GALERIE SPRÜTH MAGERS
Wormser Straße 23
Tue–Fri 10–13, 15–18, Sat 11–16




(Simon Denny, Smallest steps, newer broschure, 2007)


The works by New Zealand artist Simon Denny (1982, Auckland) have an inner tension that results from the simultaneity of motion and standstill. For one, his sculptures require walls in order to maintain their stability, and at the same time, resist their limitations. Insecure and avoiding direct touch, they stand in the space as individual objects on narrow strips or thin boards of wood, thus arising doubts as to their stability. Woolen blankets and raw, industrially produced wooden boards enter into fragile relationships with plastic bags, pieces of clothing, balloons, and (news) papers. The seemingly just crumpled up and abandoned pieces of fabric tell of their function, their ephemeral existence as useful objects, and of the artist’s work. In the Galerie Sprüth Magers the viewer awaits a melancholy setting for ambivalence, exemplarily expressed in a static wall piece that is invisibly stilled by electricity.


EDUCATION

2004 BFA, Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, New Zealand


SOLO EXHIBITIONS (SELECTION)

2006

The Natural Look of Tact, Michael Lett at Liste 06 Art Fair, Basel
Scape, Art & Industry Biennial, Christchurch, New Zealand
Old Things, Michael Lett, Auckland

2005

Arranging Sympathies, Volume Series, The Physics Room, Christchurch, New Zealand
Natural Fertility, Billspace Project, Artspace, Auckland
A Process of Bewilderment, Enjoy Public Art Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand


GROUP EXHIBITIONS (SELECTION)

2006

Shift, Galerie Grita Insam, Vienna
54321 Performance Projects, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
Mostly Harmless: Performance Series, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth New Zealand
Archiving Fever, Adam Art Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
News is Also on Television, Live Performance with Tahi Moore, Michael Lett, Auckland

2005

NADA Art Fair, Michael Lett Stand, Miami
They Who Would Eat The Fruit Must First Climb The Tree, RM103, Auckland
Waikato Art Awards, Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton, New Zealand
Project Space, with Tahi Moore, RM103, Auckland
Tahi and Simon find the morning towards the border of bewilderment and begin construction, George Fraser Gallery, Auckland
Creative New Zealand recent graduate show, CNZ Offices Auckland, Auckland