Past exhibitions
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Usher in
A Group Exhibition 2 Apr - 3 May 2025 Marking the beginning of a new chapter for The Central Art Gallery and the smooth transition from past owners to new, usher in is a rejunvenated exhibition of its predecessor,... Read more -
Finale!
Group Exhibition 13 - 27 Mar 2025 The Central Art Gallery team are very pleased to be able to present a final celebratory exhibition—Finale! Bringing together a group of talented artists, many of whom would have exhibited... Read more -
Beneath the surface | Fiona Van Oyen
13 Feb - 8 Mar 2025 All artworks in Beneath the surface are drawn from the same source image-a photo of a small cluster of 'weeds' in the Te Kuru Wetland. The word 'weeds' is in... Read more -
Barnes & Burrowes
17 Jan - 8 Feb 2025 Jordan Barnes ' new body of work explores the notion of solitude and isolation as a physical state and an emotional and psychological experience. Through the lens of the human... Read more
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Invisible Ties | Group Exhibition
7 Nov - 19 Dec 2024 For an artist, connection with other creatives can play a vital role in how they define, understand, and interpret their artistic practice-within their immediate communities, culture, and the wider world.... Read more -
All Things Considered by Dick Frizzell
3 Oct - 2 Nov 2024 'All Things Considered' highlights Dick Frizzell's remarkable 50 year career. Well-known for his pop art paintings and prints, and often controversial subject matter, Dick's oeuvre is substantially more than the... Read more -
The life cycle of Māhina by Michel Tuffery
29 Aug - 28 Sep 2024 The life cycle of Māhina is an eagerly anticipated exhibition of new works by Michel Tuffery, including woodcut prints, graphite drawings, and metal sculptures. This body of work was inspired... Read more -
Chroma by Zara Dolan
26 Jul - 24 Aug 2024 Chroma exhibition of Monotype prints by Ōtautahi Christchurch artist Zara Dolan. Read more
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How to Slay a Dragon by Pete Wheeler
26 Jul - 24 Aug 2024 How to Slay a Dragon exhibition of oil paintings by Ōtepoti Dunedin artist Pete Wheeler. Read more -
Mum & Dad's Garden at Night by Salome Tanuvasa
20 Jun - 20 Jul 2024 Mum & Dad's Garden at Night, inaugural solo South Island exhibition by Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland based Tongan Sāmoan artist Salome Tanuvasa. Read more -
In the Night Garden by Hannah Kidd
16 May - 16 Jun 2024 As kaitiaki (guardian) of her tiny block of Waitaha land, artist Hannah Kidd (Ngāti Toa) has witnessed regular nightly devastation of her newly-planted natives. Preyed upon by both native and... Read more -
Karl Maughan | New Paintings
12 Apr - 12 May 2024 Artist Karl Maughan, described as a 'painterly landscape architect,' continues his connoisseurship of the cultivated garden in this new body of work. Painting gardenscapes, composed within his imagination but inspired... Read more
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Awareness, the key to it all by Veronica Herber
7 Mar - 7 Apr 2024 In creating works for Awareness, the key to it all , Veronica Herber was determined to extend her practice both physically and emotionally. With overseas travel, and a well-earned break,... Read more -
Sharing the Dry by Bing Dawe
1 Feb - 3 Mar 2024 Sharing the Dry is a collection of new works exploring ideas and observations around the storage and protection of water and the importance natural hydro systems play in the environment.... Read more -
Stanley Palmer & Layla Walter, with Kirstin Carlin
7 Dec 2023 - 28 Jan 2024 Stanley Palmer New landscape paintings by esteemed artist Stanley Palmer continue to evoke his longstanding love affair with Aotearoa's countryside-in particular where land meets the sea-portraying a harmony between nature... Read more -
Emma Camden Collection
