Art Almanac November 2019 $6
Alice Lang Making Art Public Hope Dies Last
Art Almanac November 2019
Subscribe Established in 1974, we are Australia’s longest running monthly art guide and the single print destination for artists, galleries and audiences. Art Almanac publishes 11 issues each year. Visit our website to sign-up for our free weekly eNewsletter. To subscribe go to artalmanac.com.au or mymagazines.com.au
Deadline for December 2019 / January 2020 issue: Thursday 31 October, 2019.
We acknowledge and pay our respect to the many Aboriginal nations across this land, traditional custodians, Elders past and present; in particular the Guringai people of the Eora Nation where Art Almanac has been produced.
Encounters with art can be transformative, and the act of creating a necessary release – from its production to consumption, art is an agent for change. In a time where many people are disempowered we look to art for, as John Kaldor notes on art in public spaces ‘a new reality – evading elitism’. In this issue art and agency are allies. ‘New Woman’ brings the herstory of Brisbane female artists into the spotlight. The artists in ‘Flat Earth Society’ find new ways to question art via technology and those in ‘Hope Dies Last’ enable a conversation about death to envision a different world.
Contact Editor – Chloe Mandryk cmandryk@art-almanac.com.au Deputy Editor – Kirsty Francis info@art-almanac.com.au Art Director – Paul Saint National Advertising – Laraine Deer ldeer@art-almanac.com.au Digital Editor – Melissa Pesa mpesa@art-almanac.com.au Editorial Assistant – Penny McCulloch listing@art-almanac.com.au Editorial Intern – Bella Chidlow Accounts – Penny McCulloch accounts@art-almanac.com.au
Cover
Alice Lang, Believe Women, 2018, marbled paper and acrylic on paper In ‘New Woman’, on view at the Museum of Brisbane, Queensland Museum of Brisbane Collection Courtesy the artist and Museum of Brisbane, Queensland
T 02 9901 6398 F 02 9901 6116 Locked Bag 5555, St Leonards NSW 1590 art-almanac.com.au
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DESIGN Canberra As an ode to the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus design movement the sixth iteration of ‘DESIGN Canberra’ will reflect the theme of ‘utopia’. On view citywide from 4 to 24 November, audiences will have access to more than 200 events, exhibitions, talks, tours, activations, markets, collaborations, artists’ studios and open homes. Some of which include a guided bus tour, photography competition, talks and an exhibition curated by Tim Ross exploring the ‘aggressively utopian’ designs of architect John Andrews. Part of the international roster includes MEDUSA an installation by Berlin design team Plastique Fantastique and an exhibit of glass pieces by contemporary Italian and Australian designers will be on display in dialogue, inspired by the Murano glass chandelier Enrico Taglietti installed for the Italian Ambassador’s Residence in Canberra. designcanberrafestival.com.au Plastique Fantastique, MEDUSA, Valencia, Spain Courtesy the artists and DESIGN Canberra Festival, Australian Capital Territory
Going Solo Bendigo Art Gallery’s annual ‘Going Solo’ program for artists living and working in regional Victoria celebrates the contemporary and diverse practices from the region and highlights the contribution they make to the cultural landscape. This year the gallery presents the inaugural ‘Going Solo: First Nations’ exhibition titled ‘What’s on Your Mind?’ featuring the work of Yorta Yorta/ Gunditjmara artist Josh Muir. Muir will be working alongside the gallery’s First Nations Curator Shonae Hobson to present a large-scale multimedia project, which will also see the artist engage in new explorations with the creation of a series of sculptures in the form of animated characters. View the display from 30 November to 1 March 2020. bendigoregion.com.au Josh Muir, Psychosis, 2019, digital print on aluminium Courtesy the artist and Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria
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Song of the Cicada Suzanne Archer Nicholas Thompson Gallery ‘Song of the Cicada’ affixes Suzanne Archer’s place in the canon of Australian art history. She has long offered a tantalising jolt of disquiet coupled with a zest for life. This title arrived on the 50th anniversary of her first exhibition and the latest commercial show with Nicholas Thompson Gallery who introduces the text citing the critical dualities of her work; life and death, abstraction and figuration, and as we later learn, fantasy and lived-experience, comedy and pathos.
