Aisha Khalid: I Am and I Am Not at Len Lye Centre/Govett Brewster Art Gallery, Taranaki
Renowned Pakistani artist Aisha Khalid is known for works that challenge postcolonial structures and Western perspectives, encouraging viewers to explore global affairs through her lens. A retrospective curated by Karachi-based curator Masuma Halai Khwaja, and featuring 40 of Khalid’s works dating from 1993 to now, is the first Aotearoa exhibition for the artist.

During her early years, Khalid and her family were forced to relocate from their rural home in the south-eastern province of Sindh to Punjab. Later, she trained in traditional Indo-Persian miniature painting at the National College of Arts in Lahore, and art-making became a way to explore themes such as displacement, Islam, Sufism and modern life for women.

As you make your way through the exhibition space, you encounter several installations of textiles and tapestries, paintings, works on paper, video and sound. Khalid is renowned for her intricate large-scale tapestries with gold and steel dressmaker’s pins, velvet and metal, as well as imagery that explores the duality between Eastern and Western worldviews. Also on show are an embroidered shawl and coat, a comforter, and more, all utilising bold colours and strong patterns. Ask the front-of-house gallery staff about the tapestries – they’ll be able to give you context around the symbolism.

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Until July 16 at 42 Queen Street, New Plymouth.

Yona Lee: Objects in Practice at The Physics Room, Christchurch
New Zealand-Korean artist Yona Lee uses stainless-steel tubing to create playful sculptures juxtaposing everyday materials from domestic and urban spaces. Known for her large-scale, site-specific installations, Lee’s practice explores the repetition of art-making and the unpredictable nature of contemporary life. (Lee is also a classically trained cellist; she has “played” on her sculptures in previous exhibitions and performances.)

Three freestanding stainless-steel installations, incorporating seemingly ordinary household objects (a mop, clock, lamp and umbrella), stand on brightly coloured yoga mats. Rather than the gallery walls, your eyes are drawn to the floor, where the works blur the distinction between form and function as the tubing twists around the displaced objects. You can’t help but want to engage directly with each sculpture on ground level.

Until June 11 at 301 Montreal Street, Christchurch.

Dr Sandy Adsett: Toi Koru at Te Manawa Museum of Art, Palmerston North
Toi Koru is a survey exhibition of paintings by revered Māori master of colour and kōwhaiwhai Dr Sandy Adsett, showcasing 60 pieces created over six decades. The exhibition includes artworks from public collections at the prestigious Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, as well as a new series of specially commissioned paintings.

Adsett’s training in classical Māori art is evident in his pieces, but he also embraces influences from Western abstract artists such as from Piet Mondrian and Wassily Kandinsky. The artworks on display range from 1969 to present day and demonstrate the stylistic changes Adsett made throughout his life and career. For example, his relocation from Gisborne to Hastings in 2003 led to a shift from complex, colourful compositions to more minimalist works painted mostly in black and white, thought to be inspired by the restoration of nearby marae.

The elaborate details need to be seen and experienced first-hand. Each pattern and brush stroke is careful and calculated, with intricate lines and defined colour separation that gradually reveal themselves as you get closer to each piece.

Until August 27 at 326 Main Street, Palmerston North.

TDC68: The World’s Best Typography at Objectspace, Tāmaki Makaurau
Tāmaki Makaurau-based design and branding agency Osborne Shiwan has brought the international type design exhibition TDC68 to Objectspace for a limited time. If you are interested in design that pushes the envelope, this is an event you won’t want to miss.

The Type Directors Club awards recognise the best in design and innovation in typography, with a jury of leading designers and type designers selecting winners from across 63 different countries. The week-long exhibition, which has travelled to cities across the world, features all 202 winning designs, including entries from well-known brands such as Apple, the New York Times, Pentagram and Klim Type Foundry.

From May 20–28 at 13 Rose Road, Auckland.

Anita Tótha is an art consultant working between New York and Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland.