Current
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RAW
Andy Leleisi'uao + James Robinson 3 May - 21 Jun 2025 Bergman Gallery, Auckland RAW marks the first time pairing of two uncompromising Aotearoa artists - Andy Leleisi'uao and James Robinson - whose distinct practices meet in a shared urgency; to make sense of fracture, pressure, and psychic residue in contemporary life. Though emerging from different cultural lineages and visual vocabularies, both artists work... Read more -
Artist in Residence
Taja Vaetoru 6 May - 7 Jun 2025 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Berlin based, Cook Islands artist Taja Vaetoru returns to Rarotonga for a month-long residency at Bergman Gallery. During this time, Vaetoru will focus on the development of a new series of small and large scale paintings that continue her exploration of cultural identity, personal memory, and Pacific heritage. Their work... Read more
Past
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Artist in Residence
Matthew Payne 7 - 11 May 2025 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Renowned for his refined realism, Matthew Payne undertakes a residency on Aitutaki, immersing himself in the island’s luminous lagoon and surrounding motu. This preparatory visit forms the genesis of Arauraenua , a new body of work that captures the sensual interplay of colour, light, and atmosphere unique to this storied... Read more -
Aotearoa Art Fair '25
Stand G14 1 - 4 May 2025 Bergman Gallery Aotearoa Art Fair Viaduct Events Centre, 171 Halsey St, Auckland, 1010 Bergman Gallery is delighted to return to the Aotearoa Art Fair with new and selected works by Mahiriki Tangaroa, Sylvia Marsters, Tanja McMillan (Misery), Reuben Paterson, Lucas Grogan, Luke Thurgate, Alison Leauanae, Bev Moon, Sione Monū, Andy... Read more -
Pride & Prejudice 2
Group Exhibition 11 Apr - 3 May 2025 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga In association with the Cook Islands annual Anuanua Pride week celebrations. Pride & Prejudice 2 explores the intersections of identity, visibility, and resistance in contemporary society. Featuring a diverse group of artists, this exhibition delves into themes of LGBTQI+ pride, social justice, and the lingering shadows of discrimination. Through various... Read more -
Sa'ili - Seek 2
Alison Leauanae 5 - 26 Apr 2025 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Samoa/New Zealand artist Alison Leauanae explores ancestral and personal migration in Sa’ili – Seek 2 , the latest evolution of her debut solo exhibition. Through contemporary hand-stitched and hand-woven works on paper, she develops a visual language that reflects both her cultural heritage and the broader narratives of Pacific diaspora... Read more
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Collision
Nina Oberg Humphries 5 - 26 Apr 2025 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Collision is an exploration of Pacific identity in flux—where tradition intersects with contemporary material culture, and ancestral narratives are reassembled through unexpected forms. In this body of work, Nina Oberg Humphries examines the impact of colonialism, tourism, and globalisation on Cook Islands cultural expression, weaving together elements that both preserve... Read more -
Inflection Point
Group Exhibition 1 - 22 Mar 2025 Bergman Gallery, Auckland The post-pandemic world stands at a crucial inflection point, reshaping societies, economies, and cultural identities. As the dust settles, the collective consciousness grapples with themes of resilience, transformation, and redefinition. Artists, thinkers, and communities navigate the intersections of past trauma and future possibilities, using creativity as a tool for reflection... Read more -
amor fabrica
Rhea Maheshwari 5 - 21 Dec 2024 Bergman Gallery, Auckland In exploring the aesthetic language of Mughal miniature painting through the intimate lens of self-portraiture, Rhea Maheshwari's new exhibition seeks to bridge temporal, cultural and stylistic divides. Mughal miniature painting, known for its precision, layered symbolism, and devotion to delicate detail, provides a vivid framework for romantic expression, transforming the... Read more -
