MEGAN HUFFADINE

MEGAN HUFFADINE the silence collector’s notebook 2nd - 27th July 2011

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

milford galleries queenstown 9A Earl Street (03) 442 6896 qtown@milfordgalleries.co.nz

1. MEGAN HUFFADINE, reading lesson #1: portrait with totems (2011) 12 pieces; MDF, gesso, acrylic paint & varnish, installation (v x h x d): 650 x 1150 x 40 mm

1. DETAIL VIEW MEGAN HUFFADINE, reading lesson #1: portrait with totems (2011)

2. MEGAN HUFFADINE, an invocation (2011) 11 pieces; MDF, gesso, acrylic

medium, acrylic paint & varnish, installation (v x h x d): 580 x 1020 x 60 mm

2. DETAIL VIEW MEGAN HUFFADINE, an invocation (2011)

2. DETAIL VIEW MEGAN HUFFADINE, an invocation (2011)

3. MEGAN HUFFADINE, the stick gatherers' reliquary (2011) 8 pieces; MDF, gesso, a

acrylic paint, varnish & coloured pencil, installation (v x h x d): 560 x 1130 x 80 mm

3. DETAIL VIEW MEGAN HUFFADINE, the stick gatherers' reliquary (2011)

3. DETAIL VIEW MEGAN HUFFADINE, the stick gatherers' reliquary (2011)

4. MEGAN HUFFADINE, bloodline (2011) 16 pieces; MGD, gesso, a

acrylic paint & varnish, installation (v x h x d): 600 x 2140 x 50 mm

4. DETAIL VIEW MEGAN HUFFADINE, bloodline (2011)

4. DETAIL VIEW MEGAN HUFFADINE, bloodline (2011)

5. MEGAN HUFFADINE, letter from a forgotten hand (2011), 17 pieces; MDF, gesso, acrylic paint & varnish, installation (v x h x d): 880 x 1020 x 50 mm

5. DETAIL VIEW MEGAN HUFFADINE, letter from a forgotten hand (2011)

6. MEGAN HUFFADINE, a short story about dust (2011) 17 pieces; MDF, ge

esso, acrylic paint & indian ink, installation (v x h x d): 1020 x 1000 x 30 mm

6. DETAIL VIEW MEGAN HUFFADINE, a short story about dust (2011)

6. DETAIL VIEW MEGAN HUFFADINE, a short story about dust (2011)

7. MEGAN HUFFADINE, a page from the silence collector's notebook (2011)

7. DETAIL VIEW MEGAN HUFFADINE, a page from the silence collector's notebook (2011)

8. MEGAN HUFFADINE, echo tracing (2011), 13 pieces; MDF, gesso, acrylic paint & varnish, installation (v x h x d): 720 x 1745 x 30 mm

8. MEGAN HUFFADINE, echo tracing (2011) ALTERNATIVE HANGING

8. DETAIL VIEW MEGAN HUFFADINE, echo tracing (2011)

8. DETAIL VIEW MEGAN HUFFADINE, echo tracing (2011)

9. MEGAN HUFFADINE, cipher (2011) 13 pieces; MDF, gesso, acrylic paint, indian ink & gilding wax, installation (v x h x d): 750 x 765 x 28 mm

9. DETAIL VIEW MEGAN HUFFADINE, cipher (2011)

Layering story upon story and exuding a sense of time’s slow passage, with ‘the silence collector’s notebook’ Megan Huffadine has once more created collections of sculptural objects whose patina is as much half-forgotten memories and ritual use as it is varnish and paint. Despite the ‘silence’ referred to in the title of the show, Huffadine’s items whisper of buried narratives. Half-recognisable forms catch our eye, but their purpose ultimately eludes us: the collections are “weighted with possibilities” (1) and require contemplation in order to interpret what they are murmuring.

Black, brown and red form the dominant colour palette in this series of works, enhanced here and there by burnished bronze and, in ’an invocation’, a porcelain-like cream.

Huffadine’s use of this limited colour scheme leaves space for the stories of each object to be told. They speak volumes, be it through a void carefully delineated and contained, or in a fullness swelling out from the wall, or with an item that simultaneously encompasses and displaces space. Closer inspection reveals subtle tracery on the edges of some pieces that complements the rich surface finish and precise, delicate carving. The forms themselves are reminiscent of familiar things – beetle carapaces, hand tools and weapons to name but a few – but they defy identification Free of set meanings, the objects are imbued with a totemic symbolism suggestive of rites and ritual, generations of use and solemn purpose since lost in a dim history.

Linked by repeated elements of form, line, colour and finish, individual objects do not compete for the eye, but each one quietly announces its presence as part of a whole.

