At the Ayrburn Classic, Artbay Gallery will bring together contemporary art, architecture and automotive design in a purpose-designed pavilion that explores the enduring relationship between creativity and craftsmanship.
For more than two decades, Queenstown’s Artbay Gallery has explored the extraordinary possibilities of creative expression. This February, it takes that pursuit beyond the traditional gallery walls, bringing art, architecture and the automobile into an intriguing dialogue at the Ayrburn Classic. Three seemingly disparate disciplines, each preoccupied with the possibilities of form and the enduring tension between beauty and function, will converge in a purpose-designed pop-up pavilion that is as much an architectural exhibit as the works it will house.
Conceived in collaboration with precision-engineered timber specialists Hector Egger New Zealand and architecture practice DKO, the pavilion is an ambitious architectural proposition, designed specifically for the Ayrburn landscape but with a life envisioned well beyond the event. Its future possibilities are varied: a private gallery or studio, a guest retreat, or perhaps an architectural home for a prized automobile.
The design process was equally unconventional. DKO invited its architects, designers and interns to participate in an internal competition, challenging them to consider not only the relationship between art and architecture but the realities of manufacture, installation and adaptability. Eleven teams submitted concepts, with four shortlisted for final consideration. The winning scheme will be developed alongside Hector Egger New Zealand, marrying architectural imagination with the possibilities of precision timber engineering.
Within, Artbay will present a carefully curated collection of contemporary works by New Zealand and international artists, each offering a distinct interpretation of materiality, movement and form.
At its heart is a specially commissioned series by award-winning New Zealand artist Geoff Williams, whose extraordinarily detailed paintings turn their attention to some of the world’s most iconic automobiles. Set against evocative landscapes or surrounded by objects and memorabilia, the works capture something beyond the vehicles themselves: the nostalgia, personalities and cultural histories that have made them enduring objects of fascination.
Elsewhere, Sally Bulling’s sculptural mirrored flowers explore colour, reflection and repetition, their shifting surfaces responding to the architecture and movement around them. French artist Arnaud Lucet, known as NOART, takes a more technological approach, employing mirrors, light and miniature automobiles to create lumino-kinetic works that suggest infinite space.
Thai contemporary artist Virut will present a specially commissioned portrait of a global Porsche motorsport icon, painstakingly assembled from hundreds of magazine fragments. From a distance, the individual elements resolve into a recognisable face; closer inspection reveals an intricate composition of imagery, words and cultural references.
Outside, Simon Max Bannister’s limited-edition bronze sculptures of native birds will inhabit the surrounding landscape, while internationally recognised artist Hye Rim Lee’s monumental Gold Rose will bring an altogether different sculptural presence. Standing 2.29 metres tall, the luminous gold aluminium work translates Lee’s celebrated digital explorations into a striking physical form. Joining them, Arrowtown artist Mark Hill’s large-scale Corten steel sculptures explore flowing, organic silhouettes and semi-abstract human forms within the landscape.
The exhibition will also feature the contemplative abstractions of ELAN, whose expressive, almost calligraphic marks and considered use of negative space introduce a quieter sensibility to the collection.
Positioned opposite Billy’s, where works by several of the participating artists already form part of the permanent collection, the pavilion will extend Artbay’s presence into the wider Ayrburn setting, establishing connections between the art, architecture and landscape.
For Artbay, it is an opportunity to reimagine the gallery experience itself. Removed from the conventions of a traditional exhibition space, the works become part of a wider conversation about design and the objects we choose to create, collect and celebrate. And, perhaps most intriguingly, about the common creative impulses that connect a finely crafted sculpture, an architectural idea and an extraordinary automobile.
Win a trip for two to the Ayrburn Classic with Artbay Gallery
Prize includes:
- Return airfares for two ex Auckland, Wellington, or Christchurch
- One night’s accommodation at The Spire Hotel
- Entry to the Ayrburn Classic
- Luxury transfers to and from Queenstown Airport
- A private tour of the Artbay pop-up gallery with Artbay’s curator and featured artists
- Lunch for two at award-winning Billy’s Restaurant
Enter your details in the form below to be in the draw.