Sioux Garside intimately relays Archer’s creative journey with chapters on her heady practice, biographical and exhibition information. The author emphasises the artist’s preoccupation with primordial time, whether that be through Greek mythology, ancient Egypt or the Aztecs, in which artistry also meant a profound understanding and ability to communicate the raw human condition, a viscous topic some avoid in contemporary life. A similar summons is placed on objects, a pillow as a mask, which of course can link back to mythology in myriad ways. The dissection of her practice is beautifully bound in place with threads from the artist’s diaries over the years, bringing another interior dialogue to an appreciation of the personal works. ‘Intuition is her guide to tapping an inner wildness, so as to make expansive, imaginative leaps into metaphorical image making,’ Garside concludes.
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Making Art Public: 50 Years of Kaldor Public Art Projects Jeremy Eccles ‘It’s surreal that this great project happened here,’ gushed Agatha Gothe-Snape about Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Wrapped Coast (1968-69), which covered one million square feet of Sydney’s coastline at Little Bay 50 years ago. The contemporary conceptual artist is modestly involved in celebrating it by finding readers to sit in the exhibition each day studying a chosen book. Two artworks from the Kaldor history will also be reprised – first Allora & Calzadilla’s pianism and then Tino Sehgal’s ‘immaterial’ non-performance work in the second half of November. Imants Tillers has re-created the scene on 132 canvas boards. But then it mattered to him more than most; an innocent young architect went down to Little Bay in 1969 to assist in the wrapping, and emerged intent on becoming an artist. Sydney generally is reliving the legend as John Kaldor – recipient of the Australia Council’s 2019 Arts Visionary Award – has commissioned an exhibition documenting his 34 projects involving 47 artists over the past half century since then. His curator, Michael Landy – who took over lower Martin Place for the 24th Project – admits ‘it was hard work making an archive interesting.’ And one might argue that his 34 living-room sized archive boxes needed their maze-like formation in the Art Gallery of New South Wales basement to achieve what Kaldor enthusiastically called ‘ingenious capsulation’. I suspect the result will attract more viewers wanting to recapture their experiences of such international art celebrities as Nam June Paik, Marina Abramović, Bill Viola, Gilbert & George, Jeff Koons and Sol LeWitt whom Kaldor has brought to Oz than it will find new audiences for their work. But then finding new audiences originally by placing their works in non-arty places like Little Bay, Broken Hill, Cockatoo Island and Bondi Beach was always a key part of the Kaldor plan.
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New Woman Chloe Mandryk ‘New Woman’ on view at the Museum of Brisbane celebrates 100 years of herstory. The exhibition presents 111 pieces by female artists working from Brisbane including Tracey Moffatt, Margaret Cilento, Gwendolyn Grant, Carol McGregor, Olive Ashworth, Judy Watson, Fiona Foley, Pamela See, Jay Younger, Davida Allen, James Barth, Megan Cope, Sancintya Mohini Simpson, Naomi Blacklock, Courtney Coombs, Emma Coulter, Rachael Haynes and Elisa Jane Carmichael. We spoke with curator Miranda Hine about the exhibition. Do you think ‘women artists only’ exhibitions should be an essential part of institutional programming? Not necessarily. It’s important to ensure artists have value as artists, not just ‘women artists’, and generally I believe they should be shown alongside other voices to engage in a rounded conversation. However, we felt it was time for this particular show, as there hadn’t been one of this scale before, and there are so many underrepresented female artists from Brisbane’s history, as well as successful artists who people often forget are from Brisbane. We are also conscious that a show like this might not be relevant in the next few years as gender distinctions become less important. Did you include trans or non-binary artists? At the crux of ‘New Woman’ is identity, which is a huge topic to unpack, and relies on the understanding of intersectionality and individual experience. We wanted to explore how binary definitions of gender have excluded certain artists from recognition generally, whether it’s because they were female or because they didn’t conform to those definitions. We worked with the
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subscribe for your chance to win a copy of Suzanne Archer’s monograph ‘Song of the Cicada’ Offer ends 24 December 2019
artalmanac.com.au mymagazines.com.au Call 1300 361 146 or +61 2 9901 6111 for international callers Competition and price offer open to new, renewing or extending Aust and NZ residents subscribing in print to Art Almanac magazine for a minimum of one year between 31/10/19 12:01AM and 24/12/19 11:59PM. Three (3) winners chosen at random with each winner to receive a book valued at $60 each. Total prize pool valued at $180. The winners will be drawn on 8/1/20 at Promoter’s premises, 205 Pacific Hwy, St Leonards NSW 2065. Please allow 4 weeks for delivery of prizes after 8/1/20. The Promoter is nextmedia P/L. Authorised under: NSW Permit LTPM/19/04049. ACT Permit No. TP 19/02587. Full competition terms can be viewed at www.mymagazines.com.au
Unfolding Acts: New Art from Taipei and Perth Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) Until 22 December, 2019 Western Australia
John Vea If I pick your fruit, will you put mine back?
