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.

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!

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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.

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, 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

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

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 >

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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

HONEY LONG & PRUE STENT IN DIGITAL EXHIBITION

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 >

JANET LAURENCE CATALOGUE NAMED IN BOOK DESIGN AWARDS

Janet Laurence: After Nature, the catalogue from last year’s survey exhibition at the MCA, has been honoured in a competition naming the best of book and cover designs in 2019.

The book was chosen for its demonstration of design excellence by esteemed jurors of the AIGA, the professional association for design. It will now become a part of the AIGA collection at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University’s Butler Library in the city of New York.

Congratulations to designer Claire Orrell, curator/author/editor Rachel Kent, and artist Janet Laurence. 

More information >

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LYNDELL BROWN & CHARLES GREEN SIGN OPEN LETTER ON WORLD REFUGEE DAY

Today, on World Refugee Day, Australia’s Official War Artists have come out in condemnation of the punitive treatment of a fellow artist held in detention.

LYNDELL BROWN & CHARLES GREEN are signatories on an open letter published today in support of Farhad Bandesh, a refugee whose art has helped him survive 7 years of imprisonment and whose materials are now being arbitrarily withheld.

“The scary intensity we felt in active war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan intensified our profound empathy for all those who flee their homes in times of conflict,” said Brown and Green. “Refugees deserve to be given a chance.”

The letter, published via @nava_visualarts, asks “Why withhold art materials? They are not illegal or unsafe. The threat lies, instead, in the ability of art to challenge injustice, the power of a free voice in an unfree system…A paintbrush can be a lifeline for a prisoner.”

More information >

Inset painting detail from Lyndell Brown & Charles Green’s work The Far Country (2019) showing refugees fleeing across the high Kurdish mountains.

ANNE ZAHALKA IN #NGVPhotosFromHome

ANNE ZAHALKA is featured in #NGVPhotosFromHome, a project featuring photographers, whose work is in the NGV Collection, sharing their current lived experience, or a moment in time through images and words. 

“These pictures of my family taken during the month of May reveal the small rituals performed within daily life. They lightly draw on the language of documentary photography, genre painting and Reality TV, referencing an earlier body of work, Open House (1995), held in the collection of the NGV and shown in the exhibition Civilization: The Way We Live Now.

The scenes may be staged, but the environments are real – a readymade set against which we perform and present ourselves.

The still lives of objects lovingly arranged around my family have a special value. They are reminders of places travelled, people known and things passed down. From a collection of summer frocks suspended in time to op-shop prints by Albert Namatjira, to plants we have tended and art acquired, these anchor us to our home in uncertain times.

Surrounded by our possessions and the memories they hold, I feel fortunate to have a place filled with treasures that provide such comfort to me and those I share them with.”

— Anne Zahalka

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GUAN WEI STUDIO VISIT IN LOOK MAGAZINE

Photographed by Felicity Jenkins

GUAN WEI is interviewed by Miriam Cosic for the latest edition of AGNSW’s Look Magazine. 

The artist was visited in his home studio in Sydney’s south-west. He talks about dividing his time between Sydney and Beijing, where his studio is twenty times the size. Asked where he feels he belongs, he ums and ahs, chuckles, and says, “Maybe I just belong to myself. And my family.”

Guan Wei’s work Revisionary (1998) is showing in the AGNSW’s exhibition In one drop of water, and two of his new porcelain pieces are in their show Under the Stars. 

FRAN CLARK INTERVIEWED FOR ART COLLECTOR MAGAZINE

Art Collector recently visited ARC ONE Director Fran Clark to see what's in our gallery stockroom.

Hear what she has to say about some key works that are currently available here.

“The key thrill of an artwork’s power is if the work makes me ask questions, questions about wanting to know why and what the connections are”, she says, invoking the diverse references in IMANTS TILLERS’ work Stillness Speaks.