Someone To Watch Over Me
Louie Bretaña 5 - 21 Dec 2024 Bergman Gallery, Auckland In Someone to Watch Over Me , Louie Bretaña explores the profound relationship between ancestral spirits (anito ) and the natural world, a connection central to indigenous Filipino cosmology. Through this body of work, Bretaña navigates the intersection of historical reverence and contemporary artistic expression, invoking ancestral and nature deities... Read more
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Nexus
Luise Fong 12 - 30 Nov 2024 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Guest speaker: Dr Linda Tyler, Associate Professor of Art History, University of Auckland. Bergman Gallery presents Nexus , a solo exhibition by renowned New Zealand-Asian artist Luise Fong, whose work has played a pivotal role in shaping contemporary abstraction in Aotearoa since the 1990s. Known for her deft manipulation of... Read more -
The Man Who Lived Between Sunset and Moonrise
Reuben Paterson 4 - 30 Nov 2024 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Derek Fox, Reuben Paterson. Kō atu I Te Ikaroa / Beyond the Milky Way Dina Jezdić. Since the late 1990s, Reuben Paterson has emerged as an artist of remarkable curiosity and depth, using glitter to illuminate the probing frontiers of our world and expand the possibilities for reimagination... Read more -
E Kura Reitumanava no Rarotonga (Love letters for Rarotonga)
Sylvia Marsters 8 - 26 Oct 2024 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Guest Speaker, Debbie Sorensen, CEO, Pasifika Medical Association. Sylvia Marsters, a distinguished New Zealand artist of Cook Islands descent, commemorates her 100th career exhibition with E Kura Reitumanava no Rarotonga at Bergman Gallery in Rarotonga. This exhibition showcases a new collection of paintings and prints that reflect her profound connection... Read more -
The Tēvolo Made Me Do it
Telly Tuita 3 Oct - 1 Nov 2024 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Telly Tuita’s Tēvolo series is an elaborate convergence of personal memory, cultural mythology, and operatic grandeur. Infused with historical and contemporary references, the series introduces four striking new characters: Carmen, Lucia, Norma , and The Tormented Victim , the latter played by a golden-bodied Hikule’o, the Tongan goddess of the... Read more
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Horizon 2
Group Exhibition 3 - 28 Sep 2024 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Horizon 2 at Bergman Gallery Auckland is a compelling group exhibition that explores the concept of the horizon as both a literal and metaphorical space-an ever-present yet unreachable boundary between sky and earth, known and unknown. Featuring a dynamic lineup of artists, including Fatu Feu'u, Andy Leleisi'uao, Rozana Lee, Roy... Read more -
Aro’a Alofa
Mahiriki Tangaroa + Fatu Feu'u 27 Aug - 28 Sep 2024 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Ewan Smith, Director Air Rarotonga. Fatu Feu'u, Exhibiting Artist. Aro'a Alofa: A Reunion of Artistic Legacies in Pacific Contemporary Art Aro'a Alofa marks the reunion of esteemed artists Mahiriki Tangaroa and Fatu Feu’u, two figures deeply embedded in the evolution of Pacific contemporary art. Feu’u, widely regarded as... Read more -
Belonging: Stories of Contemporary New Zealand Asian Artists
Group Exhibition 1 - 31 Aug 2024 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Opening Speaker, Benny Chan, exhibition curator. Belonging brings together ten artists from Auckland and Waikato in an exhibition that reflects on the multifaceted experience of New Zealand’s Asian diaspora. Curated by Benny Chan, this exhibition continues an ongoing exploration of identity, migration, and cultural integration, situating contemporary artistic voices within... Read more -
Where The Wild Roses Grow
Sione Monū 4 - 27 Jul 2024 Bergman Gallery, Auckland In Where the Wild Roses Grow , artist Sione Monū presents the latest evolution of their ongoing cloud-making practice, an extension of experimental works that explore the intersections of traditional Tongan adornment and contemporary diasporic identity. Drawing from nimamea‘a tuikakala —the Tongan fine art of flower design—Monū reimagines the kahoa... Read more