with new works by Elizabeth Moyle and Veronica Herber 9 Nov - 3 Dec 2023 Emma Camden is a Whanganui-based glass artist concerned about our environment and inspired by architecture. Her glass works are strong and brutal, with no intentional ‘pretty’ aesthetic, yet they captivate... Read more
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John Walsh
5 Oct - 5 Nov 2023 Signature blue and green landscapes, often portrayed in the lowlight of day or the deep of night, are John Walsh’s vehicle for a myriad of narratives expressed with humour, wry... Read more -
Encore
31 Aug - 1 Oct 2023 Encore – to ask for, to look again and applaud. We’ve done the asking, rummaged in the stockroom, and are delighted to present a wonderful range of work from amongst... Read more -
Cellular Memory by Elizabeth Thomson
selected works from the touring exhibition 27 Jul - 26 Aug 2023 Cells are the building blocks of us all. We embody this complex living firmament. And Elizabeth Thomson’s exhibition Cellular Memory, explores and revels in the structure and patterns of being.... Read more -
Kekerengu Dreamtime by Simon Edwards
22 Jun - 23 Jul 2023 Kekerengu Dreamtime by Simon Edwards Kekerengu Dreamtime enjoyed a WoW debut at the Aotearoa Art Fair last November. The series has grown and evolved again. We are very pleased to... Read more
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Messing the Field: New works by Jamie Te Heuheu and Leigh Martin
18 May - 18 Jun 2023 Colour field painting has a long rich history. So how now, do painters make something their own in this genre? Are there still boundaries to push, expectations to confound, and... Read more -
One Million Marks by Chauncey Flay
13 Apr - 14 May 2023 It all started with the question, “What is infinity?” Which evolved into a process of making one million marks – a full year of work for artist, Chauncey Flay. Using... Read more -
Hutchinson and Turner
9 Mar - 9 Apr 2023 Two artists with deep connections to Ōtautahi/Christchurch show alongside one another here at The Central, from Thursday, March 9th . Lonnie Hutchinson and Stacey Turner have moved back to the... Read more -
Anatomical Garden by Fiona Van Oyen
2 Feb - 5 Mar 2023 Anatomical Garden Fiona Van Oyen 2nd February - 5th March 2023 'Fiona Van Oyen's prints are a response to specific landscapes that have meaning to her in her personal map... Read more
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Aotearoa Art Fair 2022
Booth B6, The Central, Auckland 16 - 20 Nov 2022 AOTEAROA ART FAIR 2022 BOOTH B6 THE CLOUD, AUCKLAND Come and visit The Central at the Aotearoa Art Fair this week. We have works by Lonnie Hutchinson and Simon Edwards... Read more -
Cash 'n' Carry
An evolving exhibition 10 Nov 2022 - 29 Jan 2023 Cash 'n' Carry comprises a myriad of offerings from those with whom we work – and as things sell others will come in and fill the space. This is a... Read more -
Rhythm Loop by Zara Dolan
6 Oct - 6 Nov 2022 Please come celebrate recent Masters graduate, Zara Dolan’s first solo exhibition at The Central – Rhythm Loop. Against dark grounds, ribbons of colour and movement will pulse through the gallery.... Read more -
Yesternight by Veronica Herber
1 Sep - 2 Oct 2022 Veronica Herber Yesternight 1st September - 2nd October 2022 Opening: 5.30pm, Thursday 1st September Veronica Herber’s pulsing networks of washi tape are beginning to get known now. We admire the... Read more
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Southern Comfort by Hannah Kidd
29 Jul - 28 Aug 2022 Hannah Kidd Southern Comfort 29th July - 28th August 2022 There will be working dogs (well, some working and some obviously not), and fabulous painted pots. In Southern Comfort, this... Read more -
time is. of the essence by Larisse Hall
23 Jun - 24 Jul 2022 Larisse Hall time is. of the essence. 23rd June - 24th July 2022 Larisse Hall makes light infused paintings – works that fuse the ethereal qualities of light with the... Read more -
New work by Karl Maughan
19 May - 19 Jun 2022 Karl Maughan 19 May - 19 June 2022 From Otipua to Rabbit Hill , have the gardens of Canterbury ever looked so good? Those slow-growing camelias and rhodos, alongside careful... Read more -
