ST PAUL St is pleased to announce an exhibition by seminal New York-based artist/architect Vito Acconci. This, the first exhibition in our largest exhibition space – Gallery 1 – comprises of two parts; a historical performance video work from the mid 1970s and the Southern Hemisphere debut of a new 3-chapter video work documenting recent Acconci Studio architectural projects.

The Red Tapes, 1976
141:27 minutes, b&w, sound
The Red Tapes is Acconci's masterwork, a three-part epic that is one of the major works in video. Designed originally for video projection, the work is structured to merge video space -- the close-up -- with filmic space -- the landscape. Acconci maps a topography of the self within a cultural and social context, locating personal identity through history, cultural artifacts, language and representation. Stating that the work moves "from Vito Acconci to a larger Americanism, between a psychological personal space and a cultural personal space," he constructs a dense, poetic text in this search for self and America.

Acconci Studio: Screening Architecture, 2004
Single channel video work, 3 chapters each 20mins duration, colour, sound
This new work has previously been seen only as part of a touring retrospective exhibition in Nantes and Barcelona.

Vito Acconci’s trip to New Zealand received invaluable support from the Embassy of the United States of America, and was enabled and facilitated by the Wellington Sculpture Trust. His visit to Auckland received support from the Auckland City Council and the Auckland City Sculpture Trust.