Sympathetic Resonance is the eighth in a series of contemporary art projects at The Suter Art Gallery, beginning in 1999.  This series of exhibitions takes a theme and uses it to examine emerging trends in contemporary New Zealand art.  

Sympathetic Resonance is an exhibition that deconstructs the hierarchies that tether art to medium, place and time. Artists include Russ Flatt, Warwick Freeman, Emily Hartley-Skudder, Ana Iti, Kirsty Lillico, Shannon Novak, Moniek Schrijer, Ruth Thomas-Edmond, a collective of Nelson artists (Katie Pascoe, Kay van Dyk and Joel Fitzwell), and a response from The Physics Room featuring Daniel Shaskey, Luke Shaw, and Phoebe Hinchliff.

The title Sympathetic Resonance refers to the unseen relationships that connect people, objects, places and times. The most well-known example of this phenomenon is two tuning forks being placed close to each other, when one is struck and then muted the second unstruck fork will begin vibrating. These two objects are attuned to each other and the manipulation of one affects the other without physical intervention. Their connection is unseen but visceral.

In art and exhibition making emphasis has traditionally been placed on the unique and singular nature of artworks and exhibitions. But the plasticity of art is revealed in the endless contexts in which curators and exhibition makers place artworks – imbuing them with countless meanings.

Curators tours:
Friday 22 November 12.10pm
Friday 13 December 12.10pm
Friday 24 January 12.10pm

Emily Hartley-Skudder, Fancy Goods, 2018-2019, mixed media, courtesy of the artist and Jonathan Smart Gallery, Christchurch