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Lett Thomas

@lettthomasgallery

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Lett Thomas is a contemporary art gallery in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, directed by Michael Lett and Andrew Thomas

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“et al. have created some of the most extraordinary thought-provoking installations this country has seen, breaking ground for subsequent generations.” - Laureate Selection Panel

Congratulations to et al. – the artist collective whose boundary-pushing installations have helped shape contemporary art in Aotearoa, and one of eight 2026 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureates.

et al. receives the My ART Visual Arts Award. To watch their video in full, head to our website via the link in bio!

#AFLaureates #NZArtsLaureates #BackingTheArts

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What a sight to see our whare so full!
Shoulder to shoulder, the crowd at our Seasonal Opening filled every corner of the gallery to hear Michael Lett of @lettthomasgallery and Toni MacKinnon share the stories behind the art.

Alongside our local community were our Clay Week whānau, who had travelled from across Aotearoa to join us here in Whakatū. Every room in the whare was bustling. From our education rooms and theatre to our galleries and foyer, our community continues to bring vibrant kaupapa and arts to The Suter, season after season.

A special thank you to everyone who shared their time and aroha. We were delighted to celebrate together at our Seasonal Opening.

It was a full house!
Ngā mihi nui, e hoa mā.

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Jacqueline Fraser⁠
The Making of Cleo de Cinq a Sept 2026⁠
14 October — 14 November @lettthomasgallery⁠
Opening: Wednesday 14 October, 5:30 – 7:30pm⁠

Floor Talk with Gregory Burke:
Saturday 17 October, 1pm
⁠
#lettthomas #jacquelinefraser

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This week, the Karangahape Art District has a strong line-up of new exhibitions, openings and exhibitions not to miss.

At Melanie Roger Gallery, master carver Rangi Kipa (Te Āti Awa, Taranaki Iwi, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama) presents a short exhibition of new carved works, coinciding with his presentation at the 18th Lyon Biennale in France. Carved from whale bone and teeth recovered from natural strandings along the shoreline of Aotearoa, these works honour the whale as the supreme ariki (chief) of their domain, our revered ancestor and relation, and recognise our place within the interconnected cycles of oceanic life. The exhibition runs for just over a week, with an artist reception on Saturday afternoon. Don’t miss it!

Opening Wednesday evening this week is The Making of Cleo de Clinq a Sept 2026
by Jacquline Fraser at Lett Thomas. On Saturday join them too for an exhibition floor talk by Gregory Burke at 1pm.

Offcuts by Salome Tanuvasa also opens at Tim Melville presenting an exhibition of new paintings created during her time as the recipient of the 2025-2026 C Art Trust Award. And concurrently, Tim Melville opens INNER GARDEN: Homage to my teachers by Sarah Guppy in the office gallery space. Join them for both Wednesday evening.
And closing this Saturday - Gil Hanly’s exhibition of photography at Charles Ninow - a must-see before it ends.

Please check directly with each gallery for opening hours and exhibition details, as these may vary.

#karangahaperoad #NZArt

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The 18th Lyon Biennale is now open to the public, until 13 December. Curated by @catherinenichols567 under the artistic direction of @isabelle.bertolotti

We are proud to have worked alongside several of the artists on their journeys to the Biennale.

Through the work of the Kiwi artists featured in the Biennale, international audiences are engaging with contemporary Māori and Aotearoa New Zealand perspectives, stories and creative practices.

Their presence speaks to the richness, diversity and global relevance of contemporary New Zealand culture, while demonstrating what is possible when artists, cultural organisations and government agencies come together around a shared vision.

Fiona Clark:
Twelve photographs from Fiona’s Cosmetic Women 1975, series will be shown. These images were shot in Auckland shopping arcades and department stores, and capture sales assistants and the mannequins who populated these spaces. This was Clark’s first series of colour photos, and this is the first time the works are being presented at scale. Their production has been supported by Lett Thomas.
With the support of Creative New Zealand and the Office for Contemporary Art Aotearoa.

You can see Fiona Clark’s newly commissioned work in our current show, Economies of Deferral.

Ngahina Hohaia:
(Taranaki iwi, Te Ati Awa, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Ruanui, Aotearoa New Zealand)

Ngahina has made a new installation entitled Manawa Whenua 2026, made of moving-image, sound, muka (harakeke fibre) and huruhuru toroa (albatross feathers). Manawa Whenua, reenvisions the moving image and soundscape of He Ara Uru Ora, which was shown at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in 2024, into a wall-based installation.

A Māori artist from a lineage of activists, she draws on inherited knowledge systems and tools for survival to create large-scale fibre and multi-sensory installations. Her works testify as material witnesses to the persistence of colonial violence and are conceived as means to restore territories, both physical and as spaces of knowledge. They function simultaneously as memorial forms and acts of renewal.

With the support and contributions from Ngāti Maru, Taranaki iwi, Ngā Ruahinerangi,

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It has been a pleasure to work with @__marle on the opening of Marle Galerie - Marle’s first physical home, designed in collaboration with interior designer @rufus.knight. A calm, tactile space in Newmarket where natural materials, considered details, art, design and architecture all come together to extend the Marle world beyond the wardrobe.

A big congratulations, and thank you for your trust @julietsouter.

Marle Galeries is now open.

@lettthomasgallery
@neptune_papers
@kattfore
@fourthstreethome

Images @infinite_states

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First Thursdays is back for October, with new exhibition openings across the Karangahape Art District.

Moat Gallery, MSJD and HAUMI E STUDIOS all open new exhibitions on Thursday night. RM is also celebrating a new presentation, ‘Diere, Adan’ by Arianna Ramos, at its pop-up space on Beresford Square.

