New canvas
Hopkinson Mossman opens a gallery in Wellington
Why Wellington and why now? DANAE MOSSMAN Wellington is a vibrant, cultural city and we wanted to be part of the conversation here. There’s a really interesting young-artist scene; a number of energetic new artist-run spaces that offer an alternative energy to the public institutions. Tell us about the space – what was there before? It was in pretty poor condition after a few decades housing light industry and manufacturing. The floor had broken linoleum tiles and a weird little office space. We removed everything and started from scratch; our extraordinary builder – David Kisler – elegantly worked his magic in the space. But the bones are good, it’s a late 1950s six-storey modernist building, with great windows. What was it like working with Londonbased New Zealand architect Jason Whiteley again? Jason has an attention to detail and a simplicity of form that we really value. He worked with local architect James Fenton to realise the gallery renovation from afar. Both Jason and James have been involved in the art world all of their professional lives and have a finely tuned sense of the important. Your Auckland gallery has a green office, this one has a peach office. Are they a pair? I hadn’t thought of it like that! The peach appeared in parts of the space during the renovation; a soft pastel from a bygone era. We wanted something warm, hinting to the domestic, a shift away from the cool white of the gallery walls. We also wanted this for Auckland, so it was the same thought process, but Wellington had a different outcome because of its particular context. The ‘cashmere’ tone just worked. Our graphic designer and friend Warren Olds called it ‘institutional’ peach, which I think was a compliment…