4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art Until 15 December, 2019 Sydney
In partnership with the Taiwan Fine Arts Museum, PICA celebrates the creative voices who ruminate on social, cultural and economic issues, geographies, shared histories, civic acts and shifting landscapes. Projections, sculptural works and installations will be on view from Taiwanese artists Chia-En Jao, Yu-Cheng Chou, Yi-Chun Lo, indigenous artist Dondon Hounwn and West Australian artists Pilar Mata Dupont, pvi collective, Sharyn Egan, and York Noongar community members with Community Arts Network.
Using his signature wit, John Vea challenges us to consider the equality and validity of a global workforce, shedding light on the lived experiences of the Pacific underclass employed within dominant and authoritative social structures of Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Australia. Used to support both agricultural production and urban development in exchange for minimum wage and temporary stay; their contributions to the success and prosperity of New Zealand’s economy are overlooked or underrepresented, and placed on the margins of our everyday experience and cultural narrative.
Chia-En Jao, Taxi (video still), 2016, colour 4K UHD video with sound, 79’32” Courtesy the artist and Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Western Australia
Works End Thank You Courtesy the artist and 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney
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Petrina Hicks
Chloë Waddell
Bleached Gothic
A Portrait of North Sydney
Petrina Hicks articulates the ambiguity and complexity of the female experience in her multi-layered photographs and video works. This major survey exhibition, ‘Bleached Gothic’, brings more than 40 works together for the first time, drawn from over 15 years of the artist’s creative practice.
‘A Portrait of North Sydney’ by artist Chloë Waddell is an exhibition of mixed media collage works incorporating photo, painting and drawing, which depict the tree-lined streets of Sydney’s north side.
The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia Until 29 March, 2020 Melbourne
Inspired by mythology and art history, Hicks’ alluring compositions, often pairing female subject or object with animal or creature, present curious dualities of seduction and danger, familiarity and strangeness, intimacy and distance.
Persephone, 2015, from the ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’ series, 2015, pigment inkjet print, 100 x 77cm Collection of the artist © Petrina Hicks Courtesy the artist, Michael Reid, Sydney, THIS IS NO FANTASY, Melbourne and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
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Bridget Kennedy Project Space Until 16 November, 2019 Sydney
Highlighting the often over-looked angles and shapes that define urban landscapes, Waddell hones in on the delineating straight lines, curves and circles. From the winding roads and built structures to the tree branches hanging over buildings, the artist draws a focus to the smaller puzzle-like sections of whole forms.
A Portrait of North Sydney, 2019, mixed media, ink, paint, resin on canvas, 30 x 40cm Courtesy the artist and Bridget Kennedy Project Space, Sydney
No Black Seas
Never the same river
ACE Open Until 7 December, 2019 South Australia
Anna Schwartz Gallery Until 21 December, 2019 Melbourne
Artists from Ceduna band together to express cultural and personal connections with the Great Australian Bight and protest against the proposed drilling that would have a negative impact upon this region and its community, human and animal. For the Mirning, Kokatha and Wirangu artists the damage to land is not only a present and future issue but represents yet another social, environmental, political and economic injustice to First Nations people and the land.
Heraclitus’ analogy for the constant state of change is reflected in the title and content of this landmark, large-scale exhibition. Drawing from the histories of Melbourne galleries: United Artists, City Gallery, and Anna Schwartz Gallery (also Sydney), spanning the 1980s to now, the show is a testament to continual change; recognising the ways in which artists engage ideas and produce work, does not necessarily follow a linear path; redefined over time by political and social standards, they document the constantly shifting artistic landscape.
Estelle Miller, maga warna manggu Ru, 2019, Arts Ceduna hand screen printed political poster, 51 x 36cm Š Estelle/Arts Ceduna Photograph: Saul Steed Courtesy the artist and ACE Open, South Australia
John Srezaker, Love XXIV, 2017, collage, 25.8 x 19.5cm Š John Stezaker Courtesy the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne
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Artist Opportunities We have selected a few galleries and funding bodies calling for submissions for Art Awards, Artist Engagements, Grants, Public Art, Residency Programs, Exhibition Proposals and more. Enjoy and good luck!
several overseas residencies and exhibited widely in South Australia and interstate. The selection committee included Simon Biggs, Professor of Art, School of Art, Architecture and Design, University of South Australia, Christian Lock, Samstag Scholar and Lecturer: Painting, School of Art, Architecture and Design, University of South Australia, and Nike Savvas, Sydney-based artist and fellow Samstag Scholar.
