@ SCOTT LAWRIE GALLERY

Cruz Jimenez: The Sky We Remember - 53 Miles West of Venus - on now until 18 February

Californian-born Cruz Jimenez kicks off our new show calendar for 2023 with a major solo show that’s (quite literally) out of this world.

He takes us on a journey back to his childhood in the backyards and streets of Southern California, and then forward to his Aotearoa home, where he’s lived for over two decades. The one constant in his journey? The night sky.

Space is an unusual frontier to explore for an artist. How do you capture light a million light years away from existence? How do you even compete with the beauty of the new James Webb telescope? And what relevance does the night sky have to all of us?

Cruz has no answers. And that’s entirely intentional. He offers us a place to escape, a destination bigger than all of us, and more timeless than anything we know. For these are paintings of meditation and reflection; dream-like states of being that allow us to travel in time and space from the comfort of our own homes.

By contrast, home (of sorts) is also the subject of a highly unique and fun installation called ‘More Than Just’. It’s an installation of an idealised brothel, created by sex workers from Australia and New Zealand.

Curated by sex worker and rights campaigner ‘Tilly’, it’s an insightful, raw, and quite often funny installation that offers us a scattered glimpse into a world very few of us know and understand.

Finally, we’re delighted to welcome emerging artist Maui Ofamooni with a show of four beautiful works inspired by his recent trip to Rarotonga.

SCOTT LAWRIE GALLERY, Shed 10, The Steelworks, 13 Coles Avenue (off Valley Road), www.scottlawrie.com