PAT BRASSINGTON & JACKY REDGATE IN BOWNESS ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION

PAT BRASSINGTON & JACKY REDGATE are included in the MGA Bowness Photography Prize Anniversary exhibition at Wangaratta Art Gallery, from 21 August – 14 November, 2021.

Curated by MGA Director Anouska Phizacklea, the exhibition celebrates the past winning artists (2006–20) with a selection of works drawn from the MGA Collection and showcases contemporary photography in Australia.

JACKY REDGATE won the Bowness Prize in 2011 with her work Light throw (mirrors) #4, 2011; and PAT BRASSINGTON in 2013 with her work Shadow boxer, 2013.

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Jacky Redgate, Light throw (mirrors) #4, 2011, from the series Light throw (mirrors), 2009–2011, chromogenic print, 126 x 158 cm

Jacky Redgate, Light throw (mirrors) #4, 2011, from the series Light throw (mirrors), 2009–2011, chromogenic print, 126 x 158 cm

Pat Brassington, Shadow boxer, 2013, from the series Quill, pigment ink-jet print, 72 x 50 cm

Pat Brassington, Shadow boxer, 2013, from the series Quill, pigment ink-jet print, 72 x 50 cm

CONGRATULATIONS GUAN WEI

Congratulations to GUAN WEI who has just been awarded a Doctor of Creative Arts (honoris causa) by Western Sydney University.

This Honorary Doctorate recognises GUAN WEI for his significant contribution to the visual arts at a local, state, national and international level.

Portrait of Guan Wei in his studio

Portrait of Guan Wei in his studio

HONEY LONG & PRUE STENT IN TOURING 'VIDEO NOW' EXHIBITION

HONEY LONG & PRUE STENT’s video work Drinking from the Screen is included in the NETS touring exhibition Video Now now open at Swan Hill Regional Gallery. 

Video Now presents a wide array of video-based practices, from explorations of bodily experience and reflections on the fleeting nature of time, to symbolic acts of endurance and social relations. The exhibition posits that contemporary video can be captivating, provocative and confounding. Be enthralled by an overview of video art today and its generative nature as an art form of our times.

Video Now continues at Swan Hill Art Gallery until 3 October.

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Honey Long & Prue Stent, Drinking from the screen, 2020, single-channel video, stereo sound, 4 min. 0 sec.

Honey Long & Prue Stent, Drinking from the screen, 2020, single-channel video, stereo sound, 4 min. 0 sec.

VENICE BIENNALE BOOK FEATURES ARC ONE ARTISTS

Australia at the Venice Biennale: A Century of Contemporary Art by Kerry Gardner, hardcover 311mm x 251mm

Australia at the Venice Biennale: A Century of Contemporary Art by Kerry Gardner, hardcover 311mm x 251mm

Australia at the Venice Biennale: A Century of Contemporary Art is a new book by Kerry Gardner AM, published by MUP.

This splendidly produced book is the first comprehensive account of Australia’s history at the Venice Biennale, with an invaluable appendix that lists and illustrates many of this country's exhibits.

ARC ONE artists ROBERT OWEN & JOHN DAVIS are featured in the book, having both represented Australia at the pavilion in 1978, and CHARLES GREEN has contributed an exemplary essay among other significant Australian writers.

This richly illustrated publication illuminates the untold stories and origins of the most important event of the art world through one hundred years of Australian modern art.

Australia at the Venice Biennale is available to purchase online here >

SAM SHMITH WORK CENTREPIECE OF NEW CHAMBERS DESIGN

SAM SHMITH’s work Untitled (Plate Glass #2) forms the centrepiece of this new architecturally designed fitout of QC Chambers in Melbourne CBD.

“The Chambers pivot around an artwork, Plate Glass 2, by Melbourne artist Sam Shmith. The urban train scene expressed, reinterprets the views out to the skyline beyond. Black tones throughout the space and lighting by Christopher Boots continue the dialogue with the artwork, offering shifting perspectives of the art, the chambers, and the city itself and a space which provides ongoing contemplation and inspiration.”

– FMD Architects.

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ANNE ZAHALKA AT GEELONG GALLERY

Anne Zahalka, The Pioneer, 1992 (printed 2021), pigment ink on rag paper mounted onto gatorboard

Anne Zahalka, The Pioneer, 1992 (printed 2021), pigment ink on rag paper mounted onto gatorboard

ANNE ZAHALKA is included in Geelong Gallery’s new exhibition Exhume the grave—McCubbin and contemporary art, opening tomorrow.