Anne & Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship
We congratulate artists Marlee McMahon (VIC) and Kate Power (SA) who were recently announced as the recipients of the 2020 Anne & Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship. McMahon and Power will each receive a $50,000 stipend to cover institutional fees for one academic year of study at an international art school of their choice.
Kate Power, Things Between You and Me (detail), 2016, timber, foam, fabric, 300 x 40 x 40cm Photograph: Grant Hancock Courtesy the artist and Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art, South Australia
‘Kate Power impressed us with her clear commitment in continually developing a practice that critically challenges stereotypes. Marlee McMahon blew us away with the quality, originality and the maturity she displayed in her portfolio. We are really excited to see how their work develops as they immerse themselves in new cultures and in a stimulating learning environment,’ said Biggs. unisa.edu.au/samstag
Arte Laguna Prize Marlee McMahon, Cavity, 2019, oil and acrylic on canvas, 70 x 61cm Courtesy the artist and Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art, South Australia
Since graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) in 2017, McMahon, whose painting practice explores the intersection between graphic design and abstraction, has exhibited in solo and group shows in Victoria, interstate and overseas. And Power, a 2015 Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) graduate from the South Australian School of Art whose practice explores craft, video, sculpture and performance, has participated in
Entries close 27 November 2019 All emerging artists and designers are invited to enter the international Arte Laguna Prize. In its 14th year, the prize gives artists an opportunity to join the huge network of collaborations worldwide, exhibit in the breathtaking location of the Arsenale of Venice and win cash prizes which total 40000 Euro. The exhibition of 120 finalists will be held through March and April 2020. Works including virtual and digital art, painting, photography, sculpture, installation, video, short film and performance are encouraged. artelaguna.world
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Parkers celebrates 100 years with new technology In the centenary year of Parkers Sydney Fine Art Supplies we speak with Derek Parker about the brand’s latest products for artists. Parkers is a one-stop shop for product advice in the arts, the family run business has served artists in The Rocks foreshore, at the National Art School and in Redfern with both a warehouse and framing workshop where you can experience innovative approaches to framing and canvas stretching, as well as traditional options. What are the advantages of an aluminium support over a traditional canvas stretcher? Aluminium stretchers have been available for some time and we have recently sourced a Dutch Design renowned for its simplicity and stability. The aluminium stretchers offer unparalleled stability especially across larger dimensions and artists can be assured that their work will leave the studio and be resistant to various climatic conditions that may challenge conventional timber stretchers. Are there other materials in this ‘family’ we should know about? Yes, the aluminium composite panel. We intend to launch two products utilising this material. One, an aluminium panel adhered to a timber support is a versatile and extremely portable support for artists. The second, an aluminium panel seamlessly folded in a 30mm wrap around an aluminium support is the perfect contemporary frameless painting option.
perfect ‘ the contemporary frameless option
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Why are they a reliable choice for artists? Paint films often undergo stress resulting from hydroscopic expansion and contraction due to changes in humidity and temperature (such as challenging domestic locations like damp walls or fireplaces.) The new aluminium panels offer a great alternative being weather resistant and stable. Two strong sheets of aluminium are bonded to a solid polyethylene core measuring approximately 3-4mm. The panels have a smooth white pre-coating ready for paint or can be lightly sanded to receive a more absorbent ground. The Museo aluminium and timber stretcher bars have been enthusiastically received by leading artists and galleries, who have adopted these in preference to traditional timber for stretching their linens and artworks. During the Biennale of Sydney, the Museum of Contemporary Art exhibited a 4 x 8 metre artwork that we stretched using the aluminium system with incredibly accurate results. parkersartsupplies.com Derek Parker at the warehouse, Redfern 2019 Photograph: Warwick Deane
PARKERS SYDNEY FINE ART SUPPLIES IN COLLABORATION WITH ART ALMANAC
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Margaret Lawrence Gallery
40 Dodds Street, Southbank 3006. T (03) 9035-9400. E ml-gallery@unimelb.edu.au W mlg.finearts-music.unimelb.edu.au H Tues-Sat 12.00 to 5.00. To Nov 16 Hope Dies Last: Art at the End of Optimism – a curated exhibition of Australian and international contemporary art presented across two sites, Gertrude Contemporary and the Margaret Lawrence Gallery. The project focuses on how artists consider the depletion of optimism, how they might envisage the end of days, and how they make sense of these tumultuous times. Exploring themes of mortality, fatalism, extinction, pain (both emotional and physical), failure and downfall, the works focus on the specific moment when hope evaporates for the final time. With compassion, humour, sadness and resignation, Hope Dies Last confronts our individual and collective anxieties around death and will be one of the most depressing events of the year, an exhibition that will riddle us with sadness, and likely leave us more pessimistic than we have ever been before.