To mark the final week of their exhibitions, Masterworks hosts a talk on Wednesday at 11am, ‘Object Collecting: A Group Approach’, with members of Stichbury Group discussing the logistics of collecting together and the history of their art group. On Saturday at 11am, they host a talk by celebrated woodfire potter Chester Nealie. All welcome.

Also ending this week is ‘one of these situations’ at Lett Thomas, featuring work by Diane Arbus, Chris Booth, Mike Hewson and Kate Newby; alongside exhibitions by Deb Platt and Jenette Mullins at The Charlotte Museum. All end Saturday.

On Saturday, Tautai hosts a Community Fono to discuss the outcome of its recent Creative New Zealand funding application. Facilitated by Caren Rangi, the fono is an opportunity to reflect and come together to share thoughts, ideas and aspirations for what the future of Tautai might look like. Registration is required.

Please check directly with each gallery for opening hours and exhibition details, as these may vary.

#galleryguide #kroadnz

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Showing at the 18th @biennaledelyon until 13 December, Fiona Clark’s ‘Cosmetic Women’ was her first colour series and has not been shown before. Shot in mid-1970s Auckland shopping arcades and department stores, it captures sales assistants and the mannequins who populated these spaces. Coiffed hair, painted faces, fitted dresses, wigs and gleaming counters make the shop floor appear theatrical, yet Clark photographs it with restraint.The women meet the camera with highly trained composure, their gestures and everyday routines set alongside the mannequins’ immaculate staging. Clark was drawn to the close-knit, working-class women staffing the cosmetics counters and wig bar at George Courts, a Karangahape Road department store. Thinking back, she recalls their camaraderie and solidarity, though they did not necessarily identify as feminists. Presented here at full scale for the first time, the series affirms Clark’s conviction that working-class women overlooked by the women’s movement must be written back into history. Catherine Nichols (@catherinenichols567 )

Fiona Clark’s (@tikorangicameraclub ) presentation is made possible through the support of @lettthomasgallery and @creativenz

Fiona Clark is represented in Aotearoa New Zealand by Lett Thomas.

Images:
1. Fiona Clark, installation view of ‘Cosmetic Women’, 1975 at the 18th Lyon Biennale.
2. Fiona Clark with photographs from her ‘Cosmetic Women’ series, installed at the 18th Lyon Biennale.
Both images courtesy of the artist, Lett Thomas and OCAA. Photography by @____clarajane

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Servilleta (Edition/100)
House paint on Fabriano paper
480 x 380 mm
Link in bio

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Karangahape Rd - WHAT A WEEKEND - Three days of art, artists, open doors, big ideas, great conversations and a whole lot of people discovering great art.

Our inaugural Karangahape Art Weekend has officially wrapped and we’re still buzzing.

From gallery-hopping and studio visits to sound art, performances, workshops, music and a whole lot of little artists on the Squiggla trail, Karangahape has always been a place for the curious, the creative and the wonderfully unexpected. This weekend was a reminder of just how much there is to discover here.

A massive thank you to everyone who came along, wandered in, got curious and spent some time with our galleries and artists. To the artists, gallerists, performers, volunteers, partners and behind-the-scenes legends who made it all happen. And to the gallery crew who dreamed this up and got the ball rolling - Thank you.

Huge thanks to Auckland Council and the City Centre Targeted Rate, Auckland Live, The Chartwell Trust and Squiggla, Clean Collective and all our supporters and friends who helped bring the weekend to life.

Thanks for being part of our very first Karangahape Art Weekend.

Who’s ready for next year? 🎨

📸 @abigaildellavo

#KarangahapeRoad #KRoadAuckland #KarangahapeArtWeekend #AucklandArt

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After a super successful first Karangahape Art Weekend, we’re back to regular programming — which still means new exhibitions, openings, talks and events every week!

This Wednesday night, Melanie Roger Gallery opens ‘Orbit’, a new solo presentation by London-based painter Emily Wolfe. On Friday night, join Mountain Survey Jet Department at Ironbank to hear Julian Hooper discuss his work in the exhibition ‘Vāle’ at nearby Ngutu Kākā Gallery at AUT. On Saturday afternoon, make your way to Anna Miles Gallery for ‘Rokc the Moo’n, featuring new work by Peter Hawkesby, Reece King and Tyrone Te Waa.

It’s also your last chance to catch ‘CRIT: Art Learning Since 1987’ at Artspace Aotearoa; ‘smash, smash, smash, smash’ at Mountain Survey Jet Department; and ‘Central Façade’ at Moat Gallery — all exhibitions close this Saturday.

Want to catch up on what’s been happening across the Karangahape Art District?

Listen back to interviews with local gallerists and artists on 95bFM’s ‘Various Artists’ and on ‘Current’ magazine’s online channels.

And don’t forget to follow our new Karangahape Art Instagram account, where we’ll keep you in the loop with exhibition openings, talks, workshops and more — your one-stop guide to all things arty happening right here on Karangahape Rd!

Please check directly with each gallery for opening hours and exhibition details, as these may vary.

#galleryguide #kroadnz

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On Friday evening, Kalisolaite ’Uhila presented the durational performance 𝙇𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙍𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩! 𝙇𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙍𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩! on Karangahape Road.

’Uhila (@kalisolaite) is represented by Lett Thomas (@lettthomasgallery), who are hosting an art book sale in the gallery this weekend.

The performance was part of 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱 — a gallery-led initiative of exhibitions, events and activations celebrating Karangahape Road as Tāmaki’s Art District.

✦ KARANGAHAPE ART WEEKEND ✦

Friday 5–9pm
Saturday + Sunday 11am–3pm
KARANGAHAPE ROAD

For the full itinerary, visit @kroadnz

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