Celebrating 5 years
9 Apr - 15 May 2022 Celebrating 5 Years 9th April - 15th May 2022 Celebrating 5 Years in our community, in Õtautahi, Christchurch. Celebrating with a group show of artists very important to us: Emma... Read more
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Lateral Series by Elizabeth Thomson
19 Feb - 1 Apr 2022 Lateral Series Elizabeth Thomson 19th February - 1st April 2022 'Elizabeth Thomson’s work in recent years – of which ‘Lateral Series’ is the latest chapter –attests to a career-long commitment... Read more -
Summer Group Show
15 Jan - 13 Feb 2022 Summer Group Show 15th Jan - 13th Feb 2022 Until February 13th we are delighted to present works by Emma Camden, Bing Dawe, Neil Dawson, Zara Dolan, Simon Edwards, Chris... Read more -
Arborworlds by Bing Dawe
18 Nov - 19 Dec 2021 Bing Dawe Arborworlds Within ecology it is the fragile balance of things that counts. Bing Dawe’s sculpture presents us with a similar visual ecology – forms cast in bronze caught... Read more -
Chauncey Flay and Leigh Martin
14 Oct - 14 Nov 2021 Chauncey Flay Leigh Martin 14th October - 14th November 2021 Flay and Martin are both artists for whom process, the way they work materials, profoundly affects what we see. Leigh... Read more
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Things Have Changed by John Walsh
18 Sep - 10 Oct 2021 John Walsh Things Have Changed 18th September - 10th October 2021 Please note that there will not be an opening event for this exhibition, due to Covid-19 restrictions. There is... Read more -
Ruruhira by Asher Newbery
29 Jul - 12 Sep 2021 Asher Newbery Ruruhira 29th July - 12th September 2021 Join us for the opening of Ruruhira by Asher Newbery, on Thursday 29th July, 5.00 - 7.00pm, at The Central Art... Read more -
Mark Mitchell and Stanley Palmer
24 Jun - 25 Jul 2021 Mark Mitchell and Stanley Palmer 24th June - 25th July 2021 Award winning ceramicist, Mark Mitchell , has always loved creating. As a child, (when not making “mud pies in... Read more -
Hine Auaha
20 May - 20 Jun 2021 Hine Auaha 20th May - 20th June, 2021 The Central Art Gallery Hine Auaha is an exhibition displaying the essence of female creativity. This exhibition includes a range of objects... Read more
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Picturesque by Simon Edwards
15 Apr - 16 May 2021 Picturesque Simon Edwards 15 April - 16 May 2021 Riffing in the continuum between wilderness sublime and the beautifully balanced peaceful, is Simon Edwards’ new exhibition Picturesque. Milford Sound might... Read more -
Ceci N’est Pas 1921 by Dick Frizzell
11 Mar - 11 Apr 2021 Ceci N’est Pas 1921 Dick Frizzell March 11 - April 11, 2021 2020 was a huge year for me with the publication of my book, ‘Me, According to the History... Read more -
Te Moana Nui a Kiwa by Michel Tuffery
4 Feb - 7 Mar 2021 Te Moana Nui a Kiwa , 2021 In 2020, Michel Tuffery collaborated with Dr Karlo Mila to create the narrated and animated video Mana Moana 2020 Meditation playing on our... Read more -
Fractured Mind by Emma Camden
10 Dec 2020 - 31 Jan 2021 Fractured Mind is the first solo exhibition in Ōtautahi, Christchurch by wonderful cast glass artist Emma Camden. There will be towers and crosses - some tall, some polished, and all... Read more
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Group Show
5 Nov - 6 Dec 2020 We are delighted to present a group show for the month of November. If you relish life’s rich tapestry, savour the spice that invigorates the variety of life, then this... Read more -
The Whispering by Veronica Herber
1 Oct - 1 Nov 2020 Veronica Herber's exhibition The Whispering on display at The Central Art Gallery, 1 October - 1 November. Read more -
Body and Soul by Llew Summers
28 Aug - 27 Sep 2020 Llew Summers Body and Soul 28 August - 27 September 'What's important to me is to get a balance between the physical and the spiritual in life. We're given a... Read more -
Out on the Plain - synthetic cubism by Elizabeth Thomson
