Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery

John Panting

Spatial Constructions

curated by Sam Cornish

11 October – 20 December 2013

New-Zealand-born, London-based sculptor John Panting’s career was tragically cut short when he was killed at the age of 34 in a motorbike accident in 1974. This exhibition brought together a group of late works held in New Zealand collections, which have not been seen together since they were included in the posthumous retrospective organised by the Serpentine Gallery in London that toured New Zealand in 1975-76. Following on from his training at the Royal College of Art in London (1964-67), Panting’s career has been described as a ‘whirlwind’ progress through various formal and material moves. The works in this exhibition were all made between 1972 and 1974. They are pared back, open-form spatial constructions in steel. They show Panting attempting to reconcile the differences between constructivism and late modernist sculpture, the contradictions resulting in a burst of energy at a time when the modernist consensus was in crisis.

Panting’s work is enjoying renewed attention in Britain; his archive and examples of his work have recently been acquired by Tate Britain and the Henry Moore Institute, and a monograph by Sam Cornish has been published by Sansom & Company, Poussin Gallery, and abstractcritical, London. This exhibition was designed to reacquaint New Zealand audiences with his practice. It was developed in conjunction with Peter Robinson: Cuts and Junctures to enable correspondences between the two artists to be explored.

The Estate of John Panting is represented by Poussin Gallery London. This exhibition was generously funded by a grant from Creative New Zealand Toi Aotearoa.

This exhibition was staged concurrently with Peter Robinson: Cuts and Junctures.

Exhibition guide

Media release

Public progamme pdf

Media & Downloads:

Read in print: Allan Smith, 'Welded Indicatives', Art New Zealand, issue 149 Autumn pages 94-99

Installation view of John Panting: Spatial Constructions at the Adam Art Gallery. Photo: Shaun Waugh.

Installation view, John Panting: Spatial Constructions, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013. Photo: Shaun Waugh.

Installation view of John Panting: Spatial Constructions at the Adam Art Gallery, showing 6.08 (Untitled VIII), 1973–74, steel, 244 x 366 x 244cm. Collection of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 1977-0006-1. Photo: Shaun Waugh.

John Panting, 6.08 (Untitled VIII), 1973–74, steel, 244 x 366 x 244cm. Collection of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 1977-0006-1. Installation view, John Panting: Spatial Constructions, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013. Photo: Shaun Waugh.

Installation view of John Panting: Spatial Constructions at the Adam Art Gallery, showing 5.07 (Untitled III), 1972–73, steel, 290 x 455 x 244cm. Collection of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1976. Photo: Shaun Waugh

John Panting, 5.07 (Untitled III), 1972–73, steel, 290 x 455 x 244cm. Collection of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1976. Installation view, John Panting: Spatial Constructions, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013. Photo: Shaun Waugh.

Installation view of John Panting: Spatial Constructions at the Adam Art Gallery, showing 5.12 (Untitled V) , 1972–73, steel, 183 x 305 x 152cm. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu. Photo: Shaun Waugh.

John Panting, 5.12 (Untitled V), 1972–73, steel, 183 x 305 x 152cm. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu. Installation view, John Panting: Spatial Constructions, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013. Photo: Shaun Waugh.

Installation view, John Panting: Spatial Constructions, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013. Photo: Shaun Waugh

Installation view of John Panting: Spatial Constructions at the Adam Art Gallery, showing Untitled, circa 1972, mild steel and aluminium paint. Collection of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Photo: Shaun Waugh.

John Panting, Untitled, circa 1972, mild steel and aluminium paint. Collection of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Installation view, John Panting: Spatial Constructions, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013. Photo: Shaun Waugh

Installation view, John Panting: Spatial Constructions, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013. Photo: Shaun Waugh

John Panting, Untitled, 1972-73, steel, 290 x 455 x 244cm. Image copyright of Stephen Cox, the Estate of John Panting and Poussin Gallery.

Installation view of John Panting: Spatial Constructions at the Adam Art Gallery. Photo: Shaun Waugh