Our Senior Curator, Ihor Holubizky, has temporarily taken his expertise and our collection on the road to New Zealand!

Reuniting Old Friends: Ben Nicholson and Len Lye

In 1993, the McMaster Museum of Art purchased an abstract painting by the influential British painter Ben Nicholson (1894 – 1982). On the back of that 1924 work is the inscription: “for Len Lye from Ben Nicholson.” The two artists were close friends and longtime correspondents. Lye (1901 –1980) was a New Zealand born modernist filmmaker and kinetic sculptor. The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth, New Zealand is now home to his collection and Foundation.

Ihor traveled to New Zealand with our Ben Nicholson painting which will be a feature work in Govett-Brewster’s new exhibition On an Island: Len Lye, Robert Graves and Laura Riding opening April 8. The exhibition documents Lye’s friendships and collaborations during the early years of his career, with a survey of works connected to Lye’s stay on the Spanish Island of Mallorca in 1930.

http://www.govettbrewster.com/exhibitions/on-an-island-len-lye-robert-graves-laura-riding-an

Presenting a Provocation on Photography

While in New Zealand Ihor will also be speaking at the Auckland Art Gallery’s Agency and Aesthetics Symposium, 31 Mar — 1 Apr 2017. The symposium is convened by Ann Shelton and Zara Stanhope as a complement to the exhibition Ann Shelton: Dark Matter and to further discussion around contemporary photography.