Walk The Line At Michael Hirschfeld Gallery
Kate Woods’ latest suite of work ‘Spaced’ explores the possibility of 1960s and 70s Land Art works being re-located to
iconic New Zealand landscapes.
Lee Jensen has rummaged around the history of typography and design for forms and symbols to make up his work ‘Five
Treasures. Jensen is inspired by print ephemera, what he calls ‘the dust of design’. In ‘Walk The Line’, Jensen and
Woods collage together remnants of history and fantasy.
Jensen and Woods share a fascination with the crystalline and the jewel-like. The idea of the crystalline suggests a
slow evolution of form, from a simple shape to something quite complex and fractured.
To experience Jensen’s work from beginning to end it is imperative to ‘walk the line’ of the Michael Hirschfeld Gallery.
Pattern emerges from the wall, crystalline in detail and complexity, building to a powerful crescendo of pattern and
colour. Jensen pulls together fragments from across cultures; east meets west, in a fascinating interplay of historical
forms and contemporary material.
Through Jensen’s elevation of marginalia and ephemera and Woods’handcrafted miniature monuments, these artists
demonstrate that sampling from the past, the pick and mix of historical quotation, continues to be an important aspect
of contemporary art practice.
‘Fabulous…Wellington must be going off. Bring it on,’ The Listener art critic Andrew Paul Wood raved about Woods’ recent
High Street Project exhibition.
NEW ASSISTANT CURATOR AT CITY GALLERY
Paula Savage, Director, City Gallery Wellington, is delighted to announce the appointment of Jessica Reid to the
position of Michael Hirschfeld Gallery Curator/Assistant Curator at City Gallery Wellington. ‘We welcome Jessica to the
team and know she will provide a wealth of new ideas. We know she will deliver energetic and challenging projects.’
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Kate Woods was born in Auckland in 1981. She is a Wellington-based artist who studied at Elam School of Fine Arts,
Auckland University, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (painting) in 2003. Kate has exhibited in Wellington at
Enjoy Public Art Gallery and Bartley Nees Gallery, in Auckland at George Fraser Gallery, Rm401 and Rm103 and in
Christchurch at the High St Project. She lives in Newtown, Wellington.
Lee Jensen was born in Dunedin in 1964. He completed a Bachelor of Design from Victoria University, Welllington in 1997
and a Master of Fine Arts from Massey University, Wellington in 2005. His recent exhibitions include 'Southern Lights'
at Jonathan Smart Gallery in Christchurch in 2005, as part of the Art Design Collective with Anne Noble and Sven
Mehzoud; 'Deliquesce' with Richard Reddaway at SHOW gallery in Wellington, 2006; and he is currently preparing work for
the New Zealand pavilion, as part of the Shanghai Biennale 2006.
Walk the Line Michael Hirschfeld Gallery, City Gallery Wellington 5 August – 3 September 2006 www.citygallery.org.nz
For more information:
Alexander Bisley, Publicist/ Communications Co-ordinator, City Gallery Wellington T: 04 801 3959 E:
alexander.bisley@wmt.org.nz
The Michael Hirschfeld Gallery is proudly sponsored by DesignWorks Enterprise IG. Thanks also to DAC Photographic and
Digital; Colourcraft; and Publication and Design, Wellington City Council.
ENDS