Unique Art Museum to Open in New Zealand

Unique Art Museum to Open in New Zealand
The Len Lye Centre is New Zealand's first art museum dedicated to a single artist and, with its curved exterior walls made of mirror-like stainless steel, it will also be the country's first destination architecture linked to contemporary art.

Govett-Brewster Director, Simon Rees, says staff are planning a community-spirited weekend celebration that will feature opening exhibitions which include Len Lye works, the Govett-Brewster Collection and a moving-image program in the new 62-seat cinema.

The opening weekend will celebrate the culmination of more than three decades of commitment to realizing a permanent home for Len Lye's work in New Plymouth. In 1980, Len Lye gifted his collection and archive to be housed at the Govett-Brewster, coining it the “swingiest art gallery in the antipodes.”

“We will at last be able to show the breadth and depth of Lye's vision on a permanent basis, and also continue to inspire Govett-Brewster's audiences with contemporary art from New Zealand and around the Pacific Rim,” says Mr. Rees. “We have some great plans in place for the opening exhibitions around Len Lye's large works and key Taranaki and New Zealand artworks.”

Construction work on the groundbreaking Len Lye Centre began in June 2013.

Artist rendering of the Len Lye Centre. Photo Credit: The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery