close

Exhibitions

Menu

↑

Unhinged: Opening the Door to the Dowse Collection

Now on
25 Mar – 13 Aug 2023
Free

Paul Rayner, Ken & Ken 2004. Collection of The Dowse Art Museum, purchased 2004.

Paul Rayner, Ken & Ken 2004. Collection of The Dowse Art Museum, purchased 2004.

Colin McCahon, Through The Wall Of Death: A Banner 1972. Collection of The Dowse Art Museum, purchased 1977 with assistance from the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand.

Colin McCahon, Through The Wall Of Death: A Banner 1972. Collection of The Dowse Art Museum, purchased 1977 with assistance from the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand.

Dale Chihuly, Citron Yellow Persian with Black Lip 1995. Collection of The Dowse Art Museum, gifted by the artist 1995.

Dale Chihuly, Citron Yellow Persian with Black Lip 1995. Collection of The Dowse Art Museum, gifted by the artist 1995.

Kristian Fredrikson, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Baron von Rothbart, Swan Lake c 1985. Collection of The Dowse Art Museum, gifted by the Royal New Zealand Ballet 2008.

Kristian Fredrikson, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Baron von Rothbart, Swan Lake c 1985. Collection of The Dowse Art Museum, gifted by the Royal New Zealand Ballet 2008.

Flying tricycles, a pyramid of cats and a rainbow of ceramics; some of what you can discover in this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Featuring over 1000 items from the Dowse art collection, this exhibition is an opportunity to explore some familiar favourites alongside forgotten treasures. Unhinged includes peculiar peeks into the most remarkable corners of the collection like bedazzling ballet costumes, playful paintings and exquisite contemporary glass.

This delightfully eccentric show offers new ways to access and encounter the collection. You can simply wander each space in your own time absorbing the curious combinations or you can follow one of our customised tours designed to uncover some of the more intriguing objects and their fascinating stories. Prepare to be enchanted, baffled and surprised.

This exhibition is part of a major project to refurbish our collection storage spaces that will help us to care for our collection into the future. This includes re-housing all of our nearly 3500 items ready to go into their new home.