Both individually and as a set, Huffadine’s collected objects possess a solidity of scale which enhances the sculptural nature of the work in its entirety. It is easy to see in ‘a page from the silence collector’s notebook’ how the play of light and shadow both across and within a work reinforces this idea. The artist’s carefully thought out composition utilises the negative space between objects as part of the whole and the edges of a collection are clearly delineated. Huffadine sources her forms of display from collections both institutional and personal, and her works’ success derives in part from a strong sense of order that underpins each one, playing on the human desire to gather, collate and classify.

Standing in front of ‘Bloodline’, we are very much aware of a system of classification and, although its exact reference points may escape us, it is obvious that we are engaging with a considered, beautifully executed work of art that encourages engagement and provokes discourse rather than the dusty contents of a forgotten Wunderkammer displayed on a wall.

1. Megan Huffadine, Artist’s Statement, 2011

EXHIBITION PRICELIST

1

reading lesson #1: portrait with totems (2011)

7,500

2

an invocation (2011)

7,000

3

the stick gatherers' reliquary (2011)

5,750

4

bloodline (2011)

5

letter from a forgotten hand (2011)

8,500

6

a short story about dust (2011)

6,000

7

a page from the silence collector's notebook (2011)

8

echo tracing (2011)

4,500

9

cipher (2011)

4,500

10,000

12,000

All prices are NZD and include GST; Prices are current at the time of the exhibition

MEGAN HUFFADINE b. 1955, lives Central Otago

a collection of charms (2009)

"Domestic Activity and the small rituals that are part of everyday life are the focus of Megan Huffadine's mixed media work, and she brings a questioning, thoughtful analysis to her highly individual pieces." (1) "In the end, objects become the only remaining indicator of an individual, carrying the manner of their making, their passage through lives and the accumulated history of those journeys. The objects we gather become symbols for a private language of memory, longing and desire." (2) "Viewing, touching and arranging enables the retelling and reconstruction of memory.

Sometimes these objects are displayed for public viewing and lay out to the world a face that the gatherer wishes to be seen. However the reading of this by others may differ from the intent. At other times the collections are secret and hidden, eliciting moments of private joy.�

(3) Born in Invercargill, 1955, Megan Huffadine graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, University of Otago (1977); Post Graduate Diploma in Anthropology, University of Otago (1978); Diploma in Teaching (1979); and a Bachelor of Fine Arts University of Canterbury in 1987. Megan Huffadine has exhibited in group exhibitions and solo exhibitions throughout New Zealand. In 1993 Huffadine was awarded the Emerging Artist Grant from the QEII Arts Council.

1. Helen Schamroth, 100 New Zealand Craft Artists, Godwit publication, Random House NZ, 1998 2. Artist Statement, "a box of forgotten touches" 2007.

3. Ibid

Megan Huffadine 2011 CV P a g e |1

milford galleries queenstown

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

MEGAN HUFFADINE b. 1955, lives Central Otago EDUCATION 1997 1987 1979 1978 1977

Certificate in Adult Teaching, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury Diploma of Teaching, University of Otago Post Graduate Diploma in Anthropology, University of Otago Bachelor of Arts, University of Otago

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2011 2009 2008 2007 2006 1993 1998

‘the silence collector's notebook’, milford galleries queenstown ‘alms for the memory keeper’, milford galleries queenstown ‘the stick collectors painting’, Hullabaloo Art Space, Cromwell a cache of talismans, Milford Galleries Dunedin Hullabaloo Art Space, Cromwell Hullabaloo Art Space, Cromwell Hullabaloo Art Space, Cromwell Judith Anderson Gallery, Auckland Judith Anderson Gallery, Auckland

GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2010

The Earl Street Journal., milford galleries queenstown Spring Catalogue, milford galleries queenstown 2008 Selected Works, milford galleries queenstown 2001 Judith Anderson Gallery, Auckland 1998 Gathering Momentum – Contemporary Furniture, Suter Art Gallery 1997 Framed, A Studio Furniture Survey, Dowse Art Museum 1996 Movements, Contemporary furniture Design in Nelson, Suter Art Gallery 1994 Nelson School of Visual Arts Tutors, Suter Art Gallery 1990 – 1992 Various group and solo shows in Auckland and Nelson

AWARDS 2010 2010 2009 1993

Finalist in the ILT Art Awards Finalist in the Anthony Harper Awards at COCA in Christchurch Finalist in the Anthony Harper Awards at COCA in Christchurch Emerging Artist Grant, QEII Arts Council

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 1998

Schamroth, Helen, 100 New Zealand Craft Artists, Godwit Publishing

ancient sea dreaming (2008)

Megan Huffadine 2011 CV P a g e |2

milford galleries queenstown

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz