Patrick Lundberg, ''Draft Copy'' (Hocken Gallery)
The Hocken is exhibiting the results of Patrick Lundberg's year-long residency as the 2014 Francis Hodgkins Fellow.
Lundberg presents a series of six installations that, like his previous work, are responsive to the space they are exhibited in.
All the installations, all labelled No title, are made up of a set of marble-sized spheres and rods that are pinned to the walls of the gallery.
The small objects are delicately painted, inviting the viewer to inspect the details of each piece.
Simultaneously, Lundberg's works take up a lot of space.
The pieces of each installation are spread far apart in a range of formations.
One installation is spread across the four corners of a room.
Imagined lines between each piece intersect the room and the space that the viewer occupies, making the entire space part of the installation.
Titled ''Draft Copy'', the exhibition implies that the works exhibited are incomplete, or in a temporary state.
Lundberg further implies the ephemeral state of the installations by retaining the pencil markings that were made to plan out the assemblages of the pieces.
Alternatively, the drafting of these works can suggest the potential for repositioning and ongoing explorations of space, as the works may be drafted and redrafted.
Robert Ellis, ''Land'' (Milford Galleries Dunedin)
A collection of seven large-scale paintings by Robert Ellis dated from 1980 through to 1983 are now on show at Milford Galleries Dunedin in an exhibition simply titled ''Land''.
Ellis is known for his socially conscious art practice that explores New Zealand's complex history - a history that is often deeply connected with the land itself.
The works in this grouping show a particular consciousness of turangawaewae, a deep physical and spiritual connection to the land, in text based and abstracted landscape paintings.
Each work measures more than 1.5sq m, this size allowing the viewer to study detailed textures and etchings in the paintwork up close, but also appreciate the graphic qualities of line and colour that boldly resemble lettered signs and flags.
Text works make reference to New Zealand art history's tradition of combining written work with visual arts.
The words themselves show Ellis' appreciation of Maori language as he communicates to the viewer kite (discover).
The more figurative landscape works are layered in symbolism; red lines dividing the land like fences, and a large date identifying that this image is of a specific time.
Ellis draws from a deep conceptual exploration of New Zealand history and consequently produces work with rich narratives and pertinent imagery.
Sorawit Songstaya and Joe Hamilton, ''Piti Montessori/Merge Nodes'' (Blue Oyster)
The Blue Oyster is exhibiting works by two artists, who create work in both digital and physical spaces.
Sorawit Songstaya, of Auckland, presents a series of characters across physical, pictorial and digital mediums.
The collections of works are labelled as relics of a fictional Montessori school called Piti, a Thai word meaning joy.
''Piti School Uniforms'' makes up two machine-knitted jumpers, brandishing one of the school's pseudo-mascots, a vase with large cartoon eyes.
The personified vases are found again in sculptural form and digital images.
The human characteristics given to the works reflecting the feelings of sentimentality that is often associated with art objects.
Songstaya extends his characters into the digital world in Mathematics, a two-channel 3-D animation of his vase characters.
Crossing into the digital world the characters take on further human characteristics, depicted holding cellphones and look at their reflections in mirrors.
Melbourne artist Joe Hamilton shares the gallery space with a collection of sculptural works that are also extended into a digital medium.
Hamilton's ''Merge Nodes'' refer to the combination of two digital image or video files; and the aesthetic qualities of the video mirror this action as he splices footage from multiple physical locations into one digital scene.
by Samantha McKegg