Exhume the grave includes works by contemporary Australian artists in response to Frederick McCubbin’s enduringly popular paintings. The sentiments and emotive subjects of McCubbin’s works have helped develop for them a popular visual literacy: they are images that have impressed themselves powerfully on public consciousness over time. Not surprisingly, their significant public profile has also led to these paintings being the subject of re-evaluation and reinterpretation by contemporary Australian artists, through the lens of gender, cultural diversity and inclusion.

In The Pioneer, for example, Anne Zahalka reworks the central panel of McCubbin’s triptych, removing the seated bushman to emphasise the role of women in settling the land, and to rewrite the dominant narrative of the role of men in nation-building.

This exhibition continues until 28 November and coincides with the complementary exhibition Frederick McCubbin—Whisperings in wattle boughs.

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Read article from The Age >

PAT BRASSINGTON IN NEW BUXTON CONTEMPORARY EXHIBITION

PAT BRASSINGTON is featured in Buxton Contemporary’s new exhibition This is a poem, curated by Melissa Keys.

Bringing contemporary art and poetry into dialogue, This is a poem is a multi-disciplinary project encompassing new commissions in a diverse mix of media and forms, live performances, a publication and an exhibition.
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The project draws notable artists and poets into creative discourse. Each participant has been invited to write, perform, read or present in visual form an original work of poetry in response to an artwork held in the University’s Buxton Contemporary collection. In this case, choreographer/interdisciplinary artist Sandra Parker responds to Pat Brassington’s 1998 work, Neck.⁣
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Conceived to creatively animate the collection, This is a poem brings art, artists, and poetry into orbit with audiences through an experimental and experiential exhibition that explored the longstanding tradition of ekphrastic poetry.⁣
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Capacity limits are in place, so pre-book your visit to ensure there's room for you. The exhibition continues until 14 November.
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More information >

Image 1: Pat Brassington, Neck, 1998, pigment print, 72 x 54cm; Image 2: Installation views of Sanda Parker's work alongside Pat Brassington's work, photos by Christian Capurro.

ANNE ZAHALKA FINALIST IN OLIVE COTTON AWARD

Congratulations to ANNE ZAHALKA, whose recent self portrait is a finalist in the Olive Cotton Award for Photographic Portraiture.

Anne says of this work:
“Venturing into the reimagined landscape of Macquarie Island carrying a trusty pair of binoculars, I found myself amongst an astonishing array of wildlife and mega herbs. Scientists, adventurers, and volunteers navigate carefully through the fauna and flora of this fragile ecosystem doing important field work.

While biological sciences play a vital part of the research program on Macquarie Island, there is the greater uncontrollable environmental issue of marine plastics. As I scoured this habitat of courtly creatures, I was disturbed to see small colourful pieces of plastic populating the ground washed in with tidal flows.”

The Olive Cotton Award exhibition will be on display at Tweed Regional Gallery until Sunday 19 September.

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Anne Zahalka, Anne Zahalka with a Colony of Boffins, 2021, pigment ink on rag paper with plastic, 54cm x 70.6cm

Anne Zahalka, Anne Zahalka with a Colony of Boffins, 2021, pigment ink on rag paper with plastic, 54cm x 70.6cm

LONG & STENT FINALISTS IN NAKED & NUDE ART PRIZE

Honey Long & Prue Stent, Hydro, 2020, archival pigment print, 108 x 72 cm

Honey Long & Prue Stent, Hydro, 2020, archival pigment print, 108 x 72 cm

Congratulations to HONEY LONG & PRUE STENT, whose work Hyrdo is a finalist in the Naked & Nude Art Prize 2021 at Manning Regional Art Gallery.

This biennial Art Prize commenced in 1990 with entries open to Australian artists. The winning entry receives a generous cash prize and is acquired by the Friends of the Manning Regional Art Gallery and donated to the Manning Regional Art Gallery’s permanent collection.

The selected finalists include sculpture, painting, ceramics, drawing, photography, installation and video – highlighting the diversity of approaches to representation of the human form by contemporary artists in Australia.

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JANET LAURENCE'S 'REQUIEM' ACQUIRED BY THE NGA

ARC ONE Gallery is thrilled to announce that JANET LAURENCE’S Requiem has been acquired by the National Gallery of Australia.

This remarkable work was recently featured in Know My Name: Part One at the NGA.

Requiem is a work of great complexity and scale. It is underpinned by a deep love by this artist who has devoted her artistic practice to the overwhelming importance of the natural world. Made in the wake of the 2019-20 bushfires, a hailstorm that shattered the glasshouses of the CSIRO and a global pandemic, this work draws together elements and specimens from nature as a lament for a world in danger and a call for greater awareness of environmental issues.

ARC ONE is delighted to have been the principle facilitator of this major acquisition.

