Curated by John Saker and designed by Tom Westlake.
Consisting of over 70 images telling the story of New Zealand wine through historical and contemporary portraits of winemakers. From the early influence of James Busby, Sir George Grey and Bishop Pompallier, the exhibition narrative takes the viewer through photographic portraits of the Corban family, and then via photographic portraits by Marti Friedlander of Dalmation winemakers of West Auckland in the 1960s, to painted portraits of some of the great figures of the contemporary industry, including Jane Hunter of Hunter Wines, George Fistonich of Montana, Kevin Judd of Cloudy Bay.
The exhibition includes portraits specially commissioned by the Gallery by artists Freeman White, Irene Ferguson and Nick Cuthell.
When colonial administrator James Busby began to make New Zealand’s earliest wines, and Bishop Pompallier and the Marist Brothers spread the vine to different parts of the country, none could have imagined that many years later their work would be celebrated alongside that of the many New Zealand winemakers who followed in their footsteps.
In a major exhibition showing in the NZ Portrait Gallery in Wellington Waterfront’s Shed 11 from August 28, images of some of our earliest wine statesmen are joined by those of contemporary winemakers in a collection of around 70 photographs as well as newly commissioned portraits. The exhibition is curated by Cuisine magazine’s wine writer John Saker and designed by Tom Westlake.
“The breadth of the exhibition allows us to follow the extraordinary journey of New Zealand wine” Saker says. “It’s like a mouthful of great pinot noir where the start is full of promise and the finish is the classic ‘peacock’s tail.’ While the small but exciting potential of the beginnings of the industry are clearly evident in historical photographs or portraits, the wine explosion of the last two decades is represented by the vibrant, newly painted or drawn portraits of many of our contemporary winemakers”.
The exhibition is designed to show the human face of New Zealand wine making. Every face could tell a thousand great stories. There are charming pictures of several generations of the Corban family at work and at leisure in their vineyards - many of the Corban children pictured, became some of our leading winemakers. An early photographic image of Sir George Grey looks across the gallery to new portraits of Jane Hunter by 2008 Adam Award winning portraitist Irene Ferguson, a lively caricature of Denis Irwin by Murray Webb, a new image of Tim Finn by Princess Hart, and Alan Brady painted in oils by Deidre Copeland. Writer A. R.D Fairburn, an early literary lobbyist for the wine industry, is joined by a collection of photographs of winemakers who were among his friends and acquaintances - like members of the Brajkovich, Nobilo and Babich families. Freeman White’s pencil sketch of John Buck brilliantly captures the characteristics of the Hawkes Bay winemaker, and Marti Friedlander’s portrait photography adds her own inimitable skills of depicting personality and place. The work of Kevin Judd who combines winemaking and photography, is widely represented. The collection of images in various media, combine to tell the powerful story of one of our most influential industries and its exponential growth, and illustrates the cultural and economic contribution it makes to our national life.
Saker says that one of the delights of putting the exhibition together, is the New Zealand spirit and attitude common to all the images he selected. “They could never be mistaken for coming from anywhere else,” he says. “These are the faces of artisans and craftspeople, lovers of the land, practical people and dreamers. In all these faces you can see a vital ingredient of Kiwi terroir- the sum of all the factors that make our wines unique”.
During the exhibition ( August 28 to November 12) associated events including wine tastings, floor talks and lectures and some musical events, will take place within the gallery space.