GUAN WEI’S tapestry Treasure Hunt is currently on display at the Australian Tapestry Workshop. In this tapestry, Guan Wei references navigation, exploration, migration and the influence of globalisation through the fable of admiral Zheng He.

Admiral Zheng He led a legendary fleet of “treasure ships” which sailed to foreign lands in the early 1400s, creating new nautical maps and collecting rare spices, treasures, birds and animals. The ‘Treasure Hunt’ tapestry represents the flora and fauna Zheng He might have encountered in his travels, including sea monsters drawn from Chinese and European mythology. The land shapes in the design reference 14th century Chinese maps and the Chinese symbols for East and West and the names of mountains have been painted in. Each smaller drawing within the work also has a significance within European or Asian history.

The design is inspired by a large painted mural from Guan Wei's exhibition Other Histories at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney in 2006. The tapestry was shown at ARC ONE for his 2018 solo exhibition Chivalry, and will remain on display at the ATW until 6 November 2020.

Treasure Hunt, 2017, Guan Wei, woven by Chris Cochius, Pamela Joyce, Jennifer Sharpe and Cheryl Thornton, wool and cotton, 0.864m x 3.6m. Photo by Jeremy Weihrauch.

Treasure Hunt, 2017, Guan Wei, woven by Chris Cochius, Pamela Joyce, Jennifer Sharpe and Cheryl Thornton, wool and cotton, 0.864m x 3.6m. Photo by Jeremy Weihrauch.

ROBERT OWEN DONATES WORK TO FUNDRAISER FOR BARPIRDHILA

ROBERT OWEN has donated this work to Modernisters For Barpirdhila - an online art sale commencing this evening raising money for the Barpirdhila Foundation, an Aboriginal-controlled not-for-profit organisation that develops, nurtures and supports Aboriginal Excellence within the arts and music sectors.

@modernistersfor is an instagram account created by Dean Keep and Jeromie Maver as a platform to raise awareness and funds for important issues in our community. Their latest drive is ‘ARTfair: Modernisters for Barpirdhila’, which asks a selection of contemporary artists to donate a postcard sized artwork. The postcard may be understood as an important means of bridging distance, fusing art and text to convey stories about our experience of place.

This work by Owen is from the series ‘Spent Light’ consisting of paintings and sculpture recycling all the masking tape he uses in the studio. Follow @modernistersfor to stay updated on this online art fair!

More information >

Robert Owen, ‘Binocular #3’ from the series Spent Light, 2020, acrylic paint, card, tape, 14.6 x 20.5 cm

Robert Owen, ‘Binocular #3’ from the series Spent Light, 2020, acrylic paint, card, tape, 14.6 x 20.5 cm

JULIE RRAP INTERVIEWED ON 'THE ART SHOW'

For those that missed the insightful interview with Julie Rrap on Wednesday, this week’s ‘The Art Show’ is now available to stream via the ABC Listen App and on the web HERE >⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Julie reflects on her formative years as a young artist living in Sydney and Europe, and using her own body in her art practice. “It’s not an identity thing - I’m not an artist who’s trying to reveal something about myself. I’ve often spoken about what I do as more of a trickster, I act as a kind of vehicle,” she says. “When I see myself in an image, it’s almost like the third person - it goes through this transformative process in the making of art. It’s a representation, it’s not me.”

Listen back to hear about Julie’s time working for photographer John Delacour, the evolution of her ‘Overstepping’ concept, her interest in Cindy Sherman’s use of masquerade, and the importance of female role models in the art world.

Swipe through for images of the works Julie refers to in the conversation!

CYRUS TANG WINS INCINERATOR ART AWARD

CYRUS TANG is one of the winners of The Incinerator Art Award 2020 with her video work I wish…

The Incinerator Art Award (IAA) is Incinerator Gallery’s annual art award and exhibition celebrating contemporary arts practices that are socially engaged, environmentally aware, and seek to enrich community through dynamic, creative practice.

Cyrus Tang, I wish…[still], 2019, 2 channel video projection.

Cyrus Tang, I wish…[still], 2019, 2 channel video projection.

