Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery is pleased to welcome Kirsty Lillico as the Tylee Cottage artist-in-residence at until early December.
Pushing at the edges of the craft / object arena, Lillico’s practice has drawn on a range of diverse materials such as building paper, house and office loads of unwanted and new carpet, fabric, rope and recycled leisure wear. Her work resides at the hinterland of craft, sculpture and drawing. In 2017 she won the Parkin Drawing Prize for a carpet piece.
Lillico says, “the design products of architecture and fashion are inspirational source material for my textile sculptures. Both clothing and buildings protect the body and exert control over it. My work embodies the discord between the aspirations of design and the function it serves for its users.”
Lillico has a Bachelor of Design, majoring in Visual Communication Design from Victoria University, Wellington and a Master of Fine Art from RMIT University, Melbourne. She has been included in many solo and group exhibitions, including the group exhibitions Demented Architecture, 2015 and Unravelled, 2019 at City Gallery Wellington.
We are also delighted to announce that our 2025 residents will be Ming Ranginui (Te Ati Haunui-a-Pāpārangi) from February to June, and Isabella Loudon from July to November. Both their residencies will be something of a homecoming, with Ranginui growing up in Whanganui and Loudon in nearby Marton.
Ranginui holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) degree from Massey University, Te Whanganui-a-Tara. She continued her studies at Te Wānanga o Raukawa, specialising in raranga (weaving). Loudon is a 2016 Fine Arts graduate of Massey University, Wellington and since that time she has been making a name for herself as one of Aotearoa’s most interesting sculptors. Her work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions and in December 2023 the Sarjeant worked closely with Loudon on her expansive site specific project in Marton two years|one building.
Senior Curator & Programmes Manager Greg Donson says “All three artists will be working on their first solo artist projects in public galleries and we’re looking forward to seeing how their work engages with the brand new gallery spaces of Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery”
The next call for Tylee Cottage applications for the residency programme will be in mid-2025.
The gallery’s artist-in-residence programme is generously supported by Creative New Zealand through its Toi Uru Kahikatea Investment Programme.
Tylee Cottage
Tylee Cottage was built in 1853 and is one of Whanganui’s oldest homes. It is named after Thomas Tylee, a Whanganui pioneer who was in charge of the commissariat for the 65th Regiment. The cottage was originally situated in Wilson Street, Whanganui before being moved to its present location in 1982 and restored.
The first Tylee Cottage artist in residence was photographer Laurence Aberhart who moved in to Tylee in January 1986. Since then, over seventy artists have been Tylee residents, with many choosing to settle permanently in Whanganui afterwards.
Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery
The Sarjeant Gallery was founded through the generosity of Henry Sarjeant who in 1912 left a large sum of money – the equivalent of over $70 million in today’s terms – to establish the gallery “as a means of inspiration for ourselves and those who come after us”. The Sarjeant Gallery opened in 1919 and is recognised as one of the country’s most important heritage buildings. The Sarjeant Collection has become one of national significance and numbers over 8500 works of New Zealand and international art, spanning 400 years.
Closed for a decade and under redevelopment since 2019 Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery has now been fully earthquake strengthened, restored and extended with the addition of a new wing named Te Pātaka o Tā Te Archie John Taiaroa.
Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery will reopen to the public on Saturday 9 November 2024. For more information please see sarjeant.org.nz
Images:
- Kirsty Lillico, July 2024
- Tylee Cottage in Whanganui