DEREK JARMAN: DELPHINIUM DAYS, The Capitol Cinema
DEREK JARMAN: DELPHINIUM DAYS
Derek Jarman: Delphinium Days
15 June – 14 September 2024
Derek Jarman, My very beautiful movie, 1974. Courtesy of LUMA Foundation
‘Blue of my heart / Blue of my dreams / Slow blue love / Of delphinium days’
In association with Gus Fisher Gallery, The Capitol Cinema proudly presents Derek Jarman's cinematic works in celebration of prolific artist and activist.
Derek Jarman: Delphinium Days brings together a selection of Jarman’s paintings and films with rare archival materials alongside a suite of photographs of the artist and his garden at Prospect Cottage in Dungeness – a refuge and retreat that fuelled his creativity and has since become a sight of pilgrimage for visitors from all over the world. This exhibition marks thirty years since the artist passed away from an AIDS-related illness at the age of 52. This is the first Aotearoa New Zealand exhibition of his work.
The exhibition begins with Jarman’s ethereal and mesmeric Super 8 films from the 1970s, and centres around a series of paintings made from the late 1980s and the very last years of his life which demonstrate his uncompromising yet lyrical vision. From the sculptural viscosity of his tar and black paintings to the physical immediacy of his final text-based painting series, Jarman’s work abounds with an energy and outrage that is as palpable and relevant now as it was when he first created them.
Check out our full programme for the Derek Jarman: Delphinium Days screenings here:
Visit Gus Fisher Gallery for the Derek Jarman: Delphinium Days exhibtion, from 15th June through to 14th September. For more information, click here.
Derek Jarman: Delphinium Days has been co-developed by Gus Fisher Gallery and City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi. The exhibition is co-curated by Lisa Beauchamp, Curator of Contemporary Art at Gus Fisher Gallery, City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi Senior Curator (Toi) Aaron Lister, and Michael Lett.
The exhibition was made possible with the lead support of Tony Kerridge and Micheal Do, with additional support of the City Gallery Wellington Foundation the Delphinium Days Exhibition Circle, and those who wish to remain anonymous. The Auckland public programme is brought to you by Burnett Foundation Aotearoa with additional support from the Gerrard and Marti Friedlander Charitable Trust, the Sir William & Lady Manchester Charitable Trust and cinema partners, The Capitol Cinema. With thanks to the Keith Collins Will Trust and Amanda Wilkinson, London. Films courtesy of LUMA Foundation and James MacKay.
Derek Jarman: Delphinium Days will be presented in Wellington at The Dowse Art Museum in partnership with City Gallery Wellington 28 September – 26 January 2025.
Image courtesy of Howard Sooley.
Derek Jarman, Drop Dead, 1993. Oil on canvas. Image courtesy Keith Collins Will Trust and Amanda Wilkinson, London.