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Heralds
Lucas Grogan + Luke Thurgate 6 - 28 Jun 2024 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Heralds marks the first dedicated exhibition of Australian artists Lucas Grogan and Luke Thurgate at Bergman Gallery, Auckland. Through their distinct yet complementary practices, both artists engage in a profound exploration of contemporary anxieties, personal histories, and the complexities of human identity. Drawing from art historical traditions, cultural symbolism, and... Read more -
Archipelago Area 51
Andy Leleisi'uao 28 May - 27 Jul 2024 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speaker, Dr. Teariki Puni. Andy Leleisi'uao's return to Rarotonga for his first solo exhibition in five years continues his exploration of extraterrestrial visitation, alternative social structures, and the critique of entrenched cultural ideologies. Archipelago Area 51 extends themes first articulated in The Umu Collection of Titles (Whitespace Gallery, Auckland,... Read more -
Fa'aaliga, Beneath the Surface
Group Exhibition 2 May - 1 Jun 2024 Bergman Gallery, Auckland The Samoan word Fa‘aaliga signifies revelation—an unveiling of insight, perspective, and truth. This exhibition brings together seven contemporary Pacific artists—Iokapeta Magele-Suamasi, Sean Hill, Raymond Sagapolutele, Siliga David Setoga, Sefton Rani, Telly Tuita, and Benjamin Work—each of whom, through painting, sculpture, and photography, engages in the act of revealing. Their works... Read more -
Aotearoa Art Fair '24
Stand G23 18 - 21 Apr 2024 Bergman Gallery Aotearoa Art Fair Viaduct Events Centre, 171 Halsey St, Auckland, 1010 Bergman Gallery is delighted to return to the Aotearoa Art Fair, New Zealand's premier showcase for contemporary art with an exciting group show featuring Luise Fong, Mahiriki Tangaroa, Lucas Grogan, Luke Thurgate, Joan Gragg, Benjamin Work, Rhea... Read more
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Beyond The Veil Of Paradise
Kay George 7 - 30 Mar 2024 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Opening Speakers: Pa Ariki, Paramount Cheif, Takitumu, Rarotonga Kay George, Exhibiting Artist Kay George is a senior New Zealand and Pacific artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans four decades, shaped by her lived experience between New Zealand and the Cook Islands. Embedded within a Pacific context, her work critically engages with... Read more -
The Immortal Tango of Love & War, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse & Diaspora's Children
Telly Tuita 8 Feb - 2 Mar 2024 Bergman Gallery, Auckland For the Auckland Pride Festival (Feb 1-29, 2024 ) Bergman Gallery returns 3 suites of Telly Tuita's epic photographs in a single presentation, marking the first time these images have been seen together as a collective body of work. Love and war are two extremes of the human experience where... Read more -
5 Painters
Group Exhibition 16 Nov - 22 Dec 2023 Bergman Gallery, Auckland 5 Painters brings together five intergenerational Auckland-based artists, each offering a distinct visual language that reflects their personal histories, cultural narratives, and artistic methodologies. This exhibition explores the dynamic interplay of color, form, and memory through the diverse practices of these painters. Roy Good employs a precise and structured approach,... Read more -
Ta Mataora
Group Exhibition 6 Nov - 23 Dec 2023 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Ta Mataora is an exhibition of Cook Islands Contemporary Art, Sculpture + Film in recognition of the 52nd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting, Cook Islands 6-10 November. In the tradition of BCA projects, Tatou (2002) and Te Ata Ou (2003), Ta Mataora presents a survey of recently created Cook Islands... Read more
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Horizon
Group Exhibition 12 Oct - 11 Nov 2023 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Bergman Gallery Auckland is proud to present Horizon , a progressive group exhibition showcasing the evolving dialogue of Pacific art in Aotearoa. Featuring established, mid-career, and emerging artists—Fatu Feu’u, Louie Bretaña, Raymond Sagapolutele, Tanja McMillan, Telly Tuita, Benjamin Work, Andy Leleisi’uao, Luise Fong, Sefton Rani, Joan Gragg, Alison Leauanae, Linda... Read more -
