Rapidly emerging Japanese based curator Roger McDonald visits New Zealand this month to install a dynamic new exhibition at New Plymouth's Govett-Brewster Art Gallery.

Moving Collection presents works by over 30 international artists, and comes to New Plymouth between showings in Tokyo and New York. The exhibition features mainly artists from the Asia and Pacific regions and thereby is consistent with Govett-Brewster Art Gallery's founding policy focus on contemporary art from the Pacific Rim.

"Bringing McDonald to New Zealand is one of a number of recent Gallery initiatives aimed at increasing exchange possibilities for contemporary art in the Asia-Pacific region", said Gallery Director Gregory Burke. "It follows the visits we organised in 1999 of senior Japanese curator Fumio Nanjo and the 2000 visit of Hiroyuki Nakanishi, Curator at the national Museum of Modern Art in Osaka".

In assembling Moving collection McDonald wrote to the artists involved and requested a small work that would be lent to the collection. Works received range from drawings to small objects or sculptures to modular works that can be arranged in various ways. The exhibition is unique in that all the works fit into a suitcase, enabling the collection to be toured easily and cheaply.

The assembly of the exhibition, through the international postal system, also presented conditions that have lent the show a unique flavour. Works are small, lightweight, not too fragile, and often inexpensive.

Moving Collection tests the limits of globalisation and portability in art, and raises questions as to the role of the curator. Without the burdens of international freight or rigid exhibition schedules, the show can roam the world, constantly changing and seeking new venues. 

Roger McDonald is developing a reputation as being at the forefront of the new generation of contemporary art curators. Recently involved in the inaugural Yokohama Triennale, Roger is now focussing on curating the upcoming Bandung Biennale, one of Indonesia's foremost visual arts events.

McDonald is also a founding member and Deputy Director of Arts Initiative Tokyo (AIT), an innovative contemporary arts platform. AIT is the first initiative of its kind to be established in the Tokyo contemporary arts community, which is currently undergoing a dramatic revitalisation, driven in part by relaxed gallery laws and increasing public interest.

Roger is visiting New Zealand for the first time to install Moving Collection at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. While here he is also researching the works of Theo Schoon. 

Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Director Greg Burke was jumped at the opportunity to get such a notable figure in the global art community to New Plymouth.

"The ability of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery to attract key players in the global art community reflects the Gallery's ongoing commitment to raising the international profile of New Zealand contemporary art." Says Burke. "McDonald's visit also coincides with our exhibition Towards the complex by Vietnamese artist Jun Nguyen Hatsushiba, one of the standout exhibitions in both the recent Yokohama Triennale and Sao Paulo Biennale."

Both Roger McDonald and Greg Burke are available for interview in Wellington on Monday 7 October, before Roger returns to Tokyo on Tuesday.

Moving Collection is on show at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery until 1 December.

For further information contact:

Greg Burke, Director
06 758 5149
027 241 0899

Antony Rhodes, Manager, Marketing and Audience Development
06 759 0852
021 620 128

ENDS