The Group: homewares
Objectspace, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
30 January – 27 February 2016
The National, Ōtautahi Christchurch
12 July – 6 August 2016
Inspired by lists of pottery items from original catalogues, Holderness revisits the applied arts and objects from the historical exhibition series The Group Show in Christchurch.
Holding annual exhibitions from 1927 to 1977, The Group gained their reputation for showcasing the latest trends in contemporary New Zealand art, including painting, sculpture, prints, pottery and textiles.
Using the exhibition catalogue lists as an inventory, Holderness reassesses the position of the applied arts and in particular, pottery and textiles within the arts domain.
By revisiting particular epochs in New Zealand’s art history and conflating it with international movements such as the Bauhaus (1919–33) and Omega Workshop (1913–19) workshop, this installation explores appropriation, aesthetic lineages and design archives as sources for contemporary fabrication.