JANET LAURENCE 'DO IT' - KALDOR PUBLIC ART PROJECT 36

JANET LAURENCE is a contributing artist to Kaldor Public Art Project 36:  do it (australia).

do it (around the world) is a new chapter of curator Hans Ulrich Obrist’s exhibition-in-progress, which for 27 years has tapped creative luminaries to share simple instructions for their audiences to make an artwork themselves.

Hans Ulrich Obrist initiated do it in Paris in 1993 with artists Christian Boltanski and Bertrand Lavier, gathering recipes for artworks from twelve artists. Since then, it has grown into a global collective art project including some of the world’s most famous figures.

In this time of global lockdown, do it (around the world) has artists making brand new instructions for people to do at home. "I’m encouraging people to have a conversation with a plant and begin to imagine the answers," says Laurence.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

do it (australia) is presented in partnership with Serpentine Galleries, Independent Curators International (ICI) & Google Arts & Culture, and supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

More information do it (australia) >

More information do it (around the world) >

DANI MARTI AT UNSW GALLERIES

Dani Marti, The Pleasure Chest, 2015, second hand necklaces and beads on powder coated aluminium frame, 255 x 170 x 12cm

DANI MARTI’s work is on display at UNSW Galleries in ‘Friendship as a Way of Life’ - a new exhibition exploring queer kinship and forms of being together. Presented across the entire gallery and online, this major project seeks to foreground the way LGBTQI+ communities create alternative networks of support through various creative and resourceful means.

Marti is showing two works: a two channel video work, Notes for Bob (2012-14), and a woven necklace wall sculpture The Pleasure Chest (2015). These are prime examples of the seemingly stark division between Marti’s work as a painter/weaver, and a film-maker whose subjects probe the sexual lives of others.

Morgan Falconer says of Marti’s oeuvre, “Marti’s painting-objects are metaphorical, his films are allegorical: both use one thing to describe another. Beads describe their wearer; tales of sex describe a life with or without love. Marti doesn’t pretend to offer up the whole, essential individual to our gaze. Indeed, his work insists on the fact that identity is not a stable essence that can be recognised and captured again and again; instead it is something performed, and it changes each time in the performance.”

More information >

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INSIDE 'YOU ARE HERE' AT TOWN HALL GALLERY

Sadly the exhibition You Are Here, featuring new work by ANNE ZAHALKA, had to close early at Town Hall Gallery. One of the works on display was You Are On Gundungurra Land!.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Anne Zahlaka, You Are On Gundungurra Land!, 2020, Archival pigment ink print on rag paper, 115cm x 161cm

Using negatives taken over 20 years ago for her Leisureland series, Zahlaka has scanned and digitally manipulated this landscape to conform with an early painting by Conrad Martens depicting the Jamison Valley and Gully with a group of Aboriginal people gathering around a small fire on an unlikely outcrop.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Zahalka comments on the dichotomy between European visions of the picturesque, and the spirituality of place for indigenous peoples. 

The idyllic vistas of the Blue Mountains are nowadays framed by windows, set apart by safety railings, and surveyed from viewing platforms and gondolas high above the landscape. It is not a place to venture into, but rather to look at from a distance. But the Gully is an important spiritual site for the Gundungurra and Darug people who have lived in this region for over 40,000 years. 

Zahalka seeks to bear witness and acknowledge the Indigenous people to whom these lands have always belonged and lament the lack of care we have shown for this country.

You can now see the install photography and download the exhibition catalogue here.

JANET LAURENCE IN VOGUE LIVING MAGAZINE

“Janet Laurence, one of Australia’s foremost contemporary artists, has long fossicked in the muddy space between ethics, aesthetics and environmental science, seeding the dry matter of others’ data in the fertile soil of her concept to frame a case for the interconnection of all things.” — Annemarie Kiely

This month’s edition of Vogue Living features interviews with creative practitioners pushing collaboration to the edges of brilliance. JANET LAURENCE’s Earth Canvas project is highlighted, in which she has partnered with soil scientists, regeneration farmers, horticulturalists and the esteemed ecologist Professor David Watson.

The Earth Canvas project will result in an exhibition starting at the Albury Library Museum later this year followed by a tour of regional galleries including the National Museum of Australia.