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It was a pleasure to celebrate the opening of Grace’s new elegant, light filled gallery with Emil Scheffmann on Saturda...
30/03/2026

It was a pleasure to celebrate the opening of Grace’s new elegant, light filled gallery with Emil Scheffmann on Saturday, with Mau Āhua, a joint exhibition by Georgia Tikaputini Douglas Hood (Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Whakaue) and Atarangi Anderson (Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Ngāti Hauiti) .

Both wāhine Māori explore Māoritanga through distinct material and conceptual languages.

Georgia Tikaputini Douglas Hood’s hand-built ancestral figures connect to whakapapa, drawing on European ceramic forms and with koru and rauponga whakairo, tūpuna are felt as a presence within the works, connecting material to ancestry and identity.

In conversation, we spoke about the masters of uku, including Manos Nathan, a foundational figure in contemporary uku practice and the privilege I had of working with leading uku artist Wi Taepa (Te-Roro-o-Te-Rangi, Te Arawa, Te Āti Awa) on the commission of six major works for the InterContinental foyer for Precinct Properties.

Emerging from this lineage, Georgia’s work moves away from overt Māori design language, instead articulating te ao Māori through nuanced layering of narrative.
Mau Āhua – until 9 May.
Images
1–6. Opening of 'Mau Āhua' at Grace
2. Georgia Tikaputini Douglas Hood
3. Atarangi Anderson
4. Emil Scheffmann
7–10. Wi Taepa, 'Tū Tangata', InterContinental, Deloitte Centre, One Queen Street, for Precinct Properties
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Within the foyer at 55 Molesworth Street, the mana whenua design framework and Ana Iti’s (Te Rarawa, Ngāi Tūpoto, Ngāti...
19/03/2026

Within the foyer at 55 Molesworth Street, the mana whenua design framework and Ana Iti’s (Te Rarawa, Ngāi Tūpoto, Ngāti Here, Pākehā) 'Reaching Across a Great Distance' operate in quiet and powerful conversation.
Developed by Precinct Properties in partnership with Te Āti Awa Taranaki Whānui, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Len Hetet at Baked Design Limited the mana whenua works embed the narratives of Te Ara Tupua and He Auripo into the architectural fabric of the building. They articulate whakapapa, kaitiakitanga and the living relationship between whenua, moana and awa. Patterns drawn from poutama and taniko reference knowledge systems, protection and continuity, while the pūrākau of Whātaitai and Ngake shapes an understanding of movement and transformation across Te Whanganui a Tara.
Ana Iti’s sculpture inhabits this same narrative field. Her rippling steel lines echo the whakataukī He Auripo, the reminder that where water moves there is life. Like the mana whenua design elements, the work registers both seismic history and ongoing responsibility. Gestures that began as breath traced on glass are translated into enduring material, resonating with mana whenua kaupapa to create a legacy linking past, present and future.
Together, these works transform the foyer into a site of layered meaning, where art, architecture and mana whenua design converge to honour the guardianship and living stories of this place.

Building designed by Jasmax
Led by Julian O’Neale
Fabrication by Gillies Metaltech.
Ana Iti's work commissioned by Coupland Cormack
Architect and collaborator Mikhail Rodrick
Image 2_ Jason Mann Photography

“Where water moves there is life.”We are pleased to share Ana Iti’s (Te Rarawa, Ngāi Tūpoto, Ngāti Here, Pākehā) 'Reac...
13/03/2026

“Where water moves there is life.”
We are pleased to share Ana Iti’s (Te Rarawa, Ngāi Tūpoto, Ngāti Here, Pākehā) 'Reaching Across a Great Distance', commissioned by Coupland Cormack for Precinct Properties, for the foyer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 55 Molesworth Street, Te Whanganui a Tara.
Within this civic space, the work establishes a dialogue between architectural form and contemporary experience.
As Iti notes, “Distance and desire for connection are driving forces within my artistic practice.” The sculpture began with gestures traced into condensation on glass, marks that hover between presence and disappearance. In this commission those ephemeral drawings are translated into hand-finished steel, transforming breath and touch into materially enduring form.
Composed of undulating lines stacked like ripples, the work suggests wind, strata, tributaries and tectonic movement. The gestures stabilise in steel while retaining their energy, resonating with the geological and atmospheric conditions of Te Whanganui a Tara and introducing animation into the architectural clarity of the foyer.
The work reflects on the pūrākau of Whātaitai and Ngake, where longing and pursuit reshape land, and references the whakataukī He Auripo (The Rippling), reminding us that where water moves there is life. Through rhythm and repetition, Iti’s layered lines embody kaitiakitanga and the responsibility to sustain vitality within land and community.
Open to multiple readings as geological diagram, atmospheric drawing, cartographic trace or emotional gesture, the sculpture honours the stories embedded within this site while allowing new interpretations to ripple forward.
Architecture
Julian O’Neale
Installation Human Dynamo
Fabrication Gillies Metaltech
Architect and collaborator Mikhail Rodrick
Images 2, 3 & 10: Jason Mann Photography

