We are delighted to share a significant feature, produced by RNZ’s Sunday arts program, Culture 101, about photographer Steve Rumsey and our current exhibition, Auckland Modern.

This 15-minute segment delves into the history of Rumsey’s practice and provides a broader look at how photography evolved into a recognised art form in New Zealand. The feature includes audio recordings of Rumsey himself, alongside an interview with  gallery director, Charles Ninow.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the team at RNZ for this in-depth coverage. Those who missed the original segment may have heard it when it received additional airtime during January 2026.

We produced this video on the occasion of our exhibition Auckland Modern: Photographic Works by Steve Rumsey. The video provides a brief introduction to Rumsey, his photographs, and the social context he was working in.

Rumsey first began producing photographs seriously in the late 1940s, a time when art galleries did not exhibit photography or regard it as an appropriate medium for makig art. As a result, camera clubs became the premier channel for creative photographers to release new images. Rumsey was one of a very small number of photographers from that era who made images that had more in common with the Bauhaus than they did with mid-century New Zealand.

This is the second of two videos that we produced using archival footage of Martin Thompson. In this video, Thompson demonstrates the role that mathematical formulas play in his practice. This footage was originally produced for a feature about the artist on the television show The Living Room (Season 2, Episode 1), directed and produced by Mark Albiston of Sticky Pictures. Our usage of this footage is courtesy of Sticky Pictures and Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. Our sincere thanks to everyone who was involved in us being granted permission to use this footage.

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The video features rare footage of Martin Thompson in Wellington, New Zealand, in 2004. It was originally filmed for a feature about the artist included on the television show The Living Room (Season 2, Episode 1), directed and produced by Mark Albiston of Sticky Pictures. Our usage of this footage is courtesy of Sticky Pictures and Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. We'd like to thank them for their generosity and collegial spirit.

To coincide with Razzle Dazzle, our exhibition of previously unexhibted works from 2005–2006 by the late Martin Thompson, Sofia Roger sat down with Charles Ninow to talk about Thompson’s life, process, and enduring legacy.

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Starting as a printed record of auction prices and data, Australian Art Sales Digest has evolved into a leading online platform featuring a comprehensive price database, statistical analysis, and editorial coverage. It is the publication of record for the auction industry across Australia and New Zealand.

Arts commentator Briar Williams contributes regular, exclusive coverage of New Zealand auctions to the Digest. In a review from the Winter 2025 season, Charles Ninow was mentioned in connection with a key highlight of the sale:

The major highlight from this section was Colin McCahon’s Black Diamond, White Square (No. 8 The First Gate Series) (1961, Lot 51), donated by Dame Jenny Gibbs to benefit the Auckland Art Gallery Foundation. Painted at a time when McCahon’s work was exploring ideas of geometric abstraction influenced by artists such as Mondrian, this image was a strong example from the series and attracted serious competition from multiple parties on the phone, internet, and in the room, before it was finally secured by gallery owner Charles Ninow for $315,000.

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We visited Philip Kelly’s studio ahead of his exhibition Throw, which opened in July 2025. There’s something illuminating about being in the space where an artist works—surrounded by the objects, images, and ideas that feed and shape their process.

Here are a few snippets from our conversation. This video was originally published in parts over the course of the exhibition on Instagram.

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On the eve of Throw, Philip Kelly’s exhibition of new paintings, host Sofia Roger sat down with the artist to talk about rhythm, repetition, and process. Their conversation explores Kelly’s shift from using a record player to a potter’s wheel as his painting tool, and how this change opened up new ways of thinking about movement, sound, and the physical act of making.

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Art New Zealand’s Winter 2025 issue features a full-page review of Alex McFarlane’s exhibition Fief, written by Samuel Te Kani. We’d like to thank the writer and editors for their thoughtful coverage of this recent exhibition.

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Thom Le Noël and Alex McFarlane are featured in the May 2025 issue of The Art Paper, which was launched at this year’s Aotearoa Art Fair. Each issue of The Art Paper carries a theme—this latest edition explores the theme of "Ghost."

Thom Le Noël is profiled in an eight-page interview with Charles Ninow, titled Whiplash. The interview recounts Ninow’s first encounter with Le Noël’s practice and delves into the foundations of the artist’s work, as well as the motivations that continue to drive it.

Alex McFarlane’s practice is discussed in the article Glitter on the Highway: Fiona Clark & Raewyn Turner and Alex McFarlane. The article examines her 2022 performance Nina’s Dance at ArtsPeace Aotearoa and its relationship to a 1973 performance by Fiona Clark and Raewyn Turner, in which the two performed at the now-defunct and legendary strip club, The Pink Pussycat.

