Last weekend we had the pleasure of walking Gibbs Farm. This post will mostly be photos of my favourite sculptures.
Gibbs Farm, located on the Kaipara Harbour on New Zealand’s west coast, is a significant private sculpture park created by Alan Gibbs.
Gibbs bought the farm in 1991 and has over the years since commissioned around 19 major works of art. I understand it, that the artists, in order to match the ‘scale’ of the landscape have mostly produced their largest works on Gibbs Farm. We were certainly impressed.
From a distance works like the Te Tuhirangi Contour (the wall) by Richard Serra look big and impressive, but when you get right up close and take in the thickness of the steel, the size and scale and elegance, there is even more WOW factor than imagined!
Te Tuhirangi Contour by Richard Serra
I’d seen this immense stretch of steel wall from a distance a number of times while driving along the Kaipara Coast Highway. It was the piece that sparked my interest in visiting Gibbs Farm. Made from 56 steel plates which lean at an 11° angle from vertical.
The Mermaid by Marijke de Goey
I think everyone who gets close to this intriguing piece wonders if it would be ‘ok’ to walk across.
Horizons by Neil Dawson
Like some being has drawn a giant cartoon on top of the landscape.
Two Rectanges, Vertical Gyratory Up (V) by George Rickey
I love wind sculptures and this one is very cool. Beautifully balanced and silently twisting and turning in unpredictable yet graceful ways.
Dismemberment, Site 1 by Anish Kapoor
Up close you see the detail of the construction, an immense PVC membrane like what you would have on a Zodiac inflatable boat, but to an extraordinary scale, stretched over giant steel tubes and tensioned with cables. From a distance this would have to be my favourite piece, it looks elliptical or circular from different angles and strikingly contacts the landscape yet oddly fits very well.
Arches – Andy Goldsworthy
Stone quarried in Scotland and fashioned after ancient Roman arches, this work looks back; yet its tidal site brings the viewer face-to-face with the ever-changing changing character of its surroundings and the here and now. – Gibbs Farm publication Sept 2015
88.5° ARC x8 by Bernar Venet
I am thinking about the sunrises and sunsets, and the golden light that steeps the Corten steel in red and brown hints. – Venet
If you are interested in visiting, the Gibbs Foundation kindly lets the public in by prior appointment periodically. To book visit http://bookings.gibbsfarm.org.nz/reservations/
I believe we booked 8 months in advance (well worth it), and it currently looks fully booked out for currently available dates up to 26 May 2016.
On the Gibbs Farm website you will also find videos talking about the construction of some of the works of art. I’ve watched the ‘Seeing the Landscape’ video on the build of Te Thuirangi Contour (the wall) by Richard Serra and found it very interesting.
