Barbara Tuck
Delirium Crossing
12 July – 25 September 2022
Born in the Waikato in 1943, Barbara Tuck’s painterly expedition of five decades has been characterised by restlessness. Her engagement with painting has been driven by travel and wide-ranging reading across art, philosophy, poetry and science. Eschewing the idea of a survey or retrospective, this exhibition and publication open the artist’s recent work to new varieties of scrutiny. The exhibition sampled paintings made by the artist between 1999 and the present. This selection has been determined not by the artist nor a curator, but instead through a collaborative exchange with the publication’s writers. Delirium Crossing featured fifteen new texts from a multi-generational group of leading Aotearoa art writers, curators, artists, and art historians, who have responded to this invitation by offering their unique perspectives. These deepen our appreciation of Tuck’s work, but also tell us something about how painting is understood in our times.
This exhibition was developed as a partnership between Anna Miles Gallery, Ramp Gallery and Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery.
This exhibition was staged concurrently with Energy Work: Kathy Barry/Sarah Smuts-Kennedy.
Installation view, Barbara Tuck – Delirium Crossing, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, 2022. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Barbara Tuck, Bring your feet across the sky, 2021, oil on board, 720 x 720mm. Installation view, Barbara Tuck – Delirium Crossing, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, 2022. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Barbara Tuck, When the water came, 2012, oil on board, 800 x 800mm. Courtesy of the artist
Installation view, Barbara Tuck – Delirium Crossing, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, 2022. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Installation view, Barbara Tuck – Delirium Crossing, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, 2022. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Barbara Tuck, Spirit Terrace, 2017, oil on board, 750 x 750mm. Courtesy of the artist
Barbara Tuck, Iris Gate, 1999, oil and encaustic on canvas, 6 x 510 x 400mm. Installation view, Barbara Tuck – Delirium Crossing, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, 2022. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Installation view, Barbara Tuck – Delirium Crossing, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, 2022. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Installation view, Barbara Tuck – Delirium Crossing, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, 2022. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Installation view, Barbara Tuck – Delirium Crossing, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, 2022. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Installation view, Barbara Tuck – Delirium Crossing, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, 2022. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Installation view, Barbara Tuck – Delirium Crossing, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, 2022. Photo: Ted Whitaker
Barbara Tuck, Caterpillar Chemistry, 2012, oil on board, 800 x 800mm. Installation view, Barbara Tuck – Delirium Crossing, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Wellington, Victoria University of Wellington. Photo by Ted Whitaker.
Barbara Tuck, Ngā Uruora, 2022, oil on board, 600 x 600mm. Installation view, Barbara Tuck – Delirium Crossing, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, 2022. Photo: Ted Whitaker