New Vision Gallery facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
New Vision Gallery

His Majesty's Arcade on Queen Street, which housed the New Vision Gallery (pictured in 1977)
Established	1957 (1957)
Dissolved	October 1986 (1986-10)
Location	Auckland, New Zealand
Type	Art gallery
Founder	Kees Hos and Tina Hos

The New Vision Gallery was a special art and craft gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It was open for many years, from the 1950s through the 1970s. This gallery was important because it showed new and exciting art and crafts made by artists from New Zealand.

History of the New Vision Gallery

How the Gallery Started

The New Vision Gallery was started in 1957 by a couple named Kees and Tina Hos. They were artists from the Netherlands who moved to New Zealand in 1956. Kees was a printmaker and painter, and Tina was a weaver.

They first opened the New Vision Craft Centre in Takapuna. Their goal was to show and sell high-quality art and crafts made by New Zealand artists. The gallery's name came from a famous book called The New Vision by artist László Moholy-Nagy.

Moving to Auckland City

In 1959, the Hoses moved their gallery to His Majesty's Arcade in central Auckland. It became the first shop in Auckland to focus only on New Zealand potters, jewellers, weavers, and other craftspeople.

Kees and Tina Hos became leading sellers of applied arts in New Zealand. Applied arts are things like pottery, jewellery, and textiles that are both beautiful and useful.

Expanding to Fine Art

In 1965, the Hoses opened a second gallery space above their craft gallery. This new space was just for contemporary art. They decided to do this after another art gallery in Auckland, the Ikon Gallery, closed down.

The New Vision Gallery was one of the few galleries in New Zealand that supported abstract art. Abstract art uses shapes, colors, and lines instead of showing things as they look in real life.

Supporting New Artists

Many important artists had their first solo shows at New Vision Gallery. These included Gordon Walters and Theo Schoon. The Hoses also supported expressionist painter Philip Trusttrum early in his career.

An art historian named Andrew Paul Wood said that the gallery had a huge impact on the art scene in Auckland. He noted that the Hoses gave great support and friendship to many artists, including Colin McCahon. They were champions of modern and abstract art. They also helped connect New Zealand artists with new ideas from Europe.

Important Exhibitions

The gallery also held significant shows for applied arts. In 1960, jeweller Jens Hoyer Hansen had his first solo exhibition there.

In 1970, the gallery put on a major show called Silver, Gold, Greenstone. This was the first big exhibition of modern jewellery in New Zealand. It featured works by jewellers like Kobi Bosshard, Jens Hansen, and Gunter Taemmler. It also included pieces by artists not mainly known as jewellers, such as Paul Beadle and Theo Schoon.

In 1971, ceramic artist Bronwynne Cornish had her first important solo exhibition at the gallery. It was called China Cabinet Curiosities.

Changes and Closure

In 1971, Kees Hos moved to Melbourne, Australia. He was asked to start and lead a new art and design school there. Tina Hos stayed in Auckland to manage the gallery.

Tina Hos passed away in September 1976. After her death, Pam Beca (later Donnelly) continued to run the gallery. In 1981, James Peters took over the business. The New Vision Gallery finally closed its doors in October 1986. Kees Hos passed away in 2015.

The building where the gallery was located, His Majesty's Arcade and Theatre, was torn down in late 1987 and early 1988.

In 2008, an exhibition about the history of the New Vision Gallery was held at the Gus Fisher Gallery. It was put together by Joanna Trezise.

Artists Featured at New Vision Gallery

Many talented artists showed their work at the New Vision Gallery. Some of them include: