Sumer is pleased to present its latest exhibition, MINE, by Naarm-based artist Gian Manik. That the word ‘mine’ has such a variety of meanings in contemporary usage—from possessive pronoun to nouns and verbs (each with multiple meanings relating to excavation or extraction, or subterfuge warfare)—seems entirely apt for Manik’s work. Not only because his work riffs on the various notions which swirl around art and culture: authenticity, ownership, legacy, power and influence, wealth (and poverty); but also, because his painterly output is characteristically diverse and mercurial, and defies simple characterisation.

The exhibition comprises a series of thirteen new paintings (all 2024), twelve of which the artist commenced making during a month-long residency at DESA, Ubud, Bali, and completed on his return to Australia earlier this year. The final work, a text painting of the show’s title, made in collaboration with Daniel du Bern (who also serves as director at the gallery), is shown in the adjacent window space. This is Manik’s his first solo exhibition here in Aotearoa New Zealand.