Regan Gentry
Regan Gentry is a Wellington resident who has rapidly acquired an enviable reputation as one of Australasia's leading proponents of creative and public art.
Regan Gentry could be considered a genuine conglomeration of
engineer and artist. Graduating from the Otago Polytechnic in 2000
with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Regan has effectively bridged the gap
between what it means to be an artist working in the public sector,
and the public's acceptance of that work; Regan's work consists of
a seamless integration of art and space.
Of Gorse of Course showcases Gentry's acute attention
to detail as well as his extensive research into the physical
environment in which the work is sourced and displayed. The
installation consists of domestic pieces of furniture and
appliances from New Zealand's colonial era all carved out of gorse
wood and arranged as a domestic setting; it acts as a commentary on
all things colonial, negative and positive, specifically the effect
the early settlers had on the physical landscape in their effort to
shape the landscape according to European ideals and British
farming methodologies.
A large number of Gentry's realised work has been of a public
art nature, with the major example being Green Islands,
the inaugural Four Plinths commission on the fringes of
the Te Papa Tongarewa forecourt. Other public works of note include
ArrRghT, Near Nowhere, Near Impossible, which was
the result of Gentry's residency at the Sarjeant Gallery in
Whanganui, Flour Power situated in Stewart Plaza in
Christchurch and Subject to Change, "a slice of a building
left behind by developers" in Wellington. Regan has also had major
sculpture commissions at Sydney's Sculpture by the Sea and at the
Connells Bay Sculpture Park on Waiheke Island.
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