Shaping the development of modern art

Modern Women: Flight of Time highlights the leading role women artists have played in shaping the development of modern art in Aotearoa New Zealand through seizing control of their own representation.

Spanning a period of roughly 50 years, from 1920 to 1970, the exhibition mixes paintings, prints, sculptures, and textiles from public and private collections across Aotearoa New Zealand, to reveal new connections between artists, along with previously hidden themes, while revelling in the theatre of modern art.

While presenting key works by such iconic figures as Rita Angus, Frances Hodgkins, and A Lois White, the exhibition also aims to celebrate the significant yet often overlooked contributions of lesser known figures, including June Black, Flora Scales, and Pauline Yearbury, one of the first Māori graduates of the Elam School of Fine Arts. Through their works, the exhibition uncovers how these women navigated and transformed the cultural and political landscape of their time, offering new insights into themes of storytelling, identity, and belonging.

The exhibition includes an accompanying publication, Modern Women: Flight of Time, which offers a deeper exploration of the featured artists, with writing from a range of expert voices from across New Zealand. 

Image credit: Helen Stewart, Portrait of a woman in red, 1930s, oil on canvas, collection of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, purchased with Ellen Eames Collection funds, 2006.