Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Those little jobs...


If you're looking for someone to do restoration on woodwork then Jonathan Maze is your guy. He just did an incredible repair on a Maori artefact for a client of A+O (sorry I can't load a photo). Here's a little reconstruction job he just undertook on old desk calendar. Last year he did an extraordinary reconstruction/restoration on a 17th century longcase clock. If you need Jono's contacts call me (Ross) or email him direct at maze@ihug.co.nz

Thursday, February 19, 2009

A+O priviledged to offer works from the Collection of the late Hone Tuwhare


When Hone Tuwhare passed away on January 17th last year, New Zealand lost one of their most gifted and accessible poets. Born in Kaikohe in 1941, Tuwhare's poems and short stories served to conjure up powerful images of Aotearoa's land, sea, legends and of its people. The accolades Tuwhare received were justifiably many and included honorary doctorates from Otago and Auckland Universities as well as being made a Te Mata laureate in 1999. Hone moved to the small Catlins community of Kaka Point in 1992 and it is from here that a small collection of around 15 works on paper and photographs which A+O will offer in its New Collectors' Art Sale on April 22nd have come from. Many feature wonderfully personal inscriptions to Hone from friends and artists and offer outsiders a unique insight into one of New Zealand's great literary figures and genuine characters. Be sure to come and check it out.

The Tempus Collection


ART+OBJECT held their first auction of 2009 on Tuesday night - yet only 30 people knew it. The disbandment of art collectives is often a vexed issue as groups must weigh up how best to go about selling up in a way which is both fair and equitable but in a manner that certain works can be retained by certain members. The Tempus Group elected to sell the works internally so as all works would be retained by the people that had enjoyed them over the previous ten years. They hired A+O's gallery over two nights so as the group could preview the collection and enjoy it for the first time in its entireity, as well as the services of A+O's auctioneers. Despite the uniquenness of the auction where the participants were both buyers and sellers the auction was a great success and a grand finale to a very successful art buying group.