Gathering Rust

G AT H E R I N G RUST

On show at Whangārei Art Museum November 19 - February 19, Gathering Rust is the first retrospective exhibition of Yvonne Rust’s artwork since 2002.

Born in Whangārei,Yvonne spent much of herworking life as ahigh school artteacher in Canterbury and the West Coast. Later,shewould be an important figure in the development of

Northland’s artcommunity, as the drivingforce behind thefoundation of the Northland Craft

Trust in 1979 and the subsequent establishment of the Quarry Arts Centre in 1980. Despite her prominentrole in the creative industries of theregion, she hasremainedcomparatively underappreciated by the wider public, and her work is largely held in privatecollections.

Yvonnewas part ofa broader tradition of mid-twentieth-century NewZealand modernistswho gravitated towardscraftmedia, particularlyceramics,continuing the Bauhaus tradition of blurring the lines between purely aesthetic and functional objects. Amongst theworks on display, can be seen drinking vessels,vases andfountains, aswell asa drum, a lamp anda baptismalfont. Despite having been trained asa painter, Yvonne did not begintopaint seriously until later in life but produceda substantial body ofwork. These paintingsreflected in someways theregionalist modernism of her era, but infused with her own non-conformist spirit and disregard for dominant artistic trends.

The aim of thisexhibition is bothto celebrate Yvonne’soeuvre andto attempt to collate, document and preserveas much of it as possible, something that has previously never beenattempted. Works will becycled in and out of display as they arediscovered, added,catalogued andreturned. In Gathering Rust,ceramics are placed oneasily-accessible wooden shelving, whilepaintings are hung on steel meshracking normally usedfor storage

Yvonne Rust, Gathering Rust, Whangārei Art Museum installation view, 2022.

rather than display. Viewersare invitedto consider thefactors outside ofraw creative endeavour that go into the establishment of the art historicalcanon, and what roles and responsibilities institutions might have in preserving and honouring the creation of art.

Thankyou to the many individuals and groups who have generouslycontributed paintings and pottery.Withoutyour support, thisexhibitionwould not have been possible.

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