Commissioned at Gibbs Farm

Sat, 08 Jun 2024 12:00:00 +0530

In 1991, New Zealand businessman Alan Gibbs acquired 400 hectares of land in one of the largest harbours in the world. Instead of turning the green pasture lands into a magnificent private property, Gibbs filled it with large-scale open-air sculptures from renowned artists. Most of the sculptures in the collection have been specially commissioned instead of being bought from a pre-existing piece of work or exhibition. Gibbs notes the satisfaction of dealing with the artists directly on their website: “they’re interesting because they’re winners, tough, ambitious.” Although a private collection, the property is open to the public on select days throughout the year. While it’s great to have these diverse sculptures accessible beyond traditional gallery walls in such a large setting, some sculptures might lack context or explanation, leaving viewers confused and alienated unless they read about them on the website to understand them better. This lack might be ignored by many who would be in awe of the juxtaposition of the dynamic interplay between artistic creativity and the natural world – the rolling hills, expansive harbour views, and ever-changing lighting. Some recently commissioned sculptures include those from artists Bernar Venet, Maya Lin, Marijke de Goey and Gerry Judah.

June on The Field Blog

Commissioned at Gibbs Farm