The Peryer Archives, Wellington viewing'. Two public days only: Fri.18-Sat.19 May, 2018.

Peter Peryer - 'Home' 1991 gelatin-silver print, 285mm x 430mm.

Information provided by Bowerbank Ninow, Auckland:

"The Peryer Archives: 1975-1999 is a single-vendor sale of works from the personal collection of esteemed New Zealand photographer Peter Peryer. This catalogue consists of fifty works dating from 1975 to 1999. Spanning the crucial early years of Peryer’s practice, this group of photographs includes a range of his most iconic images and subjects.

"The works in this auction are photographs that Peryer has hand-picked for his personal collection over the course of his career, many of which are prints that have been included in previous museum and gallery exhibitions.

"Peter Peryer is a seminal figure in New Zealand’s photographic canon. He emerged onto the burgeoning photographic scene in the mid-1970s, when excitement around the possibilities of photography as a fine art medium was beginning to peak, thanks in part to the community around PhotoForum magazine. Peryer immediately established a reputation as an indispensable photographer, whose dark and emotionally nuanced early works gradually gave way to a more studied and clinical, but no less intellectually rich and complex, approach.

"As well as offering a glimpse into Peryer’s personal photographic archive, this auction also serves as a survey of the first three decades of the artist’s practice. From 1975’s Erika to Wetas from 1999, this auction presents a rare opportunity to experience the breadth and depth of Peryer’s practice in one room, and to understand these critical photographic images in their full context.

"The images in this catalogue include six photographs of Peryer’s then-wife Erika Parkinson, some of which were included in the seminal 2001 exhibition Erika: A Portrait by Peter Peryer, curated by Justin Paton. Other images include his Neenish Tarts (1983), which was featured prominently on the back cover of the catalogue to the 1995 retrospective Second Nature: Peter Peryer, photographer, New Zealand. Many of the works in this auction have never appeared on the secondary market before, while others have been seen only rarely or exist in extremely limited quantities."

Peter Peryer - 'Erika', 1975. Gelatin silver print, 240mm x 235mm.

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From Photospace Gallery's perspective: what a way to start the 2018 exhibition schedule!  I've always been a massive fan of Peter Peryer's photography so it's a privilege to show a selection of his classic photographs here, even for only two days (Friday 18th and Saturday 19th May, hours: 10am-5pm).

As you may know, Photospace Gallery has been closed since February so the building can be earthquake strengthened to a higher specification. The roof and awning have also been replaced. We've taken the opportunity to remove the false ceiling in gallery room 1, so it now has a lot more headroom and generally feels much nicer. The lights just went in today so it's starting to look like an exhibition space again. But the upper walls and ceiling are not yet painted and there's a hole the size of a catflap burned through the carpet near the window (to do with the welding), not to mention a few other issues yet to be resolved. Nonetheless...

We'll be hanging Jon Carapiet's exhibition soon as poss. after the Peryer exhibition comes down (we're packing out on Sunday) and the rest of the year's exhibition schedule has been rejigged. No specific dates yet, but keep your eye on the website's exhibition page and the Photospace Gallery Facebook page for updates. I hope you can make the opening of the Peryer Archives exhibition on Thursday evening, 6pm-8pm. The guys from Bowerbank Ninow will be here so it's a good opportunity to meet them. See the Facebook event for opening info.