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Gibbs Farm

Coordinates: 36°31′23″S 174°26′06″E / 36.523°S 174.435°E / -36.523; 174.435
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Gibbs Farm
88.5° ARC x 8' by Bernar Venet
Map
Typeprivate open-air sculpture park
LocationKaipara Harbour, New Zealand
Nearest cityAuckland
Area990 acres
Created1991
Operated byAlan Gibbs

Gibbs Farm is an open-air sculpture park located in Kaipara Harbour, 47 kilometres (29 mi) north of Auckland, New Zealand.[1] It contains the largest collection of large-scale outdoor sculptures in New Zealand. It is the private art collection of New Zealand businessman Alan Gibbs; however, it is open to the public on select days throughout the year, usually once per month, on a bookings-essential basis.[1]

Background

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After purchasing the 400 hectares (990 acres) of land for "The Farm" in 1991,[2] Gibbs has collected major artworks by many world-renowned artists from New Zealand and overseas. Much of the artwork is commissioned and, as such, incorporates elements of the landscape into the artwork.[3] The farm also includes several exotic animals such as emus and giraffes,[1] a garage where visitors can glimpse the Gibbs Aquada through the window, and a full-scale wild west town complete with a saloon (in the installation called Grief).[4][5][6] Grief was built through the inspiration of Gibbs' architect son-in-law, Noel Lane,[6] who now cares for the property with Gibbs' daughter Amanda.[7] The town is on a private area of the farm and is not open to the public.

The sculpture Electrum (for Len Lye), by Eric Orr, is the world's largest Tesla coil (11.6 metres or 38 feet tall) and numerous artworks are large enough to be seen from satellite imagery at high magnification.

Gibbs is a major sponsor of ACT New Zealand, and most years, the party holds its annual conference at the Gibbs Farm.[8]

Artworks

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Year Artwork Artist Coordinates (if visible in satellite imagery)
1987 Two Rectangles, Vertical Gyratory Up (V) George Rickey
1990/1995 Column of Four SquaresEccentric Gyratory (III) George Rickey
1992 Kaipara Strata Chris Booth
1994 Sea/Sky Kaipara Graham Bennett
1994 Untitled (Red Square/Black Square) Richard Thompson
1994 Horizons Neil Dawson 36°31′33.6″S 174°26′08.4″E / 36.526000°S 174.435667°E / -36.526000; 174.435667
1996 Red Cloud Confrontation in Landscape Leon van den Eijkel 36°31′27.9″S 174°26′08.7″E / 36.524417°S 174.435750°E / -36.524417; 174.435750
1996 Light Column/Cabbage Tree Bill Culbert
1996 Te Hemara Ralph Hotere
1996 Kaipara Waka Russell Moses
1996/1997 Rakaia Peter Nicholls
1997 Electrum (for Len Lye) Eric Orr/Greg Leyh
1997 Pyramid (Keystone NZ) Sol LeWitt
1999 The Mermaid Marijke de Goey 36°31′15.91″S 174°26′26.92″E / 36.5210861°S 174.4408111°E / -36.5210861; 174.4408111
1999/2001 Te Tuhirangi Contour Richard Serra 36°31′23.3″S 174°26′43.22″E / 36.523139°S 174.4453389°E / -36.523139; 174.4453389
1999/2001 Green and White Fence Daniel Buren
2003 Wind Wand Len Lye
??? Grief[6] ??? 36°31′38.1″S 174°25′48.3″E / 36.527250°S 174.430083°E / -36.527250; 174.430083
2005 Arches Andy Goldsworthy 36°31′16.16″S 174°25′40.65″E / 36.5211556°S 174.4279583°E / -36.5211556; 174.4279583
2005 Easy K Kenneth Snelson
2006 Floating Island of Immortals Zhan Wang
2008 Mud Opera Tony Oursler
2008 Saddleblaze Peter Roche
2009 Dismemberment, Site 1 Anish Kapoor 36°31′22.93″S 174°25′55.17″E / 36.5230361°S 174.4319917°E / -36.5230361; 174.4319917
2011/2012 Giraffe Jeff Thomson
2012 88.5° ARC x 8 Bernar Venet 36°31′07.5″S 174°26′15.0″E / 36.518750°S 174.437500°E / -36.518750; 174.437500
2013 A Fold in the Field Maya Lin 36°30′51.4″S 174°26′11.3″E / 36.514278°S 174.436472°E / -36.514278; 174.436472
2014 Tango Dancers Marijke de Goey
2017 Jacob's Ladder Gerry Judah

Photos of artwork

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Light, Liz (25 October 2015). "Gibbs Farm: The magnificent megaphone". The New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  2. ^ "The Farm: Alan Gibbs | Rob Garrett, Curator". Robgarrettcfa.com. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Gibbs Farm". Gibbs Farm. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  4. ^ "A Land Art Sanctuary Filled With Eye-Bending Masterpieces". Co.Design. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  5. ^ Rotherham, Fiona (1 August 2012). "Gibbs lives a life of 'serious fun'". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "Book extract: Serious Fun – The Life and Times of Alan Gibbs, Chapter 16". National Business Review. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  7. ^ "The Farm: Alan Gibbs |". The Farm: Alan Gibbs | Rob Garrett, Curator. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  8. ^ Jones, Nicholas (27 February 2016). "Act conference looks toward next election". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
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36°31′23″S 174°26′06″E / 36.523°S 174.435°E / -36.523; 174.435