23 Jul - 23 Aug 2020 Aerial views of Canterbury landscape feel like the subject matter here as Elizabeth Thomson channels luminaries including Bill Sutton and Rosalie Gascoigne in this new body of photographic and sculptural... Read more
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Sustaining the Local
18 Jun - 19 Jul 2020 Due to unprecedented and unforeseen circumstances of a countrywide lockdown, Aotearoa New Zealand has turned to Sustaining the Local , our local. The Central’s annual group show welcomes an array... Read more -
Inheritance by Hannah Kidd
7 May - 14 Jun 2020 In this exhibition, Hannah Kidd muses upon the nature of inheritance. What do we learn about ourselves from the objects left behind by others? You will find in the 'Installation... Read more -
Ātaahua by Karl Maughan
5 Mar - 5 Apr 2020 Ātaahua is a state of being, of being beautiful, good-looking, gorgeous or lovely. Ātaahua is the title of Maughan’s new show at The Central. Maughan paints garden views, rhododendrons, camellias... Read more -
Avant-Garde Fatigue by Pete Wheeler
31 Jan - 1 Mar 2020 Pete Wheeler brings us his first project, back from a decade in Berlin -'Avant Garde Fatigue'. Wheeler is playfully exploring the idea of inspiration, that moment of creative spark behind... Read more
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The Intimates: Part II by Reuben Paterson
21 Nov 2019 - 26 Jan 2020 Reuben Paterson’s new works will irradiate The Central’s spaces with colour from late November to late January. The flowers of his glittering botanicals will be accompanied by radiant cloudscapes and... Read more -
Borderlands by Simon Edwards
3 Oct - 17 Nov 2019 Simon Edwards’ new exhibition Borderlands ranges from mountainside to the inlet of sea, from the moody atmosphere of sky to the crystalline patchwork of rock. There is the colour and... Read more -
INDEX by Martin Poppelwell
30 Aug - 29 Sep 2019 The Gallery will teem with life during September. Martin Poppelwell’s eponymous exhibition Index will have the floor. Infact it will probably take over the floor. Objects and paintings... Read more -
Leigh Martin & Michael Hight
25 Jul - 25 Aug 2019 Lush poured resin paintings by Leigh Martin will sit alongside carefully brushed realist works by Michael Hight at The Central through the month of August. Two very different bodies of... Read more
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NEW WORKS SHOW
20 Jun - 21 Jul 2019 We welcome winter with The Central Gallery’s first group show dedicated entirely to new work. Exciting! You will see a new painting of Karamea by Stanley Palmer, and woodcuts by... Read more -
Under a Night Sky by Bing Dawe
16 May - 16 Jun 2019 This show calls on and develops a number of previous sculptural and conceptual concerns. Included in the show are three older works from 2010 and one from 2018. The new... Read more -
NAVIGATION LINES by Fiona Van Oyen
11 Apr - 12 May 2019 ‘You are here’ brings context to the navigational line you are about to follow on a map. In this show line is the tool Van Oyen uses to reacquaint herself... Read more -
Clouds and Feathers by Neil Dawson
8 Mar - 7 Apr 2019 Clouds and feathers, quite possibly in couplets, re-appear in this new exhibition of Neil Dawson’s in Christchurch. Objects will fly in sky and space. And possibilities will gently open up... Read more
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Object Show
31 Jan - 3 Mar 2019 The modern gallery exhibits so much more than painting and sculpture. So through the month of February, The Central is show-casing its object-makers. Out come pounamu heads by Jon Jeet,... Read more -
Stanley Palmer & Company
13 Dec 2018 - 27 Jan 2019 Stanley Palmer comes to town. He is showing 6 new paintings and prints also, at The Central through the summer of 2018. Views of Akaroa, Otago Peninsula and Hauraki are... Read more -
Relativity and The Structure of Things by Elizabeth Thomson
8 Nov - 9 Dec 2018 Elizabeth Thomson’s second show at The Central in November continues her explorations of the natural world. You will see photos with contoured forms beaded for sculptural effect; and painted bronze... Read more -
