"Circle of Friends" 2016

Circle of Friends (2016) is a monumental wall work by New Zealand artist John Allen — one of the most ambitious and spectacular pieces in the collection. At 1200 mm in diameter, it commands a wall with extraordinary presence, and would be at home in a corporate boardroom, a significant public space, or a grand private interior.

The story of this piece begins with a discovery. Walking the Northland coast, the artist found a rough piece of driftwood with an interesting shape and, on working with it, realised with astonishment that it was black maire — one of New Zealand’s rarest and most precious native timbers. Black maire is extraordinarily dense and hard, with a deep, dark lustre that is unlike any other New Zealand wood. To find it as driftwood, shaped by the sea, was a rare gift.

Rather than work the timber as a single form, John Allen cut it into small pieces — each one different in size and shape — and then assembled them into a circle. It is not a perfect circle. The irregularity of the cut pieces means each contributes to the character of the whole - as you run your eye around it the form breathes and shifts. The insides of the pieces are painted, introducing colour into the composition. A copper inner rim runs around the interior, pulling the entire work together — a unifying line of warm metal that gives the circle its coherence and its glow. Aluminium elements behind each join provide structural strength, invisible but essential.

The title, Circle of Friends, speaks to the way the piece is made: many different pieces, each distinct, held together by a common bond. It is a work about community, about difference within unity, about the beauty of things that come together without losing their individuality — a resonant theme for any organisation that values people, collaboration, and connection.

Circle of Friends is an original artwork of rare material, rare scale, and rare depth — a once-in-a-lifetime piece for a significant space.

Specifications:

• Title: Circle of Friends (2016)
• Artist: John Allen
• Materials: Black maire driftwood (Northland), copper inner rim, aluminium, paint, oil
• Diameter: 1200 mm
• Display: Wall-hung
• Year: 2016
• Care: Indoor display recommended