Current Exhibition
For June 2025, ZIMMERMAN is delighted to present EXTRA TIME.
Expanding on the theme of last month's feature show, TIME, this month's exhibition introduces new works - each bringing a fresh perspective to the shared theme of TIME.
A commentary on each of the new works, and work details, are set out under the images below.
Gallery open hours are 11am to 3pm Thursday to Sunday - come take a look!
Commentary on the new works
Waiting for Time to Pass is one of the last works released by the late Paul Dibble – the bronze sculpture in this month’s exhibition being the model-sized study of a larger work.
From a longstanding series Paul dubbed “the geometrics”, the human form is redefined as simple geometric shapes – legs become cones, and heads are abbreviated to spheres, to create a nuanced sense of gesture. The figure in Waiting for Time to Pass, with her crossed arms and straightened back, suggests some endurance is required to reach the moment for which she waits.
Two paintings by Naga Tsutsumi reflect the artist’s enthusiasm for sci-fi while exploring the passing of time.
In the background of Time and Again is a local icon, the Palmerston North Clock Tower, depicted here in the form it took some decades ago, before a cross and lantern section were added to the top. In the foreground stands a time-weary figure, with white beard and walking cane, while above his head a spaceman floats in the clouds. The central figure is cloaked in ambiguity – does he represent past, present or future? Or might he be the personification of time itself - Father Time, that well known character across cultures around the world, manifested here in a distinctively Manawatu setting? Whatever his identity, the figure appears centrally positioned between an historical feature and an astronaut – standing as an intermediary between time past and a future yet to be explored.
A second painting by Naga, The Wrong Destination, shifts gears from the philosophical to the fantastical. A time machine hovers above a sunbathing cat, the outstretched feline untroubled by either the time travelling machine whirring above its exposed belly, or the peculiar rabbit by its side.
To the Unknown is a hand-forged steel sculpture by Sebastien Jaunas. The freestanding work, with its concentric swirls and radiating rays, suggests a portal; a virtual gateway or tunnel, from which we could pass from one place in spacetime to another. The sculpture is part of a continuing series of works by the Kapiti Coast-based artist, exploring equilibrium, space and movement.
By our Forefathers’ Hands by Bruce Luxford reflects on the spread over time of material affluence from urban to rural environments, and the resultant impact on the natural landscape. In the foreground of the painting is a thatched wooden shack; a simple building, but one able to serve the needs of those clearing the forest and working the land. Rising ominously in the background, just beyond a thinning stand of trees, is an imposing brutalist structure. The bold geometric forms and futuristic architecture are suggestive of how the aesthetics and technologies of the current age are now replacing the ways of the past.
The time intensive and almost meditative act of knitting – in which the project progresses slowly, stitch by stitch – is reflected in Mia Hamilton’s ink drawing, I knit therefore I am. Every hand drawn “stitch” in the work - like every second that passes - is never quite the same. The work is a testament to the value of each moment, the irregular beauty of objects made by hand, and the rewarding results that can flow from time spent on even simple repeated activities.
Time out for coffee can be a great way of escaping from the daily grind, taking a quiet moment to stop, relax and contemplate the world around us. Coffee and Cumulus Clouds by Matthew Steedman conveys this sense of time out and serenity, with cotton-like clouds floating behind a café-style coffee cup. Yet the sense of ease and enjoyment portrayed in this scene belies the time and labour-intensive process behind the creation of a large work such as this, in which each small pixelated square was meticulously painted by hand by the artist, one pixel at a time.
Work details
Paul Dibble
Waiting for Time to Pass model, bronze, edition of 10, 660 x 190 mm
Naga Tsutsumi
Time and Again, acrylic on paper mounted on board, 420 x 300 mm
The Wrong Destination, acrylic on paper mounted on board, 215 x 265 mm
Sebastien Jaunas
To the Unknown, hand-forged steel, 620 x 600 x 300 mm
Bruce Luxford
By our Forefathers' Hands, acrylic on canvas, 510 x 510 mm
Mia Hamilton
I knit therefore I am, ink on paper, 780 x 760 mm (framed size)
Matthew Steedman
Coffee and Cumulus Clouds, oil on canvas, 1000 x 1000 mm