Full House: Exhibition Text
Erin Lee explores Full House, an artist-run exhibition staged in a home commissioned by artist Milan Mrkusich and designed by Aotearoa/New Zealand architect Claude Megson.
This text has been independently selected and re-published by The Art Paper, courtesy of the curators.
Full House. Installation view, Tāmaki Makaurau, May 2021. Photo: Sam Hartnett
Full House is an artist-initiated exhibition featuring work that plays with the textures and forms of domestic ritual and routine. Staged in a home commissioned by Milan Mrkusich and designed by architect Claude Megson, twenty-four emerging and established artists create a dialogue about the materiality and structures of domesticity.
Megson is often spoken about as an architect whose contributions have been forgotten by history. Remembered as somewhat abrasive and arrogant, Megson, a disciple of the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, was known to refer to himself as ‘Frank Claude Wright.’ His ambitious philosophy of creating individual spaces for rituals and occasions is often overshadowed by another feature he shares with Wright—flat roofs that leak.
While the house features Megson’s signature individual rooms, the adjoining compartments are constantly present in the periphery. The antithesis of open plan living, views of the house are carefully framed in slivers. As you move around, the spaces take turns being hidden and seen. Nestled in Megson’s labyrinth, discovering each artwork requires exploration. Vigilance is rewarded as changing positions provides new views and connections between works displayed in different spaces.
Full House was organised by artists Alexander Bartleet and Matt Arbuckle as a fluid and casual space to exhibit. Using Alex’s home as an exhibition space, this project takes its cues from the stairwell and house shows of the late Australian artist John Nixon. Working in the studio next to Nixon, Matt experienced these exhibitions that brought together emerging and established artists as part of the wider community building and mentorship Nixon was known for. By conceiving the audience of Full House as a community of peers and friends, the self-consciousness of showing in a gallery gives way to playfulness, humour, and ease in collaboration.
Virginia Leonard, Infections, 2021, clay, lustre, resin, tape, eiderdown, oil paint, 76 x 63 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Gow Langsford. Photo: Sam Hartnett
(L–R) Basil Papoutsidis, Untitled (Bent Chassis #1), 2021, edition 2/2, aluminium, enamel, 83.5 x 118 x 67 mm. Courtesy of the artist
Oliver King, Pink Undies #2/Pink Undies #3, 2017, edition 2/3, digital print on ACM, 34 x 39 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Scott Lawrie Gallery
Cat Fooks, Mr & Mrs Fantastic, 2021, 53.5 x 46.5 x 36.5 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Anna Miles Gallery
Photo: Sam Hartnett
James Ross, Yellow Book (corner), 2008, oil on plywood, 34 x 27.5 cm. Courtesy of the artist
(L–R) Ryder Jones, A picture of lightning, 2021, 47 x 2.2 x 16 cm
Emma Fitts, Protection for the Harvest, 2020, vinyl paint and dyed felted rope on canvas, 132 x 91.5 cm. Courtesy of the artist, Parlour Projects and Melanie Roger Gallery
Photo: Sam Hartnett
(L–R) Matt Arbuckle, All the more afraid, 2021, 8 panel double-sided screen, 1800 mm height, variable concertina. Courtesy of the artist and Two Rooms Gallery
Alexander Bartleet, Built to Scale, 2021, mixed media on wire, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist
Peter Lange, Brick Trip Rug, 2020, fibreglass, mosaic (broken and full tiles), 170 x 1140 x 610 mm. Courtesy of the artist
Photo: Sam Hartnett
(L–R) John Nixon, Cerial boxes and photographic test strip, 2018, framed paper collage, 42 x 32 cm. Courtesy of Two Rooms and the estate of John Nixon
Gabriel Gentner, Rising dampness II/Seven feet floodwaters/Leaks and code violations, 2021, woodfired soda and ash glazed stoneware, dimensions variable.
Photo: Sam Hartnett
Heidi Brickell, Prolifery Fold: Pōkai Whenua, Leibniz & Frida Kahlo, 2019, cotton duck, string and acrylic, 950 x 1090 mm. Courtesy of the artist
Cat Fooks, Claypool Hill, 2021, 135 x 36 x 32 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Anna Miles Gallery. Photo: Sam Hartnett
(L–R) Benjamin Prabowo Sexton, Sheets, 2021, edition 1/3, silver gelatine print, 18 x 22 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Daine Singer Gallery.
Selina Woulfe, Bloodline Rituals I (dark grey comb piece), 2014, oxidised sterling silver, 25 x 7.5 x 5.2 cm/Bloodline Rituals II (gold/grey tablet piece), 2014, oxidised sterling silver, 29.5 x 7.5 x 5.2 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Masterworks.
Photo: Sam Hartnett
Full House. Installation view, Tāmaki Makaurau, May 2021. Photo: Sam Hartnett
Garth Steeper, Wave study, 2020, oil on board, 30.5 x 41 cm. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Sam Hartnett
Peter Lange, Brick Trip Rug, 2020, fibreglass, mosaic (broken and full tiles), 17 x 114 x 61 cm. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Sam Hartnett
Madeline Simm, The grass is blue, 2021, found fabric, cotton and wool thread, 22 x 27 cm. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Sam Hartnett
(L–R) Ryder Jones, Sling Ray, 2020, 66 x 64 x 64 cm. Courtesy of the artist.
Peter Lange, Dolphin Trip Rug, 2020, fibreglass, mosaic (broken and full tiles), 13.5 x 140 x 61 cm. Courtesy of the artist.
Heidi Brickell, Prolifery Fold: Pōkai Whenua, Leibniz & Frida Kahlo, 2019, cotton duck, string and acrylic, 95 x 109 cm. Courtesy of the artist.
Matt Arbuckle, All the more afraid, 2021, 8 panel double-sided screen, 180 cm height, variable concertina. Courtesy of the artist and Two Rooms Gallery.
Photo: Sam Hartnett
Alexander Bartleet, Built to Scale, 2021, mixed media on wire, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Sam Hartnett
Wendelien Bakker, Sweeping Waves, 2012, film, 5:15 minutes. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Sam Hartnett
(L–R) Matt Arbuckle, All the more afraid, 2021, 8 panel double-sided screen, 180 cm height, variable concertina. Courtesy of the artist and Two Rooms Gallery.
Gretchen Albrecht, Morning breaks, 2020, oil on copper, 17.5 x 35 cm. Courtesy of the artist.
Virginia Leonard, Infections, 2021, clay, lustre, resin, tape, eiderdown, oil paint, 76 x 63 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Gow Langsford.
Ryder Jones, Sling Ray, 2020, 66 x 64 x 64 cm. Courtesy of the artist.
Photo: Sam Hartnett
John Nixon, Yellow and Black Cross, 1989, enamel on metal, 37 x 37 cm. Courtesy of Two Rooms and the estate of John Nixon. Photo: Sam Hartnett
Travis MacDonald, The relocation process, 2020, oil glue size and cotton on shaped wood, 145 x 170 mm. Courtesy of the artist and Niagra Gallery. Photo: Sam Hartnett
Full House, Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 May 2021