Speaking of her selected work, Tang says, “In Chinese culture, the wishing tree is identified as possessing a special religious or spiritual value. The worshippers write their wishes on paper and throw it to the wishing tree. Since March 2019, there have been a series of protests in Hong Kong over the extradition bill which relates to human rights and rule of law protections. For the first time in Hong Kong history, riot police used tear gas and smoke bombs to beat back protesters. The fog that drifts through this scenery is not a romantic mist but a toxic cloud of tear gas, drifting in from recent scenes of demonstration against the extradition bill in Hong Kong. Will the “god” take notice of these wishes of the Hong Kong citizens and the hope behind them?”

Visit the finalist exhibition online HERE >

Cyrus’ prize includes a solo exhibition at Incinerator Gallery in 2021 - stay tuned for these details!

CYRUS TANG WINS MCCLELLAND SMALL SCULPTURE AWARD

A huge congratulations to CYRUS TANG who has won the inaugural McClelland National Small Sculpture Award!

Tang is one of four winners chosen by the judges from 320 submissions. Her work The Modern World Encyclopaedia Vol 2 (2017) presents the partially cremated pages of a 1936 encyclopaedia alongside its hardbound cover. The sculpture refers to collective cultural knowledge and its fragility.

McClelland Gallery established this new award as a way of supporting artists in the current moment. Its prescriptions encourage sculptural concepts suitable for a domestic scale, no more than 50cm at the largest dimension. “We believe collectors are increasingly interested in including three-dimensional artwork in their collections, and we are pleased to offer the works of all 44 finalists for sale via a digital catalogue,” said McClelland Sculpture Park+Gallery Director, Lisa Byrne.

Be sure to check out the digital catalogue HERE.

Contact ARC ONE Gallery for more information about acquiring this work!

Cyrus Tang, The Modern World Encyclopaedia Vol 2, 2017, cremated book ashes, book cover and acrylic case, 40 x 40 x 45cm

Cyrus Tang, The Modern World Encyclopaedia Vol 2, 2017, cremated book ashes, book cover and acrylic case, 40 x 40 x 45cm

MURRAY FREDERICKS IN OUTDOOR EXHIBITION AT ANU

MURRAY FREDERICKS is featured in a new photographic exhibition, situated outdoors on Exhibition Avenue - the new year-round, free and public exhibition space along the length of University Avenue in the new Kambri precinct at ANU in Canberra.

Where I Stand is a stirring exhibition of 24 photographs from six iconic Australian artists, curated in partnership with Ambush Gallery and Head On Photo Fest. The installation has been curated to create a narrative about rebirth and rejuvenation that can be read end to end, or taken singularly. Identity, connection to country and nature weave the images together.

Exhibition Avenue is a series of substantial cubes, each buttressed internally with water tanks and constructed from steel. These serve as a canvas for the photographs, which are lit by solar energy for 24-hour viewing.

The exhibition runs until October 31.

More information >

Install shot by Martin Ollman.

Install shot by Martin Ollman.

Murray Fredericks, Muybridge, 2015, digital pigments print, 140 x 187 cm

Murray Fredericks, Muybridge, 2015, digital pigments print, 140 x 187 cm

CYRUS TANG INTERVIEWED FOR ART GUIDE PODCAST

CYRUS TANG is interviewed on the latest episode of Faraway, so close, a podcast hosted by Tiarney Miekus of Art Guide dedicated to considering the anxieties and opportunities emerging in the arts in our new COVID-19 world.

In this third edition of the podcast, Tiarney asks: how do you think about the future at a time when the future feels so uncertain? Artists Cyrus Tang & Lucy McRae give their thoughts and feelings on where we are now, and where we’re headed next.

“In Eastern philosophy, loss is not really like a loss, it’s like a transformation from one state to another state. This is how I see it. Even though I deal with a lot of history and loss [in my work], I keep on thinking that it’s because of history that we can perceive the future,” says Cyrus. The artist moved to Australia in 2003, 2 months after the SARS outbreak devastated her family and friends in Hong Kong. She asks herself how the memory of that crisis and loss affects the present.

