Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Review

Others might be able to find merit in the installation and showy exterior but to me it's a veneer laid over a hollow box, overcompensating for the vapid, soulless installations on the inside.

The Maori exhibition didn't do enough to lift this out of one star territory.

Wonderful free art gallery featuring works by Len Lye and others.

Len Lye, Taranaki's adopted son and one of NZ's contributions to a modern art that is organic multisensory whimsical and just a little weird; in a polished stainless steel extension to the Govett Brewster gallery that might be conceived as NZ's answer to Bilbao Guggenheim or alternatively a gigantic upside down baking dish one is introduced (by extremely solicitous staff) to Lye's ouvre and that of fellow travelers; go for the mesmerizing, clangorous, playful evocativeness of it all, not to be missed.

Very modern and interesting exhibits. Worth wandering around and they have a free kids holiday program as well.

A beautiful building and such helpful staff. A lovely way to spend the afternoon.

Don t bother coming if you want to take anything other than photos on your phone.
Their policy states:
Non-flash photography and filming is allowed in the galleries for personal, non-commercial purposes only.

We were approached multiple times and regardless of us HONESTLY saying that our photos were for personal use they told us we needed to fill out the form and pay the fees. So they decided for us that we were lying and that we were doing this commercially, when in fact this was not the case. At all. We want to make beautiful art for ourselves.

We are not new to the policies of galleries and we have always read them prior to make sure we are following the laws and respecting artists. We are artist as well, but apparently the respect is not mutual.

We ended up feeling so unwelcome we left, and on a personal note it s really tainted the experience for me. Regardless of the photography we were doing, the rest of the displays were ruined for me by this.

There is beautiful art here, really special and unique art.
But art is for sharing and inspiring and showing who you are. If you want to share your art here through your body: (as I m a contortionist) if you re a dancer, gymnasts, acrobat or any performing artist with your body, be prepared for the same treatment.

the reason we visited new plymouth! such a draw card for the city, the building is so striking and yet completely at home amongst the older facades of the city centre. both the exhibitions and the interior architecture were brilliant, it is such an exciting space to enter. this place tops auckland art gallery for me!!

The centre is a magnificent building made of polished stainless steel which is blinded several people over the years apparently.
Inside we were exposed to several exhibitions but the highlights is clearly the kinetic art of Len Lye. For those of you Philistines not familiar with jargon of the art world I will simplify.
Len lye it seems was famous for inventing the wobbly stick. We saw several wobbly sticks in turn, each in the dark with a Spotlight turned on them to highlight the drama of a wobbly stick.
Then in another room we saw a whole collection of wobbly sticks wobbling at the same time. This was also very noisy, but despite the risk we stuck it out to have the full experience of wobbly sticks dancing together. The noise was much like the sound of cutting concrete, which we had heard on the trip to the gallery, but the wobbly sticks made it an artistic noise.

The logical extension to this is now on the seafront where there is a large bending stick with a ball on top, called the wind wand. It bends in the wind which seems to please the greater artistic community greatly.

Next we saw an exhibition of chairs arranged meaningfully. These were chairs from important people in the Taranaki community.
We were able to sit in some of the chairs as an artistic experience and read about the people who originally owned the chairs.

Then they had a speaker making a series of seemingly unconnected statements. This was very deep and meaningful.

Was an amazing experience. Very unusual and interesting designs

Took my 11 year old grandson particularly to see the Len Lye exhibition. He was most enthralled couldn't wait to tell his father, unfortunately didn't have time to revisit

It is stunning to look at from the outside. Not enough kinetic exhibits for me though.

I imagine that the $15 entry fee was to cover the wage bill on the overabundance of staff who appeared to have little to do except make a person feel uncomfortable lingering too long to look at a piece of interest. No real pieces of interest tbh.

The beautiful architectural design on this place is well worth a visit. The kinetic sculptures are pretty amazing.

Most enjoyable. Loved the kinetic sculptures of Len Lye as well as the visiting Korean artists works. Very helpful staff.

The gallery is housed in a building of stunning architecture, and part of the exhibition is dedicated to the history of the building's design and construction. In addition, works of contemporary art are exhibited here. Free master classes and film screenings for children are held.

This is great only if you like Len Lie's art. Otherwise it's just ho hum. He is obviously a good artist but not everyone loves the same art.

Amazing building and very helpful staff. Was disappointed that they did not have more of the mechanical/ kinetic sculptures on display.

The new Len Lye centre is brilliant. Loved the modern art in there. It is a small museum though. So don't expect to spend more than an hour or so

I didn't like this exhibition at all and I love art.

Thought the exhibitions needed adjacent descriptions. Also felt the gallery flow was poor and that floor level identification would have assisted in navigating around.

$ 15 I do not think it's worth it, but it's worth a visit.

I wont even give it a single star. They charge 15 dollars entry fees and as u see from outside such a beautiful big architecture building. But when u go inside u find nothing worth ur entry fees money. Its just a waste of time and money. Instead u should just have some pics click from outside or went some nearby places.
If u enter in, u will be free in merely 10 min maximum. There is nothing to see for visitor except some chairs, blinds, screen and small wind wand dance. I didnt lyk it at all.
If u have plenty of time then they offer u to watch a movie, which i dont want to come back in evening and watch it. So i left.