“The work is like a Memento Mori. It is about what we’ve lost and are continuing to lose. It is also a piece about memory and how it distils and alters reality. This parallels nature’s ability for transformation.”
– Janet Laurence

“'Requiem' has an angelic weight that calls attention to the fragility of the natural world. This is a significant work that will resonate throughout history for many people greatly connected to ideas of time and the gravitas of nature.”
– Fran Clark, Director, ARC ONE Gallery

Images: Janet Laurence, Requiem, 2020, perspex, found materials, Know My Name: Part One installation view, National Gallery of Australia, 2020.

EUGENIA RASKOPOULOS & JACKY REDGATE IN 'KNOW MY NAME: PART TWO' AT NGA

Jacky Redgate, Light Throw (Mirrors) #3, 2010-11, C-Type photograph face mounted on acrylic, 126 x 158cm

Jacky Redgate, Light Throw (Mirrors) #3, 2010-11, C-Type photograph face mounted on acrylic, 126 x 158cm

JACKY REDGATE & EUGENIA RASKOPOULOS are included in Part Two of Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now at the National Gallery of Australia.

Following a gradual transformation from Part One, Part Two is now open in its entirety. Know My Name tells a new story of Australian art. Looking at moments in which women created new forms of art and cultural commentary such as feminism, the exhibition highlights creative and intellectual relationships between artists across time.

Part Two continues until 26 January 2022.

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JULIE RRAP AWARDED FELLOWSHIP IN NSW GOVERNMENT

Congratulations to Julie Rrap, who is one of five successful fellows in the NSW Government's Fellowship program!
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The New Dimensions: NSW Visual Arts (Established) Fellowship will support Julie Rrap with funding to allow her to focus on a self-directed professional development program, and also to undertake an additional project or acquisition commission from the MCA. This marks the third year of a partnership between Create NSW and MCA for the New Dimensions: NSW Visual Arts (Established) Fellowship.

The opportunity for Julie Rrap to develop a new body of work and program of research with the Fellowship is significant. This research and artwork will question how we “look” or “look away” when confronted by certain bodies. This is a very timely project for Rrap and an extension of a meaningful practice centred around challenging and questioning traditional expressions of the female body.

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Portrait of Julie Rrap in her studio by Jacquie Manning⁠

Portrait of Julie Rrap in her studio by Jacquie Manning⁠

PAT BRASSINGTON LIMITED EDITION OF 'FRED'

Brassington_Fred_2014_ARC ONE.jpg

PAT BRASSINGTON has generously donated her work Fred to support the Ballarat International Foto Biennale. You now have the unique opportunity to purchase a limited edition work by the legendary Brassington, at a smaller size than her gallery works.

Fred is a wonderful expression of Brassington’s signature photo-media work. You can purchase this work via the BIFB website, with proceeds contributing to Ballartat Foto’s future and helping to support artists and champion photography as an art form in Australia.

Artwork details: 

Pat Brassington,
Fred, 2014
Hahnemühle Photo Rag, 308gsm, 100% archival cotton rag
15.8cm x 18.3cm
Limited edition of 30

CURATOR TALK AT JOHN YOUNG'S 'DIASPORA, PSYCHE'

On Thursday 1 July, join curator Penny Teale at Bunjil Place Gallery as she discusses JOHN YOUNG’s latest survey exhibition Diaspora, Psyche.

This exhibition brings together John’s History Projects and Double Ground Paintings to contextualise his recent focus on the history of the Chinese in Australia since 1840, examining how meaning is created through historic expressions of cross-cultural ethics, material and cultural exchange, and the effects of diasporic experience on the psyche.

The talk will be held at 12 noon on Thursday 1 July. Admission is free. Stay tuned for more talks, film screenings, a catalogue in various languages and AR guided tours related to this exhibition!

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JOHN YOUNG SURVEY AT BUNJIL PLACE

JOHN YOUNG’s new solo show Diaspora, Psyche opens at Bunjil Place Gallery today! This is a major survey of works spanning 17 years, from 2003 to 2019.

John Young, Three Worlds, 2004, (from the Double Ground Paintings: The Persian Paintings), digital print and oil on linen, 189.5 x 231.5 cm, Private collection

John Young, Three Worlds, 2004, (from the Double Ground Paintings: The Persian Paintings), digital print and oil on linen, 189.5 x 231.5 cm, Private collection

In the most comprehensive presentation of his practice since 2005, Diaspora, Psyche brings into dialogue two of Young’s most significant bodies of work: the History Projects (2008-2019) and the celebrated Double Ground Paintings (1995-2005). This pairing will contextualise Young’s recent focus on the history of the Chinese in Australia since 1840 within his four-decades long investigation into the condition of diaspora and the negotiation of bicultural ethics and perspectives.

