ATom1746 Blog

So guys! I must tell you about this wonderful experience I had the other day. I walked into the Christchurch Art Gallery to have a look around (which I do every now and then) and discovered that they had rotated their display of gallery-owned art, to be honest I usually feel quite underwhelmed by these displays, but oh man! This new display is amazing and I can’t wait to go back there for a second look. They had works by some very well known kiwi artists such as Colin McCahon, Ralph Hotere and Bill Hammond etc. But! I was totally and completely blown away when I walked around a corner to find pieces by Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, this was very unexpected and a very very pleasant surprise for me. I have never met a Warhol or Lichtenstein piece in person before and the palm of my hand was immediately and involuntarily raised to my cheek as I stood there while my inner monologue said ‘O…M…G’.

The Christchurch Art Gallery (like most city run galleries) generally has very good exhibitions that change quite often, with content from both local and international artists. One of their current displays involves kinetic sculptures that employ the use of high voltage electricity and compressed air etc. Interesting! So! If you are ever visiting this city, you should totally pop past the Christchurch Art Gallery for a quick look, in fact, you must. They are open daily from 10am to 5pm, have a good cafe and are right in the heart of the ‘cultural precinct’ with many other intensely interesting places within walking distance, such as the Arts centre, Museum, Botanical Gardens and COCA (centre of contemporary art) etc.

So there is this awesome place in Christchurch called High St. It’s a very funky place with loads of interesting shops, cafes and things, I often walk down this street on account of its interestingness. Jonathan Smart Gallery is also down this street and I must admit, I had walked past it a number of times before actually stopping and going inside. I’m not exactly sure why it took me so long to go in, perhaps it’s their very modest entrance way – a simple a wooden door with a little gold plaque and stairs leading upwards to their first-floor location with only a small display case outside, often containing just a single flyer for the current artist they are representing.

Jonothan Smart Gallery is the door at the far right of the above photo.

Anyways, eventually I went in and had a good look around. Jonathan Smart gallery has been active since 1987 and is focused on displaying contemporary visual art, they tend to keep things simple, good simple – so as not to distract in any way from the art they are exhibiting.
Since that day I have been in a number of times, the staff there are very friendly, chatty, knowledgeable and professional – these guys are well recognised and respected by the community of artists and collectors here in Christchurch. I’ve had a number of good long chats with these dudes. If you are ever down High St you should definitely pop in for a gander (also check out Poplar Lane around the corner) there are two other galleries in very close vicinity which I will also blog about soon.

Their address is 160 High St, 1st floor (although they will soon be relocating to Victoria St near Canterbury Cheesemongers – another place I need to blog about!)
Gallery Hours: Wednesday – Friday 10:30am – 5:30pm, Saturday & Sunday 11:00am – 3:00pm.

Oh man, Look Gallery is a great place. It doesn’t have that uptight feeling that other galleries can sometimes have and the owners Stephen and Mary are super lovely and always up for a chat.

Both Stephen and Mary are artists themselves and have spent decades producing and exhibiting art internationally. Their approach to running a gallery art is somewhat different as they operate on a commission-free basis, instead – exhibiting artists simply rent a wall space for a small fee. This type of business model has an interesting result - most of the pieces are priced very reasonably (perhaps because they have not been inflated to account for a gallery commission). The multi-genre and multi-artist display can look a little bit eclectic and busy, but means there is a good variety on display including works from both emerging artists and also well known New Zealand artists including Dick Frizzell, Bill Hammond and John Pule.

If you are an artist, Look gallery is a great place to start, giving you a gallery experience and exposure to potential buyers. If you are… not an artist, Look gallery is the perfect place to relax in a creative environment, you can grab a coffee from their in-house cafe, read a magazine or browse through the artwork. A good source of inspiration, advice, colour, conversation and caffeine.

They are open Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm and can be found at 95d Main Rd, Redcliffs, Christchurch.

www.lookgallery.co.nz