Contemporary New Zealand creative furniture by alternative designers is the focus of the latest exhibition at the Fisher Gallery, Pakuranga from 4 June.
All the exhibitors come from various design backgrounds. The range of furniture produced is equally as different and the results are just as exciting.
Works included for the exhibition are all unique. Pieces have been specifically made to show at the Fisher Gallery. They are items that are not going to be mass produced in large quantities. This enables the makers to design pieces that are for a particular location or extend in some way the limitations ordinarily imposed by producing pieces for the mass market. They are also fun. They conform less to the expectations of commercial furniture and become an art form.
The First Annual Artiture Exhibition was held in a disused warehouse space in central city Auckland last year. That provided the incentive for the designers to create original furniture pieces and the opportunity to publicly exhibit them. This also gave the group the additional impetus to continue their co-operation and expand their activities.
The Fisher Gallery has become the venue for the Artiture Group’s second exhibition. Of the original membership, Marilyn Sainty, Carin Wilson, Biz Dempster, Peter Rogers and Diana Firth remain. Following this year’s initiatives, they have invited a number of new exhibitors to submit works for display. Consequently, this Artiture exhibition encompasses a broader range than furniture to include ceramic and lighting design and work from less established designers.
The exhibition enriches our understanding and acknowledges the diversity of creative design, construction and making. The Artiture Group endeavours to display an emerging style of New Zealand furniture alongside interpretations of international developments.
Likewise some of the pieces made for exhibition are not necessarily functional as this role is underplayed to the challenge of producing a piece that can be creative and ornamental.
As Carin Wilson (an Artiture member) remarked of the Group, ‘This is one of the best exhibition vehicles I know. There are no rules, or expectations of each other, yet it is good to be working with a group. It provides a certain stimulation and comfort that isn't there when you are working alone. If we keep surprising each other with each new show, I think we are keeping the spirit of the group alive... The ultimate achievement would surely be to shift the way people think about what furniture is.’
Press
→ Come and see, Eastern Courier, 08-06-1988
Ephemera
→ The 2nd Annual Artiture Exhibition, 1988, exhibition card
→ The 2nd Annual Artiture Exhibition, 1988, exhibition card
→ The 2nd Annual Artiture Exhibition, 1988, poster