Artist Talk
Matthew McIntyre Wilson Seven Stars
Wednesday 18 June, 4pm
Michael Hirschfeld Gallery
City Gallery Wellington is celebrating Matariki 2008. Join artist Matthew McIntyre Wilson in conversation with curator
Abby Cunnane about his Seven Stars exhibition.
FOOTNOTE DANCE
Watch This Space / Maatakitakihia Mai Tenei Waahi 2008
Friday 20 June, 12.30pm
City Gallery Wellington
Local dance legends Footnote Dance return to City Gallery for a special event combining art, dance and music for your
pleasure. Check out their improvised ‘happening’ which begins in the Gallery foyer and culminates in gallery spaces.
Matariki Music
Tahu (performing live)
Sunday 22 June, 2pm-4pm
City Gallery Foyer
FREE
Celebrate Matariki and the final day of City Gallery Wellington’s festival season.
Live and direct from their album launch the previous evening, distinct New Zealand music ensemble Tahu will perform live
at City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi. Mixing Maori musical instruments with classical guitar, the Wellington based
trio consists of taonga puoro (musical instruments of the New Zealand Maori) practitioners Henare Walmsley and Alistair
Fraser, and classical guitarist and composer Michael Hogan.
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Press Release. For immediate release: 26 May 2008
The stars are out at the Michael Hirschfeld Gallery
Matthew McIntyre Wilson - Seven Stars, 14 June – 20 July
To coincide with Matariki celebrations, City Gallery Wellington’s Michael Hirschfeld Gallery is featuring the dazzling
work of Wellington jeweller, Matthew McIntyre Wilson. Like the Maori New Year celebrations, Seven Stars features the
shimmering and iridescent - McIntyre Wilson’s use of copper and silver, particularly in the setting of a darkened
gallery, lends itself to thoughts of a sparkling night sky. The artist also reflects on whakapapa, weaving rich family
histories into taonga of exquisitely formed metal.
In Seven Stars, Matthew McIntyre Wilson’s intricate woven kete, hinaki, wall panels, belts and armbands are grouped in
clusters or ‘constellations’ that relate to the seven stars of the Matariki constellation. While they are not all
utility objects, many of the forms in the exhibition are originally useful. Hinaki are used to trap eels, kete
whakapuareare for the harvesting of kaimoana and kete kumera for food gathering. These everyday items are reworked in
scale and medium.
“Hinaki are traditionally woven from native reeds and vines, crafted for the very specific reason of providing food and
sustenance, yet they hold an innate beauty and quality of craftsmanship that needs to be celebrated,” says McIntyre
Wilson, “Through the use of post European medium of copper and fine silver, I have tried to recreate my own version of
21st century hinaki.”
While mainly featuring completed works, the show also includes works on paper, the intricate patterns for the final
woven designs, along with samples and raw materials. Many of the works are on loan from Wellington and further a field;
lenders include journalist Rosemary McLeod and artist Darcy Nicholas. Curator Abby Cunnane says that gathering this
family of works together has involved the recollection and retelling of stories, both those related to individual pieces
and the broader narratives associated with particular weaving patterns. Works sold or gifted continue to propagate their
own stories, many of which remain private until a reunion like this.
Matthew McIntyre Wilson (Taranaki, Ngamahanga, Titahi) was born in Hastings in 1973. He studied jewellery at Whitireia
Polytechnic, gaining a Certificate of Craft and Design in 1992, and later at Hawkes Bay Polytechnic, toward a Diploma of
Visual Art and Design (Jewellery) in 1996. He has exhibited at Avid, Wellington; Pataka Porirua Museum of Arts and
Cultures; The Dowse, Lower Hutt; and as part of the Precious: Seven Wellington Jewellers exhibition (2003) and also
Manawa Taki: the Pulsing Heart (2005), both at Michael Hirschfeld Gallery. McIntyre Wilson currently lives and works in
Khandallah and teaches at Whitireia Polytechnic.
Matthew McIntyre Wilson: Seven Stars
14 June – 20 July 2008
Michael Hirschfeld Gallery, City Gallery Wellington
Admission: FREE
City Gallery Wellington is managed by the Wellington Museums Trust with major funding support from Wellington City
Council. Michael Hirschfeld Gallery is proudly sponsored by DesignWorks Enterprise IG. Thanks to Publication and Design,
Wellington City Council and Courtenay Photographics.
ENDS