19 Gallery

'19 Gallery', part of the 'Frances Hodgkins: European Journeys' project, developed and toured by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.

In 1934, London art dealer Sydney Burney commissioned a range of leading British modernist artists to create small-scale works for a miniature gallery, to raise money for the Fund for the Blind. This model gallery became known as the 34 Gallery, symbolising both the year it was created and the number of artworks featured in the display. It included two paintings by Frances Hodgkins. A replica was made in 1997 with 25 of the original paintings, which is on display at Pallant House, Chichester, UK.

In 2019, on the occasion of the major touring exhibition Frances Hodgkins: European Journeys, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki reworked Burney’s concept. 19 Gallery (2019) includes commissioned paintings and sculptures by 19 New Zealand artists invited to respond to the invitation. They are Gretchen Albrecht, Nick Austin, Kirstin Carlin, Vita Cochran, Bronwynne Cornish, Jane Dodd, Nicola Farquhar, Finn Ferrier, Star Gossage, Julian Hooper, Ryder Jones, Areez Katki, Christina Pataialii, Jeena Shin, Richard Stratton, and Isobel Thom, who each made works for the replica of the miniature gallery designed and built by David Kisler.

19 Gallery: Relocating Frances Hodgkins (installation view), Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2019