Consisting of site-specific projects that form relationships with locations through actions, Kate Newby’s work engages with a wide range of situations using every-day actions and materials in order to displace and challenge how contemporary art is exhibited, viewed, and archived. These projects draw directly from the locations in which they are presented, with Newby’s work bouncing backwards and forwards between initial observations, the process of working, and the sites that she works in.
Newby received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2001 from Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland, followed by a Master of Fine Arts in 2007 and a Doctor of Fine Arts in 2015. Significant solo exhibitions include: Had us running with you, Michael Lett 3 East St (2023); YES TOMORROW, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi (2021); I can’t nail the days down, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2018) and Let me be the wind that pulls your hair, Artspace, San Antonio (2017). Recently, work by Newby has been included in the group presentations: Robin, Dove, Swallow, Thrush, Monte Castello di Vizio, Italy (2022); Walls to Live Beside, Rooms to Own: The Chartwell Show, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Auckland (2022) and _Réclamer la Terre / Reclaim the Earth, _Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2022); In 2012 Newby was awarded the Walters’ Prize, Aotearoa New Zealand’s premiere contemporary art award, by international judge Mami Kataoka. She has exhibited at the 21st Biennale of Sydney (2018), the 1st Brussels Biennial for Contemporary Art (2008) and the Sao Paolo Biennale (2004). In 2017 she undertook the prestigious Chinati Foundation residency at Marfa, Texas.
Courtesy Lett Thomas

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