A great milestone installing Ana Iti’s new large scale sculptural work ‘Reaching Across a Great Distance’. Commissioned ...
11/03/2026

A great milestone installing Ana Iti’s new large scale sculptural work ‘Reaching Across a Great Distance’.
Commissioned by Coupland Cormack Coupland Cormack Emily Cormack for Precinct Properties, the work has been installed in the new home of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade at 55 Molesworth Street, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington.
Ana responded to the pūrākau of Whātaitai, the taniwha whose pursuit shaped the landform of Hataitai, and to the whakataukī ‘He Auripo’, a reminder that where water moves, life continues. Through rhythm and repetition, the work articulates movement beneath the surface, acknowledging both the seismic history of Te Whanganui-a-Tara and the enduring responsibility of kaitiakitanga.
At once grounded and dynamic, the work invites multiple readings: as landscape, as gesture, as wind and strata. Being there to see it finally activate the space was incredibly rewarding.
We’re looking forward to sharing the full work with you soon.
The building was designed by the Wellington team at Jasmax led by Julian O’Neale
Installation by Human Dynamo
Fabrication by Gillies Metaltech
Architect and collaborator Mikhail Rodrick

Over the past year we have been working with Ana Iti on a major sculptural commission for Precinct Properties in Te Whan...
04/03/2026

Over the past year we have been working with Ana Iti on a major sculptural commission for Precinct Properties in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington.
In 2024 Iti was awarded New Zealand’s premier contemporary art award, the Walters Prize, and in 2025 she received the prestigious Harriet Friedlander Residency. Working across sculpture, drawing and installation, she approaches land and architecture as living repositories of story.
For this commission, Iti responded to a site-specific pūrākau and whakataukī, proposing a work composed of 98 wall-mounted, hand-finished, sand-cast iron sections made at Gillies Metaltech in Ōamaru.
Gillies Metaltech employs traditional foundry casting methods, molten metal hand-poured into prepared moulds and left to cool and solidify, a process that has changed little for centuries and relies as much on skilled craftsmanship as machinery.
This work was commissioned for the foyer of the new home of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade at 55 Molesworth Street.
1 - 10. Ana Iti, 'Reaching Across a Great Distance' being fabricated at Gillies Metaltech, Ōamaru.

Delighted to announce that Deloitte Centre – Te Kaha, for which Coupland Cormack created a collection of specifically co...
28/11/2024

Delighted to announce that Deloitte Centre – Te Kaha, for which Coupland Cormack created a collection of specifically commissioned artworks, has won the premiere named award at the New Zealand Institute of Architects Awards - the Sir Miles Warren Award for Commercial Architecture.

Designed by Warren and Mahoney Architects the project features specially commissioned artworks by nine artists from Aotearoa and Australia.

The NZIA judges specifically mentioned the artworks in their commendation stating: “Given Sir Miles Warren’s legacy of architectural clarity, largely achieved through legibility of honest construction methods, this award is appropriate for a building that uses straightforward architectural moves to achieve an outsized effect. With a building of this size, the fine-grained composition has an extraordinary impact on a city…At times, the artwork makes movement through the interior a gallery-like experience. This sense of art brought to life through architecture is also extended to the city, which is a generous and engaging gesture.”

Congratulations Warren and Mahoney and Precinct Properties for delivering this extraordinary project and for supporting the integration of quality artworks as fundamental part of the vision.

.auckland

1. Nike Savvas, ‘Epic: Aukaha’, installed in the foyer at One Queen Street
2. Tessa Harris with 'Ngā Tai e Whā
3. Fiona Pardington work installed
4. Chris Bailey, 'Ngā Pou Atua’, 5 Totara pou, on the rooftop at Queens Rooftop
5. New Zealand Architecture Award 2024 and Sir Miles Warren Award for Commercial Architecture 2024

It was great to attend the opening of ‘Generation X: 50 Artworks from the Chartwell Collection,’ a group exhibition by G...
29/07/2024

It was great to attend the opening of ‘Generation X: 50 Artworks from the Chartwell Collection,’ a group exhibition by Gen X artists. Curated by Megan Dunn, it is presented by City Gallery and on show at Te Papa Tongarewa. The Chartwell Collection, established in 1974 and celebrating its 50th anniversary, also belongs to Generation X.

