No sign of a media release so far this morning (
CNZ eventually got round to announcing the news of Denny's selection mid afternoon) but there is a lot of talk going round in Wellington that the Denny/Leonard combo has got the nod for Venice. That would makes Denny the ninth person to represent NZ and the youngest by a couple of years. This would also be good news for the City Gallery who are getting Leonard in as their senior curator next year. It would be Leonard’s second Venice stint – he co-curated Michael Stevenson in 2003.
Denny is certainly the front runner (we called it a
slam dunk back in July) but always a chance of a compromise candidate when a large committee sits down to talk. We will confirm this rumour just as soon as we sight the CNZ announcement that is expected this morning. In past years take up by the press on art news is somewhere between slow to complete indifference.
