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The Art World in Focus
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Greta Anderson

GRETA ANDERSON

National Geographic Two Rooms 22 September–22 October 2016 Auckland
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Press Release

Greta Anderson’s exhibition, National Geographic, at Two Rooms features a markedly diverse selection of subjects ranging from a rugged amethyst crystal, to a rushing cascade of water, to a serpentine goose head, and even the back of a woman’s head that sports two luminously-blonde French braids. Unification is provided through technique, with all works showing their subjects looming out from an inky, velveteen black ground. This distinctive visual aspect is the result of using a ‘day for night’ technique. The term derives from Francois Truffaut’s (1932-1984) eponymous 1973 film, Day for Night, which is famous for the number of scenes filmed outdoors in daylight using film stock balanced for tungsten light and underexposed to appear as though filmed at night. In Anderson’s work, this technique has the effect isolating the thing of interest from the context. Anderson separates points of interest from the editorial pages of National Geographic’s anthropology and sociology editorials, adding a pronounced element of the mysterious and the dangerous, which neatly tempers the beguiling beauty and poeticism of her use of strong light and sharp framing. An additional level of unity is seen in the pronounced sense of stillness that blankets the entire suite of images. With little to no perceptible movement, activity, or interaction within or across the works, Anderson conjurers up fresh ethnographic and zoological encounters.

There is something inherently cinematic about Anderson’s approach to photography, which is appropriately underscored in the exhibition through the inclusion of one of her short filmic pieces from 2015. Like her photos, this too has a contemplative elegance, as the camera focuses on a tray of freshly cut lettuces being carefully packed. The movement of the picker shows practice and grace as each lettuce is carefully turned and nestled next to its neighbour. Devoid of human interaction, the only audible sounds in this tranquil green world is provided by the pickers’ radio, which spouts forth a series of advertisements and is punctuated by the diegetic sound of crunching lettuce leaves and moving feet.

Anderson completed a Master of Visual Arts Degree at Sydney College of the Arts in New South Wales in 2006 after having graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts at The University of Auckland in 1999. Since then, Anderson has received several grants and awards, been the subject of several solo shows, including a notable exhibition at Te Tuhi in 2003, and has been selected for numerous major exhibitions at, for example, the Gus Fisher Gallery (Auckland), the Australian Centre of Photography (Sydney), The University of Sydney, the Museum of Photographic Arts (San Diego), the Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney), and the Ringling Museum of Art (Sarasota). In addition, Anderson has a comprehensive commercial portfolio, having been invited to photograph campaigns for high-profile advertising agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, DDB, and Mojo, and for editorials in the New Zealand Herald, Metro Magazine and the Australian Financial Review.

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About the Artist

Greta Anderson completed a Master of Visual Arts Degree at Sydney College of the Arts in New South Wales in 2006 after having graduated from the Elam School of Fine Arts at The University of Auckland in 1999. Since then, Anderson has received several grants and awards, been the subject of several solo shows, including a notable 2003 exhibition at Te Tuhi, The Stand Ins.

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Also Exhibiting at Two Rooms

All Exhibitions
Ann Shelton
ANN SHELTON i am an old phenomenon Two Rooms 5 June–11 July 2026 Auckland
Conor Clarke
CONOR CLARKE Rongo Two Rooms 5 June–11 July 2026 Auckland
About the Gallery

Two Rooms is a contemporary art exhibition venue located in a converted warehouse in Central Auckland, New Zealand. Opened in August 2006, Two Rooms presents a program of residencies and projects by leading International and New Zealand contemporary artists. The building houses two exhibition spaces, the Project Room and the Long Room.

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Address
16 Putiki Street
Newton
Auckland
New Zealand
Opening Hours
Tue - Fri, 11am - 6pm
Sat, 11am - 3pm
(1)
Auckland 16 Putiki Street, Newton
Two Rooms contemporary art gallery in Auckland New Zealand
Two Rooms
16 Putiki Street, Newton, Auckland, New Zealand
+64 9 360 5900
http://www.tworooms.co.nz

Opening hours
Tue - Fri, 11am - 6pm
Sat, 11am - 3pm
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The art world in focus