Born between 1965 and 1980, Gen Xers were raised in an analog world and were the first to embrace the internet. This exhibition explores themes of globalisation, capitalism, cultural conflict, identity politics, third-wave feminism, and the commercialisation of art education.

Being Gen X myself, this exhibition is filled with so many favourites. I loved the interviews with artists which play through push button land lines. These provoked thoughts about ageing and how rapidly technology has changed.



1. Liz Maw, ‘Satan’ 2006
2. Peter Robinson , ‘Universe’, 2001
3. Ann Shelton , ‘Laudanum, Minnie Dean’s unmarked grave, Winton Cemetery, Southland, New Zealand’, 2001
4. Yvonne Todd , ‘Denim Seagull’, 2013

All presented in a tribute room to David Lynch’s cult series ‘Twin Peaks’ with Andrew Barber's, 'The Sea', 2013.

5. Yuk King Tan , ‘Evolutionary Revolutionary’, 2006
6. Geovanni Intra, 'Untitled (Studded Suit), 1990
7. Jae Hoon Lee , ‘Ground Zero (Clouds), 2010
8. Richard Malloy , 'Studen Archive, All The Things I Did'
9. Steve Carr , ‘Pizza Boxes’, 2014
10. Sophie Coupland with Tony De Lautour, ‘Island’, 2000 and
Michael Parekowhai , ‘Les Baer 1911 Thunder Ranch Special’, 2000.

A newly acquired work by Andrew McLeod that will travel to an international collection from Ivan Anthony Gallery.Andrew ...
23/07/2024

A newly acquired work by Andrew McLeod that will travel to an international collection from Ivan Anthony Gallery.

Andrew McLeod
‘Claire and Giotto’, 2024,
Oil on linen
1900mm x 2800mm

Exhibited at Ivan Anthony over April and May alongside the work of Tanja Nola, 'Claire and Giotto' is rich with personal intimacies and classical references. Utilising imagery from the Classical and Renaissance periods, McLeod blends these with elements personal to himself, evocative symbols that are enigmatic yet solicit a kind of self-portrait.


Images courtesy of Sam Hartnett.

I was thrilled to see this work by Francis Upritchard installed at the collector’s home this week. 'Ghost Amelia,' 2010,...
19/07/2024

I was thrilled to see this work by Francis Upritchard installed at the collector’s home this week. 'Ghost Amelia,' 2010, is made from pale kiln-dried lime wood and stands elegantly in this context of dynamic works by Alen Maddox and the textured, carved works of Rohan Wealleans.

Francis Upritchard’s work is characterised by fantastical figures, meticulously crafted from materials such as polymer plastic, balata—a natural rubber, bronze, and fabric. The sculptures delve into themes of anthropology, blending references from literature to ancient sculptures and burial grounds to science fiction, seamlessly blending historical references with surreal elements. Her works prompt viewers to consider the narratives and identities of her eclectic characters.

Thanks to Fine Arts, Sydney, Ryan Moore, and Zoe Gojnich and for the seamless delivery to New Zealand.

Francis Upritchard, ‘Ghost Amelia,’ 2010 Kiln-dried lime wood and stained kiln-dried maple stand Edition



Nike Savvas has created an extraordinary new multi-sensory installation at One Queen Street, the public Quay Street entr...
17/07/2024

Nike Savvas has created an extraordinary new multi-sensory installation at One Queen Street, the public Quay Street entry for the InterContinental Hotel and The Deloitte Centre. This work responds to the concept of Aukaha, a narrative gifted to Precinct by iwi of Tāmaki Makaurau. Aukaha denotes a place of convergence and connection. Tuia te hono, whiria te hono kia ū kia mau - Bind the relationships, weave the connection to be firm and strong. Savvas’s work features 4,420 glass spheres, which unite to create a stronger, beautiful, luminous, blended whole.