Ann Robinson / John Walsh
4 Oct - 4 Nov 2018 Through October The Central is delighted to present exhibitions by Ann Robinson + John Walsh – established NZ artists who have not shown in Christchurch before. Ann Robinson’s cast glass... Read more
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Finding The Way by Simon Edwards
30 Aug - 30 Sep 2018 Simon Edwards upcoming exhibition ‘Finding the Way' at The Central, showcases his wonderful drawing talents – in framed works of charcoal on paper. Edwards recently returned from research in China... Read more -
Something To Behold! by Dick Frizzell
27 Jul - 26 Aug 2018 Something To Behold is Dick Frizzell's tribute to self - this is his hero show. From a vocabulary in painting built up over the last 50 years, he has curated... Read more -
Time+Grid+Now by Veronica Herber
21 Jun - 22 Jul 2018 The joy of the grid - exploring edges horizontally, vertically and the spaces between; along with structures built through the meditation of repetition - these are some of the concerns... Read more -
You were Blue and I was Purple by Reuben Paterson
17 May - 17 Jun 2018 With the last Autumn colours just hanging on, it will be the perfect time for Reuben Paterson to come to town. All will shimmer and glitter. Exuberant, evocative and always... Read more
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The Gardens by Kirstin Carlin
12 Apr - 13 May 2018 Twelve small framed paintings each coloured and titled with a hint of the changing seasons, comprise Kristin Carlin's first solo exhibition at The Central. She won the Molly Morpeth Canaday... Read more -
Absolutely! by Hannah Kidd
7 Mar - 8 Apr 2018 Absolutely! the exclamation is now part of the Kiwi vernacular, affirming a national sense of self in a way not dissimilar to the All Blacks brand, hunting in the roar,... Read more -
EFG by Martin Poppelwell
1 Feb - 4 Mar 2018 Martin Poppelwell was born in Hawkes Bay in 1969 and currently resides in Napier. He studied at Otago University, and at the Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland University until... Read more -
Glimpse Panorama - Landscape aspects in contemporary New Zealand art
7 Dec 2017 - 28 Jan 2018 Read more
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A Memorable Fancy by Heather Straka
3 Nov - 3 Dec 2017 Born in Auckland, Straka studied sculpture at Elam Art School but has largely made paintings since graduating. She looks from a different point of view. Her second major body of... Read more -
Cheeky Things by Lonnie Hutchinson
29 Sep - 29 Oct 2017 Lonnie Hutchinson is an artist of mixed descent, with Samoan, Ngai Tahu and Celtic bloodlines. Very often her practice reflects this, commenting astutely on aspects of indigeneity in the contemporary... Read more -
One Moment Please - Still Life in Contemporary New Zealand Art
24 Aug - 24 Sep 2017 Read more -
On Reflection by Neil Dawson
20 Jul - 20 Aug 2017 On Reflection is a new series of sculpture that is intriguing, playful and nostalgic in equal measure. Like much of Neil's work, it responds to site - using the windows... Read more
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Landskin by Fiona Van Oyen
16 Jun - 16 Jul 2017 Landskin When the land is neither secure ground on which to stand, or a familiar feast for the eyes, one’s sense of scale in place is felt as an internal... Read more -
Navigating the Zone 2002-2017 by Elizabeth Thomson
12 May - 11 Jun 2017 The zone could be seen as Christchurch’s post earthquake trauma of disconnect and renewal, but here it is more about the clear receptive inventive space that Louise Bourgeois calls between... Read more -
Ivory Towers by Simon Edwards
7 Apr - 7 May 2017 Read more -
Show #1: The Return
4 Mar - 3 Apr 2017 Opening works by: Stephen Bambury, Neil Dawson, Simon Edwards, Dick Frizzell, Chris Heaphy, Lonnie Hutchinson, Jon Jeet, Hannah Kidd, Fiona Pardington Rueben Paterson, Peter Peryer, John Pule, Heather Straka, Elizabeth... Read more