This exhibition brings together, for the first-time, key paintings and installations to present an exploration of transcultural perspectives, examining how meaning is created through historic expressions of cross-cultural ethics, material and cultural exchange, and the effects of diasporic experience on the psyche.

Diaspora, Psyche will be supported by a selection of research and archival material that has informed these works to provide visitors with greater insight into the complexities of the artist's working practices.

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Read review in The Saturday Paper >

CYRUS TANG SOLO SHOW AT INCINERATOR GALLERY

CYRUS TANG’s new solo show Sky Orchestra is now open at Incinerator Gallery.

Sky Orchestra is a project exploring Confucian values of filial piety through the lens of Chinese history and pop culture, and how it relates to the artist’s experience within a Western context. Through Sky Orchestra, Tang delves into the history and legacy of a poem by a well-known Chinese poet Su Shi of the Song Dynasty, whose words evoke the joys and sorrows of human existence from a Buddhist worldview.

Additionally, this project explores the power of music, which was believed to have great moral powers in ancient China. For Sky Orchestra, Tang revisits childhood memories and Confucian thought, with the resultant exhibition conveying themes of loss and renewal.

The exhibition will continue until 1 August.

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Cyrus-Tang-Sky-Orchestra-5.12.20-2020-1-hr-long-exposure-for-piano-practicing-1024x1021.jpg

DANI MARTI'S WORK SUBJECT OF ESSAY FOR QUEER READINGS OF MUMA COLLECTION

DANI MARTI’s video work Time Is the Fire in Which We Burn and sculpture Time is the Fire (2010) are the subjects of an essay by Daniel Mudie Cunningham, published as part of MUMA’s new writing project: ‘Queer Readings of the Monash University Collection’.

‘Queer Readings of the Monash University Collection’ invites 20 LGBTIQ+ writers to make queer readings of artworks from the MUMA Collection, forming part of MUMA’s ongoing efforts to diversify writing on the Collection and launching alongside their 60th anniversary program in 2021.

Daniel Mudie Cunningham, curator, writer and Director of Programs at Carriageworks, Sydney, writes:

"Marti’s video practice borrows from the codes and questionable ethics of observational documentary. Naming the exchange established between artist and subject as Intimacy Porn foregrounds the arousal of sexual desire for a spectator of images trading in so-called reality. Watching Marti with John is like being at the end of their bed, positioned polyamorously as a viewer hanging on their every word like foreplay for an excised sex act.”

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Image 1: Dani Marti, 'Time Is the Fire in Which We Burn’ [still], 2009, video, colour, sound; 1 hour 8 minutes 4 seconds; Image 2: Dani Marti, 'Time Is the Fire’, 2010, stainless steel, galvanised iron and copper scourers and galvanised fencing, 220 x 200 cm

EUGENIA RASKOPLOULOS FINALIST IN PORTRAITURE PRIZE

Congratulations to EUGENIA RASKOPOULOS, finalist in the Martin Kantor Portrait Prize with her work Astro!

Named in honour of the late portrait photographer Martin Kantor, this prize is awarded for an exceptional photographic artwork of a significant, living Australian in the fields of art, letters, science, sport or politics. Finalists were carefully selected by judges Naomi Cass, Max Delany, Bill Henson and Fiona Sweet.

See all of the finalists in the one room at the 2021 Biennale this August.

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Eugenia Raskopoulos, Astro, 2013, digital print on archival paper, 100cm x100cm

Eugenia Raskopoulos, Astro, 2013, digital print on archival paper, 100cm x100cm

JANET LAURENCE SHOWING IN GERMANY

JANET LAURENCE’s video work Vanishing is on display at KulturForum Ansbach in Art from Elsewhere, an exhibition in real space of digital and video works from the Momentum Berlin Collection.

Art from Elsewhere focuses on global issues through video work and installation, reflecting on the environmental traumas we inflict on our planet and its creatures and exploring the (un)quiet poetry of the day-to-day.

Vanishing is Janet Lauence’s first video work, made during a residency at @tarongazoo. It shows close-up footage of threatened mammal species, and the rise and fall of their breathing flanks. Originally shown as a two-screen installation, this single channel version was specially released for the Momentum Collection.

Art from Elsewhere continues until 25 July.

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Janet Laurence, Vanishing, 2009. Installation view, Janet Laurence: After Nature, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, 2019.  Single-channel video, sound, 9 minutes (looped). Collection of the artist. Image courtesy the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia © the artist. Photograph: Zan Wimberley

Janet Laurence, Vanishing, 2009. Installation view, Janet Laurence: After Nature, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, 2019.  Single-channel video, sound, 9 minutes (looped). Collection of the artist. Image courtesy the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia © the artist. Photograph: Zan Wimberley