Blues capture the elements of the sea (the powerful Waitematā Harbour and the Tīkapa Moana the Hauraki Gulf), searing blue sky and green coastlines around Tāmaki Makaurau, creating a sense of expansiveness. In this immersive environment washes of blue and green hues ebb and flow around each other, converging and connecting in reference to Aukaha. Epic: Aukaha, consists of a three-dimensional suspended grid of translucent coloured glass beads. Virtually kinetic, the work is activated by different lines of sight when moving through the space and optically explodes into tangential lines of movement. Encroaching sunlight within the foyer illuminates the coloured spheres to resonate, change and activate the diffused shifting colours of the work throughout the day. In this, illumination is seen as a literal function while also embodying nuanced metaphorical resonance.

Commissioned by Precinct Properties. Fabricated by UAP.

The artist would like to thank Precinct’s iwi partners and their establishment of Aukaha as a guiding narrative for this work.

Nike Savvas
Epic: Aukaha, 2024
Coloured glass, stainless steel

1-7. ‘Epic: Aukaha’, Nike Savvas, installed in the foyer at One Queen Street
8. Sophie Coupland presenting ‘Epic: Aukaha’.
9. Sophie Coupland with ‘Epic: Aukaha’



Tessa Harris (Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki), a mana whenua design partner, brings her expertise as a weaver and multi-disciplinary...
11/07/2024

Tessa Harris (Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki), a mana whenua design partner, brings her expertise as a weaver and multi-disciplinary artist to One Queen Street. 'Ngā Tai e Whā' is a contemporary tukutuku panel using materials from Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki ancestral lands across Te Waitematā and Tīkapa Moana (Hauraki Gulf).

The tukutuku incorporates weaving stitches tied to the narrative underpinning this collection, symbolizing unity and collaboration. 'Tūmatakahuki' represents strength and stability, 'purapura whetu' remembers loved ones, and 'pātikitiki' signifies the fertility of Te Waitematā.

A large black diamond carved from Tāmaki Basalt lies at the heart of the panel, affirming the connection between Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and the ancient world. Surrounding black triangles from Tīkapa Moana stones resemble jewels, honoring the region's geological richness.

Harris used this project to teach traditional weaving techniques and cultural knowledge to younger generations, embodying the essence of Aukaha by harnessing her iwi's collective strength.

One Queen Street, the Deloitte Centre, is a Precinct Properties development with architecture by Warren & Mahoney, interior design by Technē, and home to the InterContinental Hotel. The kaupapa includes works by mana whenua design partners and contemporary artists from Aotearoa and Australia.

1. Tessa Harris with 'Ngā Tai e Whā'
2-5. 'Ngā Tai e Whā'

, .auckland

Matt Arbuckle presents a series of paintings for One Queen Street. The works—'Rock Core,' 'Holding Terrain,' and 'Time C...
09/07/2024

Matt Arbuckle presents a series of paintings for One Queen Street. The works—'Rock Core,' 'Holding Terrain,' and 'Time Can Be Told'—are strategically placed for a unified guest experience. Two form a diptych, contributing to a cohesive aesthetic and thematic flow.

Arbuckle's pigment-soaked abstractions evoke convergence and connection, mirroring the geological structure of the whenua and its interaction with the elements. Using Japanese shibori dyeing techniques, he stains translucent fabric, allowing paint to seep through with an element of chance. The resulting abstractions carry the stains of history and creases of time, like floating visual landscapes.

These paintings, engaging with the uneven terrain of the whenua, serve as maps of the territory, echoing memories and imprinting the experience of place. Arbuckle's opulent palette complements the luxurious material language of the space.

Arbuckle's exploration of place, bridging landscape with abstraction, resonates with Aukaha, a unified pūtake (narrative) woven into the project. Aukaha symbolizes the strength in unity, reflecting the convergence of whenua (land) and moana (sea), and the power of collaboration.

One Queen Street, the Deloitte Centre, is a Precinct Properties development with architecture by Warren & Mahoney, interior design by Technē, and home to the InterContinental Hotel. The One Queen Street kaupapa includes works by our mana whenua design partners and leading contemporary artists from Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Australia.

.auckland

1. Works by Matt Arbuckle installed at One Queen Street, level 1.
2. Matt Arbuckle, ‘Rock Core’, 2023, acrylic on knitted polyester, 1210mm x 1010mm
3 & 6. Matt Arbuckle, ‘Holding Terrain’, 2023, acrylic on knitted polyester, 1850mm x 3100mm
4 - 5, 7 - 10. Matt Arbuckle, ‘Time Can Be Told’, 2023, acrylic on knitted polyester, 1850 x 4200mm.

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