Kindred
Linda Va'aelua + Alison Leauanae 7 Sep - 7 Oct 2023 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Kindred is an exhibition that delves into the intertwined familial bonds and ancestral connections of sisters Linda Va’aelua and Alison Leauanae, reflecting their mixed Samoan, Scottish, and English heritage. Through abstract motifs, the artists narrate stories of migration and navigation, tracing journeys across oceans to lands of opportunity and prosperity.... Read more -
Nga Meka Tui Kura (epilogue)
Reuben Paterson + Tungane Broadbent 25 Aug - 30 Sep 2023 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga In November 2022, artists Reuben Paterson (Ngāti Rangitithi, Ngāi Tūhoe, Tūhourangi | New Zealand) and Tungane Broadbent (Rarotonga, Cook Islands) combined for the second time to present the exhibition Nga Meka Tui Kura at the Aotearoa Art Fair, Auckland, New Zealand. Their first pairing had occurred 5 years earlier with... Read more -
Tukufakaholo
Group Exhibition 10 Aug - 2 Sep 2023 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Opening Speaker, Benjamin Work, Artist In the Tongan dictionary Tukufakaholo translated in a Pālangi context, is defined as inheritance or hereditary but in a Tongan world view the definition is much broader than that. Tukufakaholo could be translated as to pass knowledge/wisdom on, where to pass does not just mean... Read more
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E Moemoe'a Naku 2
Sylvia Marsters 25 Jul - 19 Aug 2023 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Ben Bergman, Gallery Director Sylvia Marsters, Artist Sylvia Marsters returns to Rarotonga with her latest solo exhibition, E Moemoe'a Naku 2 , an evocative continuation of her 2022 exhibition E Moemoe'a Naku – A Dream of Mine (Bergman Gallery, Auckland). In this new body of work, Marsters deepens... Read more -
Te Vaerua O Te Vaine, Our Mother's Hands
Group Exhibition 13 Jul - 5 Aug 2023 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Te Vaerua O Te Vaine: Our Mother's Hands celebrates matriarchal intergenerational learning, honoring the transmission of knowledge, creativity, and skill between women across generations. This exhibition brings together five women artists whose diverse practices engage with concepts of lineage, identity, and the evolving role of tradition in contemporary art. Through... Read more -
A Place to call Home
Group Exhibition 15 Jun - 8 Jul 2023 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Home . It is a small word with significant meaning. It is a word that conveys powerful emotion. It means safety, belonging, acceptance, love and security, the tenets that we crave above all else. A Place to call Home speaks to the generational presence of Asian New Zealanders and reveals... Read more -
Taura
Nina Oberg Humphries 6 Jun - 15 Jul 2023 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Anthony Wright, Director, Canterbury Museum, Christchurch Nina Oberg Humphries, Artist Taura reimagines Taura Atua, pre-Christian spiritual items (physical representations of gods and ancestors) of the Cook Islands, embodying symbols of migration by combining material from both traditional Polynesian taonga (treasures) and mass-produced dollar store items commonly used by... Read more
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Tautahi – In the Face of Adversity
Benjamin Work 9 May - 3 Jun 2023 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Benjamin Work’s practice is deeply rooted in an examination of identity, cultural memory, and the symbolic language of Tongan traditions. His work engages with the visual and conceptual lineage of kupesi —the intricate geometric patterns historically embedded in Tongan cultural expression, from warfare to tattooing, and now, in the contemporary... Read more -
The Printed Hibiscus
