Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery

Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery
Map
Former namesLopdell House Gallery
General information
TypeArt Gallery
Location420 Titirangi Road, Auckland, New Zealand
Coordinates36°56′18″S 174°39′19″E / 36.938244°S 174.655171°E / -36.938244; 174.655171
Current tenantsTe Uru
Construction started2012
Completed2014
Technical details
Floor count6
Design and construction
Architect(s)Mitchell & Stout Architects
Awards and prizesNZIA Public Architecture Award 2015, Shortlisted for World Architecture Festival 2015
Website
http://www.teuru.org.nz/

Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery (commonly known as Te Uru, formerly known as Lopdell House Gallery) is a contemporary art gallery located in Titirangi, Auckland. The gallery, which serves the West Auckland region, was originally opened within Lopdell House in 1986.[1]

Redevelopment

The gallery closed in 2012 for a building project, with the new custom-built gallery, designed by Mitchell & Stout Architects, opening on 1 November 2014.[1][2] The building project received a warm critical reception and has received awards in the 2015 Auckland Architecture Awards Public Building and Heritage categories, and the 2015 New Zealand Architecture Awards Public Building category.[3][4][5]

Te Uru's inaugural director was Andrew Clifford, who was appointed in 2013.[6][7] Clifford's departure was announced at the end of 2022, and he took on his next role as Director of the Sarjeant Gallery in March 2023.[8] The inaugural curator was Ioana Gordon-Smith.[9]

Name change

The name of the gallery references the Māori phrase Te Hau a Uru (wind from the west), meaning the air currents the West Auckland (Waitākere/Hikurangi) area is known for.[10] The name was chosen in consultation with local iwi Te Kawerau ā Maki.[11]

Exhibitions

Te Uru hosts the annual Portage Ceramic Awards, New Zealand's premier prize for ceramics. Many external curators have realised independent projects at Te Uru and Lopdell House Gallery, including Ron Brownson, Karl Chitham, Moyra Elliot, Douglas Lloyd-Jenkins, Haru Sameshima, Peter Simpson, Linda Tyler and Ian Wedde. Damian Skinner was curator of the exhibitions Hattaway, Schoon, Walters: Madness and Modernism (1997) and Steve Rumsey and the Camera Club Movement 1948-64 (2003).[12][13]

Major exhibitions staged since the gallery's 2014 re-opening include Seung Yul Oh's HaPoom, Janet Lilo's Janet Lilo: Status Update, Caroline McQuarrie's No Town, and Judy Millar's site-specific installation The Model World.[14][15][16][17]

References

  1. ^ a b "About Us". Te Uru. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  2. ^ "Te Uru - Waitakere Contemporary Gallery / Mitchell and Stout Architects". Arch Daily. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  3. ^ Ireland, Peter. "Cubism in Titirangi". EyeContact. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Strength in diversity celebrated at 2015 Auckland architecture awards". NZIA. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  5. ^ "All the winners from the 2015 New Zealand Architecture Awards". Idealog. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Community connections help Te Uru art gallery director". Western Leader. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  7. ^ Dennett, Kelly. "New Hand Steers Gallery". Stuff. Western Leader. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  8. ^ "New Sarjeant Gallery director revealed". NZ Herald. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  9. ^ "Ioana Gordon-Smith". Pantograph Punch. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  10. ^ Monsalve, Federico. "Te Uru". Architecture Now. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  11. ^ "Name change in store for gallery". Western Leader. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  12. ^ "From the Collection" (PDF). The University of Auckland. The University of Auckland. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  13. ^ "Man on Ramp". Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  14. ^ Corlett, Eva. "Seung Yul Oh exhibition largest yet for Te Uru Gallery". Western Leader. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  15. ^ Corlett, Eva. "Janet Lilo documents the everyday through large-scale work". Western Leader. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  16. ^ "Caroline McQuarrie: No Town". Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery. 2015. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  17. ^ "Exhibition: Judy Millar, The Model World". Denizen. Retrieved 3 September 2016.