Cyrus’ new body of work seeks to capture & archive this present moment in Australia. ARC ONE will be launching an online exhibition of these works soon!

Listen to the podcast here >

Left: Cyrus Tang. Right: Lucy McRae, photograph by Ira Chernova.

Left: Cyrus Tang. Right: Lucy McRae, photograph by Ira Chernova.

LONG & STENT INTERVIEWED FOR ART COLLECTOR

HONEY LONG & PRUE STENT spoke to Briony Downes of Art Collector Magazine about their latest body of work, Touching Pool, which will soon be installed at ARC ONE Gallery. 

Focusing on 2 of 18 works from their new series of photographs, the artists say: “Our aim with these is to create a stickiness which we think speaks to this conflicted and estranged relationship that we have with the so-called natural world. But also one that highlights the interconnectedness and harmony that exists between these seemingly different entities.”

See the full interview here >

Please note, due to the current restrictions, Long & Stent's exhibition Touching Pool will now open in mid-August, with an opening reception in September. 

ARC ONE DIRECTOR FRAN CLARK PROFILED IN ART COLLECTOR

Fran Clark, Director of ARC ONE Gallery, is profiled in the latest issue of Art Collector Magazine.

Helen McKenzie has interviewed Fran, exploring her beginnings as a young artist with a penchant for ceramics and a knack for working the room and how she came to represent some of Australia's most revered contemporary practitioners.

Buy the current issue of Art Collector here >

MAJOR FEATURE ON PAT BRASSINGTON IN ART COLLECTOR MAGAZINE

PAT BRASSINGTON is the cover artist of the latest Art Collector Magazine, which features a massive 12-page spread on her work.

Rex Butler examines Brassington’s groundbreaking practice, exploring her “in-your-face sensuous and psychically charged subject matter” and how “behind it lies an extraordinarily refined and self-challenging organisational principle. As Brassington puts it herself: “I am walking the fine line between something that is beautiful and its antithesis”.

Dr Anne Marsh, author of ‘Pat Brassington: This is not a photograph’, is interviewed for the article and describes Brassington’s work as a “tantalising mix of surreal mystery and psychological menace”, and admires the way the artist “works with an incisive eye on our cultural uncanny. Her work encourages us to look deeper into our psycho-social landscape and investigate the hopes, fears and stereotypes that hide there. It’s a very sophisticated practice that looks seamless.”

In February ARC ONE Gallery will present ‘Night Swimming’ – a new body of work by Pat Brassington for the inaugural PHOTO2021 Festival.

Buy the current issue here >

'HEAR THE PLANT SONG' TAPESTRY COMPLETE

The ATW’s tapestry Hear the Plant Song’ designed by JANET LAURENCE, is complete!
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Handwoven over 1300 hours, this artwork combines the nature-inspired imagery of Laurence with the expertise of the ATW weavers.
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Head weaver Chris Cochius says the tapestry was an absolute joy to weave. “There are sections that are quite painterly, and some areas that are quite reflective. It’s ambiguous and that works well for the way tapestry comes together. We blend up to 10 colours on a weft - the thread - so that there is a lot of variety in the colours, just as in nature.”
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Congratulations to the team, Janet Laurence, Chris Cochius,  Cheryl Thornton, Amy Cornall & Sue Batten!

Watch the making-of video here >

Hear the Plant Song, 2020, Janet Laurence woven by Chris Cochius, Amy Cornall, Cheryl Thornton & Sue Batten, wool & cotton, 1.56 x 2.7m. Photo by John Gollings.

Hear the Plant Song, 2020, Janet Laurence woven by Chris Cochius, Amy Cornall, Cheryl Thornton & Sue Batten, wool & cotton, 1.56 x 2.7m. Photo by John Gollings.

UNSW GALLERIES SHOW REOPENS WITH DANI MARTI

Friendship as a way of life at UNSW Galleries has reopened. This major exhibition celebrates LGBTQI+ partnerships, collaboration, visibility, sex, intimacy and knowledge. It features DANI MARTI’s major video installation ‘Notes for Bob’ (2012-16), as well as one of his wall sculptures. 