Look amazing outside. Nice design. We don't have chance to go inside. Short visit in the morning.

Listened to a talk on Maori history and culture. Really enlightening.

Great experience, we enjoyed the kinetic, visual and sound exhibitions

Cool sculptures and it looks fantastic. It doesn't quite reach its potential though.

Beautiful building inside and out. The exhibitions and movies have been wonderful every time I've visited.

The exhibits change fairly regularly and range from ok to amazing. Most are amazing and I can see why people travel around the world to see it. Check out what s on before visiting. The kinetic works are by far the best, in my opinion, for what that s worth. The building itself is a piece of art, so even if the exhibit at 5e time isn t what you re into, the building is still a sight to behold !

Like any art gallery, this one is largely dependent on the quality of the current exhibit, but they are mostly world class.

The exterior of the actual building was amazing and the four dynamic art pieces were worthwhile.

Amazing experience, beautiful building and exhibitions

All art is personal - unfortunately I just don't 'get' some art. The building is impressive, with large galleries that are easily navigated, and it has a shop.

The most amazing building. Could have more works by Lye. But enjoyed works from his period of life.

Amazing art. Love that it changes every time I visit.

Experienced gallery staff are quite helpful - considering I missed the art that was right in front of me. "Conceptual" they said. Lucky they were there to advise me. Amazing structure though

Interesting modern art and building a must see for Taranaki.

You'd get more enjoyment spending $15 at McDonald's.

Spectacular building in its own right, let alone the changing exhibitions inside. Great movie theatre, cool design store.

The building is interesting, the contents limited and for me disappointing.

Interesting but too expensive. To noisy. Couldn't enjoy each exhibit.

Having stepped foot inside the gallery, i can vouch that it is definitely worth the trip to new Plymouth. A well deserving landmark, beautifully thoughtout inside and out. Brilliantly branded, make sure to stop by the gift shop and bring home a little bit of len lye with you. Marvellous len lye kinetic sculpture exhibit.

Must visit. Spectacular. Some strange "art" installations of furniture. But then what would I know (+: Art is so subjective.

Great gallery and super architecture. A must visit spot!!!!

Complete waste of money, there are free art galleries in New Zealand which are much better than this. Aside from the outrageous price though, most of the artwork itself (which mind you, only takes 5 minutes to browse) is absolutely atrocious and degenerate.

Save your money and don't go inside this place, looking at the building from the outside is more than enough.

Diverse in what it shows. I like seeing the different Len Lye creations each time I visit. Some of the exhibitions are very thought provoking as they are exceedingly simple and you wonder why people created it, which I suppose broadens how you think about art... I do feel there could be a bit more on display as it seems very sparse in the displays. Locals get in for free, so take library card or utility bill for proof of this.

Wonderful gallery exciting vibrant well worth the visit a must do while in New Plymouth Taranaki New Zealand

Magnificent resource for New Plymouth & NZ in general. Amazing architecture & fabulous installations. Really enjoyed the Len Lye kinetic sculptures - they bring out the childlike wonder in each of us . Each & every staff member was helpful, friendly & knowledgeable. Highly recommend for everyone to go.

Unexpectedly interesting gallery. Perfect for one of the many rainy days in New Plymouth. External mirrored walls are truly amazing.

We had never visited an art gallery before ...bit of a surprise ....Team members were helpful but we had no idea what they were talking about ...interesting displays and the exterior of the building was futuristic ..ticked that box

A unique gallery of art and you can only find it in New Plymouth. From the building itself to all the art works inside are all beautiful.

If you are visiting New Plymouth, this gallery is an essential spot to see.
The gallery focuses on work by internationally acclaimed artist and sculptor Len Lye, as well as presenting varied contemporary works by other artists.
The building itself is phenomenal and even if you don't head inside, it is worth seeing.
Definitely recommended.

Used to be good, occasionally has cool exhibits but often feels like its partially empty. Staff are friendly but it needs more.

Main exhibit was away. Outside nice but a bit of a waste of time in terms of exhibits.

A fabulous place to see Len Lye works - saw blade, universe and fountain - all the favourites today plus some early drawings. Really cool beneath the floor exposures and flying driftwood shadows. A positive vibe with lots of people visiting the city.

Always interesting exhibitions. Len Lye is the star attraction.

I love this place. The scale of the architecture is amazing.

The sculpture of the building is beautiful and well designed, this was the real master piece and I want to commend the designers and the builders for making this true work of art.
The building itself has given New Plymouth an amazingly sculptured landmark. However I am rating this experience on what was inside.
The underwhelming, poorly executed minimalist displays made me furious to think that you can put a price on viewing empty spaces. The 2018's $15.00 charge will seem like theft to the out of town visitors who get mislead to pay.

Loving the latest exhibition especially the luxoplasts pieces

Not much of gallery available. Closed for alterations.