Paradise of Imagination

Paradise of Imagination: Medieval & Modern Encounters opens on Saturday, September 27th at Dunedin Public Art Gallery. This exhibition explores the vibrant cultural legacies of the medieval past expressed and shaped through artists’ hands. It draws together artworks from the Middle Ages to today, showcasing painting, printmaking, tapestry, sculpture, and the illuminated manuscript from several collections, including Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, the Reed Collection at Dunedin Public Library, and private loans.

From books of hours to tales of courtly love and chivalry to medieval monsters and stained-glass designs, this exhibition unveils a rich tapestry of visual and material sources. Through the creativity of artists such as Kushana Bush, Edward Burne-Jones, and Marilynn Webb (Ngāpuhi, Te Roroa, Ngāti Kahu), the Middle Ages retain an afterglow that illuminates both past and present.

Paradise of Imagination: Medieval & Modern Encounters is in BNZ Gallery on the ground floor. There will be a curator’s tour at 11am on 27th September 2025 to celebrate the opening day of the exhibition, which continues until 8 February 2026.


Noho ora mai
Dr Anya Samarsinghe
Dunedin Public Art Gallery 2025 Creative New Zealand Toi Aotearoa Curatorial Intern of Contemporary Art.

[Roger Mortimer Through Me the Way is to the City Dolent 2023. Jacquard weaving, cotton, synthetic thread. Courtesy of Milford Galleries, Dunedin and Queenstown]