Notes For Bob navigates issues of power and care in human relationships. The project has at its central subject a blind, gay man Marti met while on residency in New York with the Australia Council for the Arts in 2012, and it documents a number of exchanges between the pair.

Deprived of vision, Bob explains that for him “people are their voices” and his attractions focus on the individual pitch and tone of a voice. In Notes for Bob, Marti tenderly holds his subject and sings for him. As part of the extended project, Marti filmed and recorded 23 men singing. The artist gently encourages us to enter into Bob’s sensual universe and experience the fullness of an individual through their voice.

The curators of Friendship as a way of life have launched a series of digital initiatives including a virtual tour and an online series of live lectures, artist talks and performative actions that explore the themes of the show. It will run until 21 November. 

Explore the online content here!

Images: Dani Marti, Notes for Bob, 2012-16, installation view at UNSW Galleries, 2020. Photos by Zan Wimberley.

MGA 30 YEAR ANNIVERSARY CATALOGUE

'VIEW FINDING Monash Gallery of Art 1990—2020', designed by Pidgeon Ward.

'VIEW FINDING Monash Gallery of Art 1990—2020', designed by Pidgeon Ward.

The MGA recently launched a landmark 30 year anniversary publication - VIEW FINDING Monash Gallery of Art 1990—2020. 

This fully illustrated catalogue features image plates by ARC ONE artists Pat Brassington, Lyndell Brown & Charles Green, Rose Farrell & George Parkin, Robert Owen, Jacky Redgate, Julie Rrap, Lydia Wegner and Anne Zahalka. It charts the history of the gallery, its present, and the future of photography in Australia. 

Over the last 30 years MGA has developed one of Australia’s most important cultural assets — the only public collection solely dedicated to Australian photography. MGA’s artistic program has explored the diversity of photographic practice in Australia, and has placed Australian photographers and photography within a global context. 'View Finding' looks at the past, present and future of photography in Australia, presenting moments that have defined MGA, its collection and exhibition history.

A selection of leading lights who specialise in photography in Australia have contributed essays to the publication. You can purchase it here.

JANET LAURENCE GUEST CURATOR FOR AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM

JANET LAURENCE was the guest curator for the Australian Museum's online photography exhibition, #CapturingClimateChange in the month of June. She shared images of her work on their online gallery along with commentary for each one.

"I am observing the fast falling avalanche of disasters being actioned by man upon the planet on top of accelerating climate change," says Janet. "This has created a sense of urgency for me and I see vividly the importance of acting through my art. I recognise how these actions can create an energy that is directed towards caring and generosity, which then creates a space of possibility and hope.

‘Waiting’ was a transparent mesh structure built for the Biennale of Sydney in 2010. This intricate installation echoed both a botanical glasshouse and a museological scientific vitrine filled with plants interconnected by scientific glass vessels. The medicinal cabinet/garden circulated various fluids and solids, creating a space of revival and resuscitation. Through this, I intended to create arresting reminders that our natural environment needs to be nursed and nurtured."

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See Janet's images and read her commentary here.

Installation detail of Janet Laurence, Waiting - A Medicinal Garden for Ailing Plants, 2010, transparent mesh, duraclear, mirror, oil, acrylic, glass, plants specimens, 500 x 300 x 300 cm, 17th Biennale of Sydney, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, Aust…

Installation detail of Janet Laurence, Waiting - A Medicinal Garden for Ailing Plants, 2010, transparent mesh, duraclear, mirror, oil, acrylic, glass, plants specimens, 500 x 300 x 300 cm, 17th Biennale of Sydney, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, Australia. Photo by Jamie North.

'SHADOW CATCHERS' REOPENS AT AGNSW

Shadow Catchers at Art Gallery of New South Wales is open once again!

EUGENIA RASKOPOULOS, JACKY REDGATE & JULIE RRAP all have works in the this exhibition, which draws on the AGNSW collection to investigate the way shadows, body doubles and mirrors haunt our understanding of photography and the moving image.

