Sumer is pleased to present, At the still point of the turning world, an exhibition of new and historical works by Stephen Bambury (NZ/FR) and Anne-Marie May (AU). This special gallery project brings together works by two important practitioners and personal friends—one hailing from Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, the other from Naarm Melbourne.
Both artists respectively have been acknowledged as significant figures in the movement of conceptual-led abstraction, which grew to prominence in both Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia during the mid to late eighties and early nineties and remains an important thread in contemporary art Notably, it was around this time when the two artists first met; at an art school in Prahran, Melbourne, where Anne-Marie was a student and Stephen a visiting artist. With the two having a mutual appreciation for one another’s approach, Anne-Marie introduced Stephen to Store 5; the now legendary artist space, of which she was involved, and where they would each independently exhibit in the coming years. The gallery having since been acknowledged as catalyst, and at least partially responsible for the launching of a new generation of Australian artists whose work shared similar such concerns; many of whom going on to be recognised as some of the region’s most important artists, both locally and internationally. Artists that would in turn inspire future generations of artists from both sides of the Tasman.
The show’s title, a line from T. S. Eliot’s Burnt Norton, proffered by Stephen in conversation, seemed entirely appropriate. It is part of a larger poem that considers time as relative, comingled; wherein time swirls: the past and future folded into the present. This paradox and multiplicity are indeed defining features of this show. It brings together two bodies of work that, though separated by decades in their making, share a synergy, connections which seem nothing short of serendipitous. It is rare to see a show which sits paintings produced some forty years ago (Bambury) sitting so naturally in conversation with works that have come straight from the artist’s studio (May). Together, they share a joyous effervescence. Stretching painting, testing its boundaries; not only in terms of form, colour and light, but also time and space.
It is wonderful to bring these two artists and works together. More than anything I loved two things in the making of this show: one, the fact that I didn’t even know of their personal connections when I proposed showing these two bodies of work together; two, the work which specifically inspired our conversation around our chosen title did not even make it into the show! During our conversation, Stephen did stop and state, multiple times, almost under his breath, “the centre cannot hold”. Quoting an equally famous but radically different poem. That, however, is conversation for another time.
— Dan Du Bern, Gallerist
The gallery wishes to thank the artists for this unique opportunity to present their work together, and to thank also to their respective gallery partners: Stephen Bambury appears courtesy of Trish Clark Gallery, Auckland, and Nadene Milne Gallery, Arrowtown; Anne-Marie May is represented by Sutton Gallery, Melbourne.
Stephen Bambury (b. 1951, Christchurch) lives and works between Auckland, New Zealand and Normandy, France. His productive preoccupation for fifty years with the square, circle and cross has yielded a body of work that mines rich seams. Unlike the rigid formalism adopted by some other artists of the same period, Bambury’s work fuses intellectual and emotional content with material form. He has stated that he has ‘always seen the paintings as a means of promoting an inner reflection and of creating a context where an experiential exchange could take place’; what he calls a painting experience.
Bambury has exhibited regularly in New Zealand since graduation in the mid-70’s from the University of Auckland’s Elam School of Fine Art. From the mid-80’s he has exhibited in the USA, Australia, France, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. Among other awards, he received the inaugural New Zealand Moet & Chandon Fellowship in 1989enabling him to spend two and a half years living and working in France, a life-changing experience for the then-pre-internet artist based in New Zealand. A major retrospective exhibition at Wellington’s City Gallery and Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tamaki at the turn of the century marking 25 years of his practice, coinciding with the publication of a monograph. Bambury’s works are held in all major museum collections in New Zealand. Also, his works are held in collections in Australia, The United States of America, (notably the Philips Collection Washington D.C) France and Germany and Croatia
Anne-Marie May (b. 1965, Melbourne) lives and works in Melbourne, Australia. She works across sculpture, installation, design and textiles to explore perceptual and chromatic relationships. Her celebrated practice seeks to create both spatial and conceptual connections between an artwork and its architectural location.
May has exhibited extensively throughout Australia and internationally for nearly four decades. She has been included in major biennials and surveys of contemporary Australian art, including Melbourne Now, 2014, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; 21st Century Modern: 2006 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, 2006, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide and Primavera, 1995, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney. Notable solo exhibitions include Anne-Marie May: Heide II, 2004 at Heide Museum of Modern Art; Inside Out: Space and Process, 2020 at McClelland and Everyday Joyful is Mobile, 2021 at Shepparton Art Museum.
Examples of May’s work can be found in important public collections both nationally and internationally, including National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland; Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth; University of Melbourne, Melbourne; Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne, among others.
