Regan Gentry
Floating
 by Anna Doran-Read 

“New Zealand just kept appearing to me as a landmass with a diabolically violent past.” - Regan Gentry 

Regan Gentry has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Otago Polytechnic. His exhibition Floating is currently on at Corban Estate Arts Centre until 24th February.
In Floating, Regan has created a portrait of New Zealand as a “geological phenomenon.” He has used the unconventional material of pumice and played with its lightness and thermal characteristics. He has used pumice as a metaphor for the way our country “turns itself inside out continually,” like in the 1931 earthquake in Hawke’s Bay and the more recent Christchurch quakes: “New Zealand just kept appearing to me as a landmass with a diabolically violent past.”

Regan sees Place as the starting point for his work. The Place being exhibited in the Corban Estate Arts Centre gallery in New Zealand, which has been achieved by Regan’s inclusion of iconic Kiwi objects, such as a chilly bin, frisbee and inflatable tyre, which are often used at the beach, lake, pools or down by the river. Regan has brought the outside inside, making the art gallery just as much a place of exploration and discovery as these places we frequent throughout summer. Regan’s main focus in his art practice is to “expose the everyday ... to present the place we live in as a place of theatre and beauty.” 

Floating is a continuation of Regan’s “investigations of place through locally relevant materials.” Regan strived for light-heartedness in his exhibition, in terms of the objects he has made. He also hopes that visitors will see “a sense of vulnerability and instability represented through stone, when stone often represents solidity and security.” Pumice is porous, resulting from immense pressure and dramatic change during its creation. Unlike other rocks, pumice floats on water, as do the objects in Regan’s exhibition. The idea of floating came about during a period in his life when he was “at a bit of a loose end” with his art practice after returning to New Zealand after living in Holland.

When asked by curator Kathryn Tsui, what the main influences on his art practice are, Regan’s response was “living is my influence.” Regan gets many of his ideas from everyday conversations and his own curiosity. “As to movements I’m influenced by or could be part of… I’m not sure… I don’t read enough to know where I fit. All I know is my practice fits well with me.”

Pumice turned sculptures
and new graduates showcase

in Corban Estate Art Centre’s January-February Exhibitions  
Corban Estate Arts Centre’s latest exhibitions – Floating a solo sculptural exhibition by Regan Gentry in conjunction with New Grads Show an annual showcase of up and coming visual arts graduates are on display from 26 January to 24 February 2013.

Regan Gentry’s exhibition, Floating features a witty selection of objects skillfully carved out of pumice that plays on physical qualities distinctive to this volcanic rock. The exhibition includes sculptural renderings of an inflated lilo and tyre titled Floating Land (2011) and Lite Lunch (2009) a chilly bin complete with a thermos set, they refer to pumice’s ability to be buoyant as well as insulate both cold and heat.

As an artist Gentry explores the relationship between people and their environments through the use of specific materials. In a previous exhibition Gentry fashioned objects exclusively out of gorse wood to draw attention to New Zealand’s colonial past when flora like gorse was introduced to the country only to become a pest. In Floating, pumice is treated as a metaphor for contemporary life, as both can be formed out of intense pressure or just left suspended to float adrift.

On Saturday 2 February, 11am artist Regan Gentry will present a public exhibition talk and a pumice carving demonstration, sharing his extensive knowledge and experience of this iconic volcanic material.

Gentry has exhibited extensively and completed major public sculpture commissions nationally and in 2012 he was the 18th McCahon House Artist in Residence. He currently works from an artist studio in Oratia, West Auckland.

Simultaneously on display is a chance to see the most current approaches in contemporary art that is emerging from art schools to date, in the annual New Grads Show featuring 10 new visual arts graduates selected from the Auckland region.

New Grads Show features graduates from: Auckland University of Technology, School of Art and Design; Elam School of Fine Arts, The University of Auckland; Manukau School of Visual Arts; Unitec Institute of Technology, Department of Design & Visual Arts and Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design.

Artists include: Louisa Afoa, Karina Balea-Raitz, Kristina Berends Fu-On Chung, Rosalind Horner, Anna Maxwell, Kenneth Merrick, Alexa Mickell, Clinton Richards and Kerrie-Anne Van Heerden.

Image credit: [left] Regan Gentry, Lite Lunch (2009), Courtesy of The James Wallace Arts Trust. [right] Karina Balea-Raitz (2012) No.9.

To find out more about these exhibitions and Corban Estate Arts Centre’s ongoing activities, programmes and events visit: www.ceac.org.nz or contact us at: info@ceac.org.nz or by phone at (09)838 4455. Corban Estate Arts Centre is open seven days a week, from 10am to 4.30pm except for public holidays and over the Christmas/New Year period.