Tabatha Forbes 19 Apr - 13 May 2023 Bergman Gallery, Auckland The Printed Hibiscus is an exploration into botanical study and floral fabric history, focusing on the stylised hibiscus as it has come to represent / misrepresent the South Pacific. The project research has taken several different turns - beginning with the flower as a botanical specimen, connecting to its global... Read more -
The Nuku
Joan Gragg 11 Apr - 6 May 2023 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga The Cook Islands Nuku Pageant is an annual cultural experience, where traditional Bible stories are adapted, improvised, and performed live by Cook Islands Christian Church (CICC) village congregations. In true Cook Islands style, humour, reverence, home made costumes, modern props and island wit permeate a lively community performance unlike any... Read more -
Aotearoa Art Fair '23
Stand A7 2 - 5 Mar 2023 Bergman Gallery Aotearoa Art Fair Auckland Waterfront The Cloud, 89 Quay Street Feature Presentation: Telly Tuita, The Immortal Tango of Love & War. Wellington-based artist Telly Tuita was born in Tonga in 1980 and immigrated to Sydney at age nine. Living in Australia for most of his life, Tuita’s disconnect... Read more
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Pride & Prejudice, Part 1
Group Exhibition 22 Feb - 18 Mar 2023 Bergman Gallery, Auckland 'Prejudice, wrote a song about it, like to hear it? Here it goes….free your mind' - such is the opening lyric to US pop/soul group En Vogue's third single from their sophomore album Funky Diva's. The 1992 anti-prejudice anthem was a worldwide hit, striking a deep chord with a new... Read more -
Aotearoa Art Fair '22
Stand A9 16 - 20 Nov 2022 Bergman Gallery Aotearoa Art Fair Auckland Waterfront The Cloud, 89 Quay Street Feature Presentation Tungane Broadbent | Reuben Paterson Group Exhibition Mahiriki Tangaroa | Benjamin Work | Telly Tuita | Nina Oberg Humphries | Shannon Novak | Sēmisi Fetokai Potauaine | Heather Straka | Gavin Jones | Raymond Sagapolutele |... Read more -
E Moemoe'a Naku - A Dream of Mine
Sylvia Marsters 29 Oct - 26 Nov 2022 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Opening Speakers: Marilyn Kohlhase, Pacific Arts Patron Sylvia Marsters, Artist Sylvia Marsters’ E Moemoe'a Naku – A Dream of Mine marks a pivotal moment in her artistic trajectory, bringing her practice full circle as she presents a substantial body of work in her hometown of Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) for the... Read more -
Aua E Te Fefe - Don't Be Afraid
Raymond Sagapolutele 24 Sep - 22 Oct 2022 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Opening Speakers: Fatu Feu’u, Artist, Patron/Founder – Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust Raymond Sagapolutele, Artist Raymond Sagapolutele’s Aua e te Fefe – Don’t Be Afraid is an intimate and deeply personal interrogation of ancestral presence, cultural inheritance, and the role of memory in shaping diasporic Samoan identity. At the core... Read more
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To'a Motu
Benjamin Work 27 Aug - 17 Sep 2022 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Opening Speakers: Hūfanga-He-Ako-Moe-Lotu, Professor 'Okusitino Māhina Benjamin Work, Artist In TO‘A MOTU – Island Warrior , artist Benjamin Work engages with the enduring legacy of Tongan warriors—figures who, for centuries, played a crucial role in the conflicts and power dynamics of Moana Oceania. Historically, Tongan warriors were sought after by... Read more -
New York Rainbows
Billy Apple 16 - 31 Aug 2022 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Billy Apple®’s New York Rainbows pays homage to his pioneering 1965 solo exhibition, Neon Rainbows , first presented at the Bianchini Gallery in New York City. Neon Rainbows was a landmark exhibition in Apple’s early career, widely credited as one of the first to treat electric light as a sculptural... Read more -
Tongpop Cornucopia
Telly Tuita 23 Jul - 20 Aug 2022 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Opening Speakers: Jeremy Hansen, Marketing Project Manager, Britomart Telly Tuita, Artist Telly Tuita’s self created Tongpop universe is a rich and layered visual cosmos, where the boundaries between mythology, history, and contemporary culture dissolve into a dynamic, ever-expanding narrative. Tuita’s work operates as a collision site, interweaving traditional Tongan cosmology... Read more -
