Derek Ball, Austen Deans, Michael Dell, Trenton Garratt, Aroha Gossage, Rodney Hamel, Imogen Taylor, Rex Turnbull, Robert Watson, Toss Woollaston
Eternally Temporary presents ten landscape paintings from the Kelliher Art Trust Collection made over the course of 60 years, between 1962 and 2022. These paintings map much of the length of Aotearoa, from Hauturu / Little Barrier Island in the north to Tāhuna / Queenstown in the south, showcasing the diversity of Aotearoa’s landscape. Sir Henry Kelliher (1896–1991) was a businessman and co-founder of Dominion Breweries. In 1956, he established the Kelliher Art Award, a celebration of realistic oil paintings of Aotearoa’s landscape.
The title, ‘eternally temporary’, refers to the duality of the natural world. It existed long before humans and continues to endure, but it is acutely fragile and has undergone large-scale destruction. This exhibition not only considers different ways that Aotearoa’s landscape has been rendered in paint but also highlights the preciousness of the environment and its vital importance to human life.