What we like about the title of Nō Konei is that it’s a marker post for us.
“From here, we can reassess what the collection is, move forward, collect new things and do new projects. From here, this is what 105 years of collecting and exhibiting looks like.”
Solo artist projects by Matthew McIntyre-Wilson, Tia Ranginui and Alexis Neal will also feature, along with a new survey of Whanganui painter Edith Collier, curated by Jill Trevelyan.
Donson said McIntyre-Wilson had energised the process of making hinaki (nets) and korotete (eel cages) during a years-long project.
His exhibition will be in the original gallery’s dome, one of nine gallery spaces in the new facility.
Collier was the city’s best known painter and studied alongside Frances Hodgkins and Margaret Preston, he said.
This will be the first major survey of her work since 1999.
“We have massive connections to the Collier family and the entire collection is in our care.
“When people come, they will see a lot across the whole building.
“The important thing that we all have in mind is that it’s a massively exciting piece of architecture as well so we want the collections, the exhibitions and the building to shine.”
Donson said he encouraged all people who had never been to the gallery to “come and give it a go”.
“Some people who have grown up here have never set foot in the building. Now is the time to change their mind.
“Let’s change the type of thinking around what a gallery can be.”
The Sarjeant was a place of refuge, quiet and beauty – ”it’s a cheesy word but really, that’s what it’s all about”.
It was also about new ways of looking at objects, with McIntyre-Wilson’s exhibition being an example.
“They have disappeared from the river and are now back. They’re functional and amazing pieces of craft,” Donson said.
“The other big thing we wanted for this opening season was the idea of the river to sort of wash through.
“It’s always there, whether it’s in Matthew’s work, Tia’s work, or in photographic images.”
The Sarjeant Gallery reopens on November 9.
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.