There is a fantastic video guide of the exhibition narrated by senior curator of contemporary Australian art Isobel Parker Philip. This was filmed as part of the AGNSW’s Together in Art initiative, which seeks to create meaningful art encounters online.

Watch the video tour here >

Eugenia Raskopoulos, installation view of Diglossia seriees in Shadow Catchers at AGNSW, 2020

Eugenia Raskopoulos, installation view of Diglossia seriees in Shadow Catchers at AGNSW, 2020

HONEY LONG & PRUE STENT DONATE TO BLM FUNDRAISER

HONEY LONG & PRUE STENT donated this work to The Earth Issue Freedom Fundraiser, a print sale created to raise funds for bail contributions and to support organisations fighting for social justice. 

100% of proceeds after printing and shipping will be split amongst individual bail fees, legal fees for social justice issues, racial discrimination cases intersecting with covid-related precarity, indigenous struggles and food security for PoC.

The fundraising initiative has already raised more than £200,000 for the Black Lives Matter movement. The artists encourage you to buy a limited edition print and support the cause. 

More information >

Honey Long & Prue Stent, Blown Tissue II, 2017, archival pigment print, 106 x 159 cm


Honey Long & Prue Stent, Blown Tissue II, 2017, archival pigment print, 106 x 159 cm

PAT BRASSINGTON AT THE NGA

PAT BRASSINGTON has a number of works on display in the NGA's exhibition The Body Electric, now open to the public.

The Body Electric presents work by women artists on the subjects of sex, pleasure and desire. Included are celebrations of woman’s erotic experience; stories of intimacy and the emotional experience of love; works that interrogate the ways that women’s sexuality has historically been represented; and pictures that deal with the pleasures and repressions of sexuality and pleasure. The images in this exhibition show how sex, love and loss are an animating part of the human experience.

The exhibition will continue until January 2021.

More information >

Review in The Canberra Times >

JANET LAURENCE and HONEY LONG & PRUE STENT have donated works for auction in the FBi Radio Digital Art Auction 2020, an online fundraiser and silent auction raising critical funds for the station so that it can continue to champion Sydney arts and culture.

This is the fourth art auction hosted by FBi Radio and the first one held digitally. Previous auctions were held in 2009, 2010 and 2018 at the MCA, AGNSW and NAS respectively attracting a mix of collectors, investors and first time art buyers alongside FBi Radio’s loyal listeners.

Bidding closes tomorrow at 7pm - see the auction & bid here!

'JACKY REDGATE: HOLD ON' REOPENS AT GEELONG GALLERY

Good news! Geelong Gallery has reopened, which means their exhibition JACKY REDGATE: HOLD ON has resumed.

Jacky’s work in HOLD ON sees her contaminating the objective geometries of her backgrounds with toys and dolls that are redolent of childhood.

The key reference point in these new works is the 1957 book by Dare Wright, called The Lonely Doll, in which the author established scenarios and photographs of a doll and her 2 teddy bear friends in a series of unsettling narratives that speculated on friendship and loneliness.

In JACKY REDGATE: HOLD ON, the artist examines how we negotiate and construct memories through photographic images, drawing on her long-standing interest in visual storytelling.

Timed-entry tickets are required to visit the Gallery. Book in now for free!

Jacky Redgate, HOLD ON #8, 2019-20, pigment ink on fabric, 197 x 203 cm

Jacky Redgate, HOLD ON #8, 2019-20, pigment ink on fabric, 197 x 203 cm

HONEY LONG & PRUE STENT IN DIGITAL EXHIBITION

Honey Long & Prue Stent, Suckle, archival pigment print, 87 x 58 cm.

Honey Long & Prue Stent, Suckle, archival pigment print, 87 x 58 cm.

HONEY LONG & PRUE STENT are part of a digital remount of the exhibition Anticipation is half of the seduction.

Curated by Jonathan Homsey, this exhibition was first shown at Blindside Gallery as part of the 2018 Emerging Curator Mentor Program. It has now been reimagined with new artworks to help us negotiate touch again after months of physical distancing.

This 2020 digital exhibition has been supported by City of Melbourne COVID grants.

See the exhibition here >