Denise Kum (born 1968) is a New Zealand artist. Her works are held in the collection of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

art collection.

Biography

Kum was born in Auckland in 1968. She gained a BFA from the

Elam School of Fine Arts The Elam School of Fine Arts, founded by John Edward Elam, is part of the Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at the University of Auckland. Students study degrees in fine art with an emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach. The schoo ...

in 1992. In the same year, Kum was a founding member of

Teststrip Teststrip was an artist run gallery that operated in Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth larges ...

, an artist-run gallery for contemporary and experimental art.

, Auckland's first artist-run gallery, was founded by Lucy MacDonald, Merylyn Tweedie, Giovanni Intra, Daniel Malone, Judy Darragh, Gail Haffern, Kirsty Cameron and Kum. The space was initially set up to provide the founding artists with a venue for showing their work. Teststrip received a small grant from

Creative New Zealand The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government, investing in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes and developing markets ...

in 1995, which enabled the move to a new space on Karangahape Rd and employment of a paid administrator. Teststrip began connecting with networks of similar galleries overseas, and their international advisory board included Lilian Budd, Kathy Temin, Mikala Dwyer and

Harmony Korine Harmony Korine (born January 4, 1973, some sources report September 1, 1974)
" Retrieved on 2009-10-26. is an Ame ...

. The decision was made to close Teststrip in 1998 resulted from a desire to finish "cleanly and strongly, rather than peter out or recruit." Teststrips micrograph publishing project continued working after the gallery closed. Kum is known for her work with experimental home-made plastics, and her works with consumable materials such as beeswax, seaweed and food, often allowed to decay and breakdown.

Exhibitions

* ''The Secret Life of Paint'' (2007), Dunedin Public Art Gallery * ''Fondant'' (2004), Economist Tower foyer, London * ''Bloom'' (2003), Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth * ''New Work'' (2002), Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland * ''Alive!: Still Life into the Twenty First Century'' (2001), Adam Art Gallery, Wellington * ''Plastika'' (2000), Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth * ''Leap of Faith'' (1998), Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth * ''Currents'' (1998), Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth * ''11th Biennale of Sydney'' (1998), Sydney * ''Thinking About Contemporary Art'' (1997),

Centre of Contemporary Art Centre of Contemporary Art (CoCA, formerly the Canterbury Society of Arts) is a curated art gallery in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The gallery is administered by the Canterbury Society of Arts (CSA) Charitable Trust. Quarter ...

, Christchurch * ''Transfusion/Fusion'' (1996), Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong and Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. This show was a culmination of a Hong Kong- New Zealand artists exchange, and presented works from three New Zealand artists – Kum, Luise Fong and Yuk King Tan. * ''The Nervous System'' (1995), City Gallery Wellington, and Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth * ''Northern Exposure'' (1995), McDougall Art Annex, Christchurch * ''Recent Sculptitecture, Horribly Desirable'' (1995), Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington * ''n+1 Cultures'' (1994), Artspace, Auckland * ''Art Now: The First Biennial Review of Contemporary Art'' (1994), Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington * ''Localities of Desire: Contemporary Art in an International World'' (1994), Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney * ''Tales Untold: Unearthing Christchurch Histories'' (1994), Christchurch * ''Mediatrix'' (1993–94), Artspace and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, Auckland * ''Under My Skin'' (1993), High Street Project Gallery, Christchurch

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kum, Denise New Zealand women artists Living people 1968 births