Fa'atasi
Group Exhibition 11 Jul - 6 Aug 2022 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speaker, Dr Tearikivao (Kiki) Maoate, Chairman, Pasifika Medical Association Group Fa’atasi (Together) brings together three significant figures in Samoan contemporary art—Fatu Feu’u, Andy Leleisi’uao, and Raymond Sagapolutele—each contributing distinct yet interconnected perspectives on modern Pacific identity. Fatu Feu’u, widely regarded as the godfather of Pacific contemporary art, has played... Read more
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Te Atuitanga - Between our Cloak of Stars
Group Exhibition 25 Jun - 16 Jul 2022 Bergman Gallery, Auckland Bergman Gallery Auckland, Opening Exhibition Opening Speakers: Caren Rangi, Chair, Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa Ben Bergman, Gallery Director Hon. George Maggie Angene, Minister, Cook Islands Cultural Development Anthony Turua, Secretary, Cook Islands Cultural Development Connection is a powerful sensation, how we relate to each other, and our... Read more -
Kaveinga - Angels of the Ocean
Mahiriki Tangaroa 23 Apr - 27 Nov 2022 Personal Structures Room 4, Palazzo Bembo Venice Operning Speakers: Ben Bergman, Project Curator Nicholas Constantini, Manager, Cook Islands Tourism, Southern Europe Sara Danieli, Head of Art, Personal Structures Mahiriki Tangaroa presents Kaveinga – Angels of the Ocean , a site-specific series of paintings for Personal Structures , the global contemporary... Read more -
Tokyo International Art Fair
Andy Leleisi'uao 8 - 9 Oct 2021 Andy Leleisi'uao Tokyo International Art Fair (Digital Ed.) October 8-9, 2021 As various strains of the Covid pandemic swept across the globe in 2021, it was our pleasure to present a small suite of Andy Leleisi'uao's series A Diasporic Pulse of Faith & Patience to the digital edition of the... Read more -
Utopia
Sylvia Marsters 16 Aug - 10 Sep 2021 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Teresa Manarangi - Trott, Keynote Sylvia Marsters, Artist Since 2004, Sylvia Marsters' flower compositions have propelled viewers into a dimension of Island fantasy. Magnificent Gardenias are ever-present in the islands of the Pacific and they surrounded her growing up in Auckland. They were a personal connection, emblematic of... Read more
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Kaveinga - Angels of the Ocean
Wrightmann House Fundraiser 24 Jun 2021 On June 24th 2021, Bergman Gallery in association with SCAPE Public Art and Wrightmann House hosted an historic fundraiser for the Cook Islands first ever artist to Venice. Exhibiting at Palazzo Bembo at the invitation of the European Cultural Centre (ECC), Mahiriki Tangaroa's site specific project Kaveinga - Angels of... Read more -
Underneath the Mango Tree
Joan Gragg 24 Mar - 23 Apr 2021 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Teina MacKenzie, Keynote Joan Gragg, Artist Mango trees, like their famous palm tree counterparts in Pacific folklore, are a quixotic icon of Island fantasy, their imposing physical stature and delicious, fragrant fruit have few equals. It was the song 'Underneath the Mango Tree' that drifted through that celebrated... Read more -
Auckland Art Fair '21
Stand B8 24 - 27 Feb 2021 Bergman Gallery Auckland Art Fair Auckland Waterfront The Cloud, 89 Quay Street Feature Presentation: Sylvia Marsters, Introspective Group Exhibition: Mahiriki Tangaroa | Raymond Sagapolutele Sylvia Marsters | Introspective Born & raised in Aotearoa, artist Sylvia Marsters is of Cook Islands descent and Gardenias have long been a subject close to... Read more -
In a Perfect World
Mahiriki Tangaroa 28 Oct - 14 Nov 2020 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Garth Henderson, Financial Secretary, Ministry of Finance & Economic Management Mahiriki Tangaroa, Artist Mahiriki Tangaroa’s In a Perfect World emerges as a deeply reflective response to the Covid-19 pandemic—a period of uncertainty, isolation, and existential questioning. Conceived in early 2020, the exhibition’s thematic and visual direction underwent a... Read more
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Digital 3, Retro Ed.
