Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, March 5, 2024
Aristotle once said that “Art aims to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance,” and one such exhibition in Hamilton aims to highlight the decades gone by, in the most artistic representation with some significant pieces of art.
Open since February 23, 2024, “Decades Charted: A window into the Chartwell Collection” is an exhibition of artworks selected from the Chartwell Collection, a significant collection of New Zealand and Australian contemporary art which was established in Hamilton by Robert Gardiner in 1974.
About the Exhibition
As part of The Chartwell Collection’s 50th Anniversary Project, half a century of art collecting is being showcased at Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato, including work by many renowned artists like Gretchen Albrecht, Max Gimblett, and Terry Stringer.
“We welcome these key artworks back to Hamilton in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Chartwell Collection, and it has been a pleasure working with the Chartwell Trust to enable this to happen,” said Liz Cotton, Director of Museum and Arts.
“The exhibition features bold and colourful work purchased during the Trust’s Hamilton years, 1974 to 1997. It captures the vibrant and experimental art scene of the 1970s and 1980s, expressing a youthful break from post-war conservatism. Robert Gardiner’s vision means we can now revel in this golden age of New Zealand Aotearoa art.”
“In developing the Chartwell Trust and Chartwell Collection, founding Trustee Robert Gardiner held a steadfast commitment to support, widen access to and strengthen the visual arts culture in New Zealand Aotearoa. Now we can all celebrate, fifty years on, the value of a deeper understanding of creative visual thinking, for individuals, communities and cities into the future,” said Sue Gardiner, Chair Chartwell of Charitable Trust.
Frequently loaned works
As well as a unique cross-section of 20th-century works by New Zealand artists, Decades Charted: A Window into the Chartwell Collection features a remarkable series of photographs by Robin Morrison. The images were commissioned by Chartwell, and later gifted to Waikato Museum’s collection, to document the refurbishment of the Hamilton Hotel before the Centre for Contemporary Art opened in 1982.
The Chartwell Collection moved to Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki in 1997 and works are frequently loaned for exhibitions around New Zealand and overseas.
The team said, “Since 1974, Chartwell’s mission has been to understand, support, demonstrate and articulate the value and impact of creative visual experiences. We aim to enhance our understanding of the potential of the creative mind, and so encourage everyone to access and use both their sensing, imagining bodies and conscious, reasoning minds. Chartwell addresses this urgent need in several key ways.”
About the Chartwell Collection
The Chartwell Collection was established in 1974 by Robert Gardiner CNZM, OMNZ, then a Hamilton businessman and accountant. As a privately managed public collection, it was a new model for its time, as all acquisitions went immediately into public gallery care and use.
Chartwell’s time in Hamilton saw the Trust support the Waikato Museum and significantly expand the Collection alongside a fast-paced exhibition programme at Chartwell’s Centre for Contemporary Art, established in 1982 at the former Hamilton Hotel on Victoria Street.
The building is now being transformed into the Waikato Regional Theatre and retains the façade and iconic window shape of the original building.
“Decades Charted: A Window into the Chartwell Collection” is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm at Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato until 21 July 2024. Entry is free.
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Hamilton.