Carlton Nth Melbourne Bridget McDonnell Gallery Carlton
130 Faraday Street, Carlton 3053. T (03) 9347-1700. E bmcdgallery@bigpond.com W www.bridgetmcdonnellgallery.com.au H Tues-Fri 11.00 to 5.00, Sat 12.00 to 5.00, Sun and Mon by appt.
Burke Gallery
Gateway Building, Trinity College, the University of Melbourne, 100 Royal Parade, Parkville 3052. T (03) 9348-7527. E events@trinity.unimelb.edu.au W bit.ly/TrinityExhibitionBeBrutal Free admission. H Tues and Thurs 10.00 to 4.00. To Dec 19 Be Brutal: Nicholas Harding Portraits. Harding is one of Australia’s leading artists, recognised recently in a retrospective exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra. This captivating exhibition of portraits showcases works from his own collection.
Tony Garifalakis, Branch of the Terrible Ones (Trump), 2013, C-type print, 62 x 42cm The Michael Buxton Collection Courtesy the artist and Margaret Lawrence Gallery
National Gallery of Victoria NGV International
180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne 3004. T (03) 8620-2222. W www.ngv.vic.gov.au H Daily 10.00 to 5.00. To Jan 27, 2020 Turning Points: Contemporary Photography from China. To April 13, 2020 KAWS: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness. Oct 31 to July 26, 2020 Collecting Comme. Nov 15 to April 19, 2020 Shirin Neshat.
Nicholas Harding, William Cowan AM, 2017, oil on linen Trinity College Art Collection Courtesy the artist and Burke Gallery
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Mornington Peninsula EVERYWHEN Artspace
1/39 Cook Street, Flinders 3929. T 0419-896-473. E info@mccullochandmcculloch.com.au W www.mccullochandmcculloch.com.au H Daily 10.30 to 4.00. The Mornington Peninsula’s specialised Aboriginal art gallery, Everywhen Artspace directors Susan McCulloch and Emily McCulloch Childs represent the work of 40 Aboriginal art centres from around Australia plus select non-Indigenous artists. To Nov 25 ReGeneration: showing, teaching, passing down – celebrating spring and the season of renewal with an expansive exhibition of new Aboriginal art from the APY Lands, the Western, Central and Eastern Deserts, the Pilbara, Qld, Arnhem Land, the Kimberley and the Tiwi Islands illustrating the inherited rights of image making. Featuring paintings and ceramics from Ernabella Arts, APY Lands.
Frankston Arts Centre and Cube 37 Galleries
27-37 Davey Street, Frankston 3199. T (03) 9784-1896. W www.thefac.com.au Free entry to all galleries. H Tues-Fri 9.00 to 5.00, Sat 9.00 to 2.00. Art After Dark every evening from dusk. To Nov 6 FAC Curved Wall Gallery: On the Beach: When Hollywood Came to Frankston. FAC Mezzanine: When the Cows Come Home by Jordan Richardson. Cube Gallery: Oakwood School. To Nov 16 Southern Independent Schools. To Nov 21 Art After Dark: Peninsula Film Festival: Shorts Selection. Glass Cube Gallery by day: Artwell: Community. To Nov 28 SASI Art Show Inc. FAC Design Store.
Gordon Studio Glassblowers A working hot glass studio and gallery
290 Red Hill Road (cnr Dunns Creek Road), Red Hill 3937. T (03) 5989-7073. E mail@gordonstudio. com.au W www.gordonstudio.com.au H Daily 10.00 to 5.00.
Manyung Gallery Flinders
37 Cook Street, Flinders 3929. T (03) 9787-2953. W www.manyunggallery.com.au H Fri-Sun 10.00 to 5.00. From Nov 9 QSeven Sculpture Show. Manyung Gallery is excited to present a selection of Queensland sculptors showcasing new works at our Flinders Sculpture Gallery.
Tanya Williams, Tjulpun-tjulpunpa – Wild or desert flower, stoneware, 21 x 22cm Courtesy the artist, Ernabella Arts, South Australia and EVERYWHEN Artspace
Mela Cooke, Wrapped, bronze, 74 x 24cm Courtesy the artist and Manyung Gallery Flinders
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