Yona Lee: Arrangement for 5 Rooms

A die-hard fan of Auckland Art Gallery's iconic silver handrail? Of course you are! Well, a new exhibition from Tāmaki Makaurau-based artist Yona Lee is opening, and you're going to want to be first in line.

The New Zealand-Korean artist has become known for her signature artworks which sees welded and refined stainless steel tubes bent and folded to fit various spaces. Her latest space? Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, where Lee's metal tubing echoes much of the gallery's interior architecture. This is no handrail you'll want to hold on to down the stairs — instead Lee has moulded and woven it throughout the gallery, knotting it, pausing it in parts and even turning it into furniture and lighting for visitors.

The tube will even push through into the shade of a tree in the neighbouring Albert Park, really bringing new meaning to the term "indoor outdoor flow".

Elements of the work will be especially familiar to fellow Aucklanders, including the iconic familiar fabric of Auckland Transport seating woven into the exhibit.

Arrangement for 5 Rooms opens on Saturday February 26 and runs until Sunday October 2, 2022. It's free to attend and open between 10am–5pm daily. Whether you experience it in the gallery, glimpse it in the park or follow it through both spaces, this large solo exhibition is one you won't want to miss.