Group Exhibition 16 Mar - 2 May 2020 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga In 1979, Video Killed The Radio Star became a worldwide radio hit for British new wave synth pop band The Buggles. The infectious dance tune was a powerfully nostalgic ode, recognizing that the culture and standards of the past were being erased within the rapid rise of a new ‘disposable’... Read more -
A Diasporic Pulse of Faith & Patience
Andy Leleisi'uao 4 Nov 2019 - 15 Feb 2020 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Francis McWhannell, Curator - Fletcher Trust Collection. Andy Leleisi'uao, Artist. 'The series is immediately recognisable for its forms in silhouette, created by brush and hand (Andy likes to speak of his fingerprints being all over his works). The majority are in black and bordered by a misty halo... Read more -
Kia Maeva Tatou
Group Exhibition 7 - 26 Oct 2019 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speaker: Tessa Temata, New Zealand High Commissoner to the Cook Islands. Women have long played a crucial role in the leadership of Cook Islands society, shaping its cultural, social, and political landscapes. Whether in traditional governance, national politics, or contemporary art, vaine (women) have been powerful voices in the... Read more -
Billy Apple in Rarotonga
Billy Apple 27 Aug - 7 Sep 2019 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Billy Apple®, Artist John McCormack, Director, Starkwhite, Auckland At the invitation of Bergman Gallery and with support from his Auckland art dealer, Starkwhite, Billy Apple® presents an exhibition in Rarotonga for the first time. His works are drawn from two of his signature series' - From the Collections... Read more
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Earth, Wind & Fire...Irrespective of Place
Mahiriki Tangaroa 22 Jul - 17 Aug 2019 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Tina Browne, Leader of the Opposition | MP for Rakahanga Brett Porter, Director, TOA Petroleum Mahiriki Tangaroa, Exhibiting Artist Earth, Wind & Fire, Irrespective of Place emerges in response to ongoing national discussions about a potential name change for the Cook Islands-an issue that reignites questions of cultural... Read more -
Kamoan Mine
Andy Leleisi'uao 2 May - 14 Jul 2019 Exhibition extended until July 14. 'World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbour – it requires only that they live together with mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement.' Brave words from a dynamic young American President in 1963 as... Read more -
Auckland Art Fair '19
Stand A11 1 - 5 May 2019 Bergman Gallery Auckland Art Fair Auckland Waterfront The Cloud, 89 Quay Street Group Exhibition: Mahirki Tangaroa | Mark Cross | Andy Leleisi'uao | Benjamin Work From his Wallace Arts Trust Paramount award residency at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York, undertaken July-November 2018, Andy Leleisi’uao will... Read more -
Tiare Taina
Sylvia Marsters 28 Mar - 18 Apr 2019 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Maria Henderson, Turi Mataiapo Sylvia Marsters, Artist Gardenias have long been a subject close to the heart of Sylvia Marsters. The artist has painted them in increasing detail through out her career. Richly scented, with a full white petal bloom, they evoke a sense of warm climates, sea... Read more
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The Big Blue
Group Exhibition 1 Dec 2018 - 15 Jan 2019 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Color is both an aesthetic and conceptual force in visual culture, shaping meaning, perception, and emotional resonance. The Big Blue , a group exhibition at Bergman Gallery, assembles works by Reuben Paterson, Mahiriki Tangaroa, Mark Cross, Lucas Grogan, and Andy Leleisi'uao, each exploring the multiplicity of blue as a chromatic... Read more -
MPA1
Group Exhibition 20 Oct - 24 Nov 2018 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Peter Marshall, New Zealand High Commissioner, Cook Islands Mahiriki Tangaroa, Artist The Pacific region is a diverse entity, containing 25,000 Islands and spanning a third of the worlds surface. With a rich human history, including astounding feats of navigation and ocean voyaging dating back 50,000 years, Pacific Islanders... Read more -
Infinite Horizon
Matthew Payne 3 Sep - 6 Oct 2018 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Fiona Turner, Winemaker, Tinpot Hut Winery Matthew Payne, Artist Shannon Saunders, CITC The South Pacific has long been framed through an idyllic lens—its turquoise lagoons, palm-lined beaches, and golden light capturing the imagination of European explorers, artists, and modern tourism alike. In Infinite Horizon , Matthew Payne revisits... Read more -
Years of Colour, 1988 - 2018
Kay George 21 Jul - 25 Aug 2018 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers Kay George, Exhibiting Artist Gaye Whitta, General Manager, CITC Joan Gragg, Artist. Kay George’s upcoming solo exhibition at Bergman Gallery marks a significant milestone—thirty years since her arrival in Rarotonga, a journey that has profoundly shaped her artistic practice. This exhibition is both a celebration and a reflection,... Read more
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Auckland Art Fair '18
Stand D4 23 - 27 May 2018 Bergman Gallery Auckland Art Fair Auckland Waterfront The Cloud, 89 Quay Street Feature Presentation: Bergman Gallery is delighted to pair represented artists Sylvia Marsters and 2017 Wallace Award Paramount prize recipient Andy Leleisiúao in a site specific painting presentation at the 2018 edition of the Auckland Art Fair. Marsters will... Read more -
Mangere Aroha
Andy Leleisi'uao 8 Mar - 4 May 2018 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Rt. Hon Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand & Minister of Arts Culture & Heritage Andy Leleisi’uao, Artist Anthony Wright, Director Canterbury Museum If you alphabetically consider all the first lines of Emily Dickinson's poems, the very last one asks, 'You've seen balloons set, haven't you?' I... Read more -
Return to Havaiki
Andy Leleisi'uao + Benjamin Work 9 Oct - 20 Nov 2017 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Ben Bergman, Director, Bergman Gallery Samantha Beckett, Deputy New Zealand High Commissioner, Cook Islands Today the world is at an ideological precipice. While the Middle East is rife with tribal, religious and geo/political power struggles, America is bamboozled by political and social identity crises defined by racism, bigotry... Read more -
Tungane Broadbent & Reuben Paterson
Today, Tomorrow & Yesterday 4 Jul - 31 Aug 2017 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Ben Plumbly, Director, Art & Object Tungane Broadbent | Reuben Paterson, Artists This exhibition presents as a conversation between the two diverse art forms, Paterson's extraordinary glitter paintings responding to the intricate fabric Tivaivai of Broadbent. Paterson litterally shines a spotlight on this important Pacific practice. Tivaivai are... Read more
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Ei Katu
Tabatha Forbes 16 May - 24 Jun 2017 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Teina Etches, Culture Tabatha Forbes, Artist 'How we see place, how it has been marked and represented in a European context (notably contrasting an indigenous perspective) and how those aesthetics flow in and out of our current understanding and experience is at the centre of my practice. Taking... Read more -
Hibiscus Hedge
Sylvia Marsters 6 Apr - 12 May 2017 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Hon. Henry Puna, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Sylvia Marsters, Exhibiting Artist Sylvia Marsters’ Hibiscus Hedge marks a new phase in her ongoing exploration of botanical imagery, following her acclaimed series New Yorkers Don’t See Flowers (VOLTA Art Fair, NYC, 2014) and the intricate gardenia compositions presented... Read more -
This Woman's Work
Niaval Ngaro 15 Feb - 25 Mar 2017 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Speakers His Excellency, The Queens Representative, Hon. Tom Marsters NiaVal Ngaro, Artist Blondie Short, Bergman Gallery 13 years ago, NiaVal Ngaro thought of creating glass sculptures inspired by a root crop that defines Polynesians and her very own people - Cook Islanders. Born in New Zealand to Cook Islands parents,... Read more -
For King & Country
Benjamin Work 9 Jun - 30 Jul 2016 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Halatoa Fua, CEO, Cook Islands Tourism John Snowball, Manager, CITC Liquor Benjamin Work, Artist Can the history books be corrected? In the year of the coronation of King Tupou VI, in the Kingdom of Tonga, artist Benjamin Work addresses misconceptions around the recording of historical encounters in Tonga... Read more
