Christina Barton Photo: supplied
After 35 years working in public galleries and as an art historian, for Christina Barton’s last show as director of Wellington’s Adam Art Gallery, tidying up has become part of the art.
Work in Progress saw Barton working in the gallery itself, leading a live archiving project - sorting material from her office of 28 years to add to the collection of Te Herenga Waka Victoria University’s New Zealand Art Research & Study Centre.
Installation view, Work in Progress, in Back of House, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, 2023. Photo: Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery
After completing an MA in the history of post-object art in New Zealand in 1987, Barton’s career began at the Auckland Art Gallery’s research library. It’s a career that has afforded her a rare overview of changes in New Zealand contemporary art.
She became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2021.
Installation view, Work in Progress, in Back of House, Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, 2023. Photo: Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery
Focusing on the “the hidden engine rooms that support the public presentation of art," current exhibition suite Back of House is on at Adam Art Gallery until 29 October.
