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The Art World in Focus
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Group Exhibition

GROUP EXHIBITION

Past Perfect Two Rooms 17 April–30 May 2026 Auckland
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Press Release

The past perfect tense clarifies a sequence of events. This happened before that, or that happened before this, or by this time, that had already happened. It’s a subtle tense, quietly keeping moments in order, almost like the stretcher that keeps the canvas taut, allowing us to see the painting as it is. Taken as the title for this exhibition, a poetic double entendre comes into play: paintings from the (recent) past remain perfect today.

If we use the past perfect to describe this group of paintings, we might say that although they were produced decades ago (Gretchen Albrecht, Noel Ivanoff, John Nixon), or a decade ago (Jeena Shin, Helen Calder), they had already anticipated contemporary visual sensibilities. Drawn from five very different practices, the works in Past Perfect hold a shared interest in geometry, and the possibilities of light, transparency, deep black and shadow, and the tension between exposure and layering.

Text by Lucinda Bennett, April 2026. Courtesy Two Rooms, Auckland.

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Artists Exhibiting

Gretchen Albrecht contemporary artist
Gretchen Albrecht b. 1943 Follow +
Helen Calder contemporary artist
Helen Calder b. 1955 Follow +
Noel Ivanoff contemporary artist
Noel Ivanoff Follow +
John Nixon contemporary artist
John Nixon b. 1949 Follow +
Jeena Shin contemporary artist
Jeena Shin b. 1973 Follow +

Also Exhibiting at Two Rooms

All Exhibitions
Ruby Wilkinson
RUBY WILKINSON Hullabaloo Two Rooms 9 October–21 November 2026 Auckland
Matt Arbuckle, Wendelien Bakker
MATT ARBUCKLE, WENDELIEN BAKKER I’m Going in a Field Two Rooms 9 October–21 November 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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