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 from New Zealand artists.

A Look Back: The Gallery's Story

The New Vision Gallery started in 1957. It was created by two Dutch artists, Kees Hos and his wife Tina Hos. They moved to New Zealand in 1956.

Starting Small: The Craft Centre

Kees and Tina first opened the New Vision Craft Centre in Takapuna. Their goal was to sell high-quality art and crafts made by New Zealand artists. They wanted people to be able to buy beautiful, handmade items. The gallery's name came from a famous art book called The New Vision.

New Vision was one of the first places in New Zealand to show modern crafts alongside fine art. Other galleries like Helen Hitchings Gallery also did this.

Moving to the City Centre

In 1959, the Hoses moved New Vision to His Majesty's Arcade in central Auckland. This made it the first shop in Auckland to focus only on New Zealand potters, jewelers, weavers, and other craftspeople. Kees and Tina Hos became very important dealers for applied arts in New Zealand.

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

Supporting New Art Styles

New Vision was one of the few galleries in New Zealand that supported abstract art. Abstract art is a style where artists use shapes, colors, and lines instead of showing things exactly as they look.

Famous artists like Gordon Walters and Theo Schoon had their very first solo shows here. The Hoses also supported Philip Trusttrum, an artist known for his expressionist paintings.

Art historian Andrew Paul Wood said that New Vision had a huge impact on the Auckland art scene. He explained that the Hoses not only showed art but also gave great support and friendship to many artists, including Colin McCahon. They were big fans of modern and abstract art and helped connect New Zealand artists with new ideas from Europe.

Showcasing Crafts and Jewellery

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

In 1970, New Vision put on a big exhibition called Silver, Gold, Greenstone. This was the first major show of modern jewellery in New Zealand. It featured works by many talented jewellers like Kobi Bosshard and Jens Hansen. It also included artists who weren't mainly jewellers, like Theo Schoon.

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

The Gallery's Final Years

In 1971, Kees Hos moved to Australia for a new job. Tina Hos stayed in Auckland to keep running the gallery. Tina passed away in 1976. After her death, Pam Beca (later Donnelly) managed the business. Later, James Peters took over in 1981.

The New Vision Gallery finally closed its doors in October 1986. The building where it was located, His Majesty's Arcade, was torn down a couple of years later, in 1987-1988. Kees Hos passed away in 2015.

In 2008, an exhibition about the history of the New Vision Gallery was held at the Gus Fisher Gallery.

Artists Who Showed Their Work

Many talented artists had their work shown at the New Vision Gallery. Here are some of them: