Past
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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 returns to Rarotonga for her 100th career exhibition project with a new collection of paintings and prints. Sylvia writes, ‘Hibiscus, Gardenia and Frangipani hold a special place in my work, in my heart. They have drawn me (quite literally) to... 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 reunites artists Mahiriki Tangaroa and Fatu Feu'u. Long regarded as the Godfather of Pacific Contemporary Art, Feu'u visited Rarotonga in 2022 as Creative New Zealand artist in residence, in association with the Cook Islands Ministry of Cultural... Read more -
Archipelago Area 51
Andy Leleisi'uao 28 May - 27 Jul 2024 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speaker, Dr. Teariki Puni. Andy Leleisi’uao returns to solo exhibition in Rarotonga for the first time in 5 years. The new exhibition Archipelago Area 51 continues the artists evolving Ufological narrative first appearing in the 2003 show The Umu Collection of Titles (Whitespace Gallery, Auckland). Fusing Polynesian mythology... Read more
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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... 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 -
Sylvia Marsters
E Moemoe'a Naku 2 25 Jul - 19 Aug 2023 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Ben Bergman, Gallery Director Sylvia Marsters, Artist Sylvia Marsters returns to exhibition in Rarotonga with her new solo project, E Moemoe'a Naku 2. A veritable sequel to her 2022 solo exhibition E Moemoe'a Naku - A Dream Of Mine (Bergman Gallery, Auckland), Marster's new paintings take on a... Read more -
Nina Oberg Humphries
Taura 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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Benjamin Work
Tautahi - In the face of adversity 9 May - 3 Jun 2023 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga 'It's fascinating to see how facial recognition has been used throughout history, not only as a form of cultural expression but also as a means of identifying individuals. The use of painted faces and intricate designs, such as kupesi, in Tongan warfare shows how important it was to be able... Read more -
Joan Gragg
The Nuku 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 -
Billy Apple
New York Rainbows 16 - 31 Aug 2022 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga New York Rainbows is a tribute to Apple’s ground-breaking solo exhibition Neon Rainbows, first shown at Bianchini Gallery in New York City, 1965, which was credited with being one of the first to treat electric light as a new sculptural medium. Taking the rainbow as its central motif, this show... 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) unites Samoan artists Fatu Feu’u, Andy Leleisi’uao and Raymond Sagapolutele. Feu’u, often referred to as the godfather of Pacific contemporary art was the Creative New Zealand artist in residence to Rarotonga in 2002. Co-hosted by the Cook... Read more
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Sylvia Marsters
Utopia 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 -
Joan Gragg
Underneath the Mango Tree 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 -
Mahiriki Tangaroa
In a Perfect World 28 Oct - 14 Nov 2020 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Garth Henderson, Financial Secretary, Ministry of Finance & Economic Management Mahiriki Tangaroa, Artist This collection of work came about unintentionally in response to the recent Covid-19 pandemic. It was in early February 2020, that the idea to stage an exhibition was decided, however, the thematic approach and visual... Read more -
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
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Andy Leleisi'uao
A Diasporic Pulse of Faith & Patience 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. Kia Maeva Tatou - a celebration of us, a celebration of Cook Islands contemporary art, of Pacific voices in a changing world, and in this case of our Vaine Cook Islands artists. Read more -
Billy Apple
Billy Apple in Rarotonga 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 -
Mahiriki Tangaroa
Earth, Wind & Fire...Irrespective of Place 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 The concept for this exhibition developed when national discussions re-emerged about a proposed name change away from the Cook Islands or its local vernacular 'Kuki Airani'. As an advocate... Read more
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Sylvia Marsters
Tiare Taina 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 -
The Big Blue
Group Exhibition 1 Dec 2018 - 15 Jan 2019 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga The Big Blue, a group exhibition at Bergman Gallery, captures what blue can be, the ever present hue and its many faces. 'The concept for the show came from Andy Leleisi'uao's Harmonic Island five panel work which is predominantly blue. I was very taken with the colour and it occurred... 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 -
Matthew Payne
Infinite Horizon 3 Sep - 6 Oct 2018 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Fiona Turner, Winemaker, Tinpot Hut Winery Matthew Payne, Artist Shannon Saunders, CITC The magnetic Island scenery and atmosphere of Rarotonga is well regarded. Sunny beaches, protected blue lagoons and waving coconut trees, it is the idyllic South Sea paradise that has captured 44 years of modern tourism and... Read more
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Kay George
Years of Colour, 1988 - 2018 21 Jul - 25 Aug 2018 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers Kay George, Exhibiting Artist Gaye Whitta, General Manager, CITC Joan Gragg, Artist. Kay George is a textile artist and painter, born in Rotorua, New Zealand. For the last thirty years Kay has been based in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, regularly showing her work in local and international exhibitions. Kay... Read more -
Andy Leleisi'uao
Mangere Aroha 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 -
Andy Leleisi'uao & Benjamin Work
Return to Havaiki 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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Tabatha Forbes
Ei Katu 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 -
Sylvia Marsters
Hibiscus Hedge 6 Apr - 12 May 2017 Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga Opening Speakers: Hon. Henry Puna, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Sylvia Marsters, Exhibiting Artist Succeeding her nine panel series, New Yorkers Don't See Flowers, VOLTA Art Fair, NYC 2014 - and her increasingly complex gardenia works for the Auckland Art Fair - 2016, Marsters new flower compositions take on... Read more -
Niaval Ngaro
This Woman's Work 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 -
Benjamin Work
For King & Country 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
