Art seen

"At the museum/Cry of the young karearea", by Ray Ching (Milford Gallery). 

A surrealist atmosphere hangs heavily over Dunedin at present - nowhere more so than at the Milford. Here, a major exhibition of seven contemporary New Zealand surrealist and magic realist artists is being shown, with the entire gallery given over to the display.

The university and polytechnic are host to many artworks which, if not strictly speaking public, are on open display. Some are well known, such as Peter Nicholl's Bridge of blackened timbers close to the University Union. Others are in more secluded spaces, or within the tertiary institutes' buildings.

"Kabuki: The art of transformation" (Dunedin Public Art Gallery) 

"Kuri (Dog)", Stephen Mulqueen (Magnet St, Dunedin North) 

Dunedin's recent run of sunny weather has allowed a fine chance to explore some of the city's public sculptures. Three relatively recent works drawing from widely different traditions are to be found at the city's shoreline, gardens, and urban heart.

"Christmas Exhibition 2011", (The Artist's Room)  

With Christmas looming, several galleries are presenting shows in preparation for the holiday season. Prominent among these is the show at The Artist's Room in which a large number of well-known artists are presenting work.

Jason Greig has returned to the Brett McDowell Gallery with another fine collection of delicate gothic prints. His monoprints, plus occasional etching, shed a dark light on to a fascinating underworld - a demimonde inhabited by shadowy figures and fatal beauty.

The Artist's Room: "(Un)common Ground", works by Olav Nielsen, Peter Cleverley, Sam Bennett, and Claire Beynon. 

Four disparate artists present their latest works at The Artist's Room Gallery, and while their paintings and prints sing very different songs, they have in common an overriding sense of the artist's person, alongside an introspective tendency.

"Side seam" (Inge Doesburg Gallery)

"Signs and Symbols: Decoding Mediaeval and Renaissance Iconography", Reed Gallery, Dunedin Public Libraries  

The identification and search for meaning behind the visual arts is known as iconography.

Quadrant Gallery, "Celebr4te", cast and blown glass by Katie Brown, Gem Chapman, Craig Columb, Matt Hall, Isaac Katzoff, Annabel Menzies-Joyce and Lou Pendergrast.