Richard Penn’s Art Exhibition "mirror"

You are invited to explore identity and lineage at Richard Penn’s art exhibition "Mirror."

Lithuanian Days Aotearoa, an annual cultural festival organised by local Lithuanian expats, invites you to reflect on identity and lineage with South African artist Richard Penn during his award-winning exhibition "Mirror" at Public Record in Auckland from 16-21 April.

Richard Penn had never been to Lithuania, a country where his Jewish grandparents came from, to South Africa. Still, he kept the connection alive and captured it in his early artistic explorations. Through the up close and personal video portraits of his father, Richard contemplates the notion of origins. He examines certain gestures that take him back to his childhood images of his grandfather and echo back through generations to their roots in a village in Lithuania. The captured moments and gestures cause the time to slip, and his father is caught standing between two mirrors where the present is a point from which both the past and future emanate.

"Mirror" was originally exhibited at The Everard Read Gallery in Johannesburg, South Africa, and holds special significance as the merit award winner of the Everard Read Art Award. This captivating exhibition invites viewers to contemplate the continuum of cultural heritage, as depicted through video portraits of Penn's father and ink drawings.

Talk and Meet the Artist Event:
Saturday, 20 April, 2024
1:00 - 3:00 PM

On Saturday, 20 April, from 1PM—3PM, Public Record will host a “Talk and Meet the Artist” event. Richard will share how exploring his father’s gestures opened up the idea of very close and very far, how it came together, how it informed his future art direction and identity, and how it helped to form a very personal, distinctive creative signature that he is known for today in South Africa, New Zealand, and globally.

Born and raised in South Africa, Richard Penn currently resides in Auckland, New Zealand, where he continues to create thought-provoking works of art. As an independent artist, Penn has garnered international acclaim for his exhibitions at prestigious venues such as Gallery AOP and Nirox Gallery in Johannesburg, Blank Projects in Cape Town, and The Origins Centre Museum at the University of the Witwatersrand. His diverse portfolio spans various mediums, including painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and clay and ceramics. Most recently, he was awarded the Premier Prize at the Portage Ceramics Award in 2022. He celebrated his first New Zealand solo exhibition of ceramics and drawings at Public Record in Auckland in 2023.

For further information, please visit Richard Penn's www.richardpennart.com or contact him at info@richardpennart.com. You can also stay updated on Penn's artistic journey by following him on Instagram at @richardpennsa.

The video series "Mirror" is part of the Lithuanian Days Aotearoa 2023 festival. Lithuanian Days Aotearoa gratefully acknowledges the support of the Lithuanian Council for Culture, Public Record and the Lithuanian Society of New Zealand in making this exhibition possible.