Free Entry

Love Chief is an exhibition which plays with the idea of the personality of art. This illusive character in art is not about its representation of the human face or form entirely, but its spunk, intrigue and allure. It asks how we can translate the qualities of art using our own terms, in the same way that we try to ascertain human personality using our tools of perception as well as cultural context.

Love Chief includes some of the magnetic works from the international contemporary art collections of the Auckland Art Gallery. The title itself is taken from Ed Ruscha’s 1986 painting, which lights up the text against a gridded night sky as an advertisement or enticement for emotion and character. The painting is imbued with some of the mysteries of Pop Art, that is, how can we translate non-substantive human ideas and values through the formal means around us particularly those of an industrialised commercial world. The words sit uncomfortably in painted neon, like a personal note in a heartless medium.

Ultimately, you the viewer also determine the character of the exhibition Love Chief, in all the same way that you might gravitate towards a stranger you would like to get to know!

Main Gallery - Ground Floor