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On the Saturday of the recent Aotearoa Art Fair, Charles Ninow filmed an informal walkthrough of his booth at the fair. He discussed the works presented by Thom Le Noël, Alex McFarlane, and Ralph Paine.

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In its coverage of the Aotearoa Art Fair, Thom Le Noël was featured as an artist to watch.

Ahead of presenting her artworks at the Aotearoa Art Fair, Alex McFarlane sat down for an interview with Sauce Magazine, in collaboration with the Aotearoa Art Fair, who visited the artist at her Auckland studio.

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Alex McFarlane and Thom Le Noël are both featured in the Autumn 2025 edition of Le Noël appears in the magazine’s coverage of the upcoming Aotearoa Art Fair, which includes an image of his painting Floor suck (2023, oil on canvas, 500 x 300mm, private collection). McFarlane is featured in a review of her recent exhibition Extraordinary Contact, written by Dr Chelsea Nichols, Senior Curator at The Dowse Art Museum. Extraordinary Contact was held at Wellington’s Enjoy Contemporary Art Space from 6 December 2024 to 1 February 2025.

Charles Ninow will be participating in the 2025 edition of The fair will take place from 1 to 4 May at Auckland’s Viaduct Events Centre. Charles has previously participated in the fair through his venture Bowerbank Ninow, in 2018 and 2019 respectively. However, this will be his first presentation under his own name.

In addition to exhibiting at the fair, Charles will also take part in the public programme. He will host a game show–style quiz in which a panel of art world personalities compete against one another. The event, So You Think You Know About Art, will take place on Saturday 3 May at 3:30pm.

he encouragement and support of the team at Aotearoa Art Fair have played an instrumental role in making our participation a reality. The fair is a vital platform for the promotion, visibility, and growth of the art market in Aotearoa. We’re pleased to be playing a part in this landmark event on the arts calendar.

Thumbnail image: Votive (panel two), 2023, oil on canvas, 250 x 400mm

Our exhibition of photographs by John Johns was featured in the March issue of Verve magazine. The article, Art of March by Aimee Ralfini, includes a write-up about the exhibition alongside several others showing in Karangahape Road galleries.

This link takes you to a digital version of the article.

Charles joined Kathryn Ryan on RNZ’s Nine to Noon to discuss the gallery’s exhibition of photographs by John Johns. The interview covered a wide range of topics, from John Johns’ personal history to Charles’s relationship with the work and the resonance of the images in today’s world.

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Listen to the interview here.

We would like to extend a sincere and heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported us this year. It has taken the efforts of an entire community to get the doors of the gallery open, and we are absolutely humbled by the love that Auckland City and the rest of the country have shown us.

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Saturday, 21st December, is the final day that the gallery will be open to the public for 2024. Charles will return to the office in January 2025, and our next exhibition will open in February of that year.

We wish everyone a healthy, restorative, and enriching summer. We can’t wait for you to see what we have in store for the year ahead.

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Charles joined Angie Skerrett on RNZ's Culture 101 to discuss his new gallery, Ralph Paine's exhibition, and his views on New Zealand's new resale royalty laws for artworks. Culture 101 is the latest iteration of RNZ's long-running Sunday arts coverage, which has become a cultural institution in Aotearoa.

Charles joined Sofia Roger Williams in the studio at 95bFM to discuss his new gallery, business philosophy, and plans for the future.

John Hurrell needs no introduction to followers of Auckland's gallery scene. In an age where major media outlets no longer publish art criticism, he is almost single-handedly carrying the torch of art critique in Aotearoa’s most populous city. In the first-ever review of an exhibition at our gallery, John Hurrell shares his thoughts on Ralph Paine's exhibition Leaves from a Pillow Book, published on his website EyeContact.

Maurizio Cattelan's Comedian has sold for about US$6.2 million (NZ$10.5m), about four times the initial estimate, at Sotheby's in New York. Seven bidders competed on Wednesday (New York time) to seize Italian artist's work, which was estimated to sell for up to US$1.5m. Founder of cryptocurrency platform TRON Justin Sun acquired the piece by placing his bid over the phone, which ArtNet reported was paid for using cryptocurrency. Charles joined Emile Donovan on RNZ Nights to discuss the sale.

Comedian by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, has been described as the most famous and controversial artwork of the 21st century. It's set to make history when it goes to auction this week at Sotheby's in New York, with a pre-sale estimate of up to USD1.5 million. On the eve of it's sale, Charles Ninow spoke to Emile Donovan about how we define and value art.