Regan Gentry (born 1976) is a New Zealand artist and sculptor. He has held a number of artist in residence positions and his work can be seen in public spaces throughout New Zealand. His artworks are often constructed from recycled or repurposed items such as gorse bushes and road safety barriers.

Education

Gentry graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from

Otago Polytechnic Otago Polytechnic was a public New Zealand tertiary education institute, centred in Dunedin with additional campuses in Cromwell and Auckland. Otago Polytechnic provided career-focused education and training, offering a range of New Zealand accr ...

School of Art in 2000 although some sources state that his degree was from Otago University.

Career highlights

An early career piece was ''Foot in the Door'', which has become an ongoing project to document the installation of a foot long ruler into the door of galleries across New Zealand. As the number of galleries that have allowed the artist to put ‘a foot in the door’ increases, so has the artist's reputation. As the William Hodges Fellowship artist in residence in 2006 he produced a major body of work, ''Of gorse of course'' consisting of a series of artefacts constructed from wood obtained from

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are n ...

which has become a major invasive plant species in New Zealand. By crafting articles from gorse, the artist's intention was to draw a contrast with the poor reputation enjoyed by

. This work was subsequently exhibited at the

Dowse Art Museum The Dowse Art Museum is a municipal art gallery in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Opening in 1971 in the Lower Hutt CBD, The Dowse occupies a stand-alone building adjacent to other municipal facilities. The building was completely remodelled in 20 ...

and is now owned by Connells Bay Sculpture Trust. Gentry was the inaugural winner of Wellington Sculpture Trust's ''4 Plinths Award.'' His installation ''Green Islands'' consisted of four trees constructed from No. 8 fencing wire. These stark leafless representations of the natural world provided an ironic commentary on the urban environment in which they were placed. In January 2010, the installation was relocated to the

Wellington Botanic Garden The Wellington Botanic Garden in Wellington, New Zealand covers 25 hectares of land on the side of the hill between Thorndon and Kelburn, near central Wellington. The garden features 25 hectares of protected native forest, conifers, plant c ...

. His oversize beach lounger ''Recliner Rex'' won Gentry the Kids' Choice prize at the Australian ''Sculpture by the Sea'' exhibition in 2006. From June 2007 to August 2008 Gentry was the artist residence at the Tylee Cottage during which time he produced ''near nowhere, near impossible,'' a reflection on the failed Mangapurua Valley Soldiers Settlement Scheme.

Permanently exhibited works in New Zealand

Regan_Gentry_-_Subject_to_Change_-_Karo_Drive_Wellington

''Woods from the tree''s
- Corner of High & Tuam Streets, Christchurch
''Bound and around''
- Eastern Link Toll Road, Tauranga
Harbour Mouth Molars
' Kitchener Street park, Dunedin
Subject to change
' Karo Drive, Wellington
Flour power
' - Stewart Plaza, Christchurch
Green islands
' – Botanic Gardens, Wellington
Skeleton trees
' Connells Bay Sculpture Park, Waiheke Island ''Learning Your Stripes'' Papatoetoe & District Returned Services Association (RSA) building, Papatoetoe

Website

http://www.regangentry.com/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gentry, Regan 1976 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand sculptors 20th-century New Zealand male artists 21st-century New Zealand sculptors 21st-century New Zealand male artists Otago Polytechnic alumni