Curious
29 September—13 October
John Allen works with fallen and recycled native trees and natural stone — materials shaped first by time and the elements, and then, patiently, by hand. His sculptures carry the stories of those materials: their resilience, their life flow, their quiet sense of being. Placed within a space, they bring something of nature’s calming rhythm indoors, offering a felt sense of groundedness and relief.
At the heart of this exhibition are the Curious dog sculptures — small, characterful pieces, full of life and personality. Playful and immediate, they invite you to slow down, look and feel, the way you might with a new puppy.
Alongside them sit works of quieter reflection. Circle of Friends and Facets of Unity explore the paradoxical relationship between our individuality and our togetherness. Turning further inward, Meditation on Earth explores the scale of the me and us – our smallness and our vastness, while Mandala speaks to the wholeness that is already present, waiting to be noticed. The Essence hearts, carved from reclaimed pōhutukawa, are enduring expressions of connection and love. And the Life Force works reach for something harder to name — the unseen pulse that animates all living things, and the sense of presence that arises when form and flow become one.
Together, these pieces trace a single thread: curiosity itself — about material, about connection, about what it means to be both singular and part of a whole. Come and meet them in person.
Featured sculpture: Curious
