TOM KEUKENMEESTER IT TAKES A VILLAGE
TOM KEUKENMEESTER
IT TAKES A VILLIAGE 21 July - 13 August 2022
MARTIN BROWNE CONTEMPORARY 15 HAMPDEN STREET PADDINGTON NSW 2021 TEL: 02 9331 7997 FAX: 02 9331 7050 info@martinbrownecontemporary.com www.martinbrownecontemporary.com GALLERY HOURS:TUESDAY TUESDAY -- SATURDAY SUNDAY 10:30AM - 6PM GALLERY HOURS: 10:30AM - 6PM
SUNDAY & MONDAY BY APPOINTMENT
LIST OF WORKS
© Martin Browne Contemporary © All images copyright Tom Keukenmeester This catalogue is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. COMPILER: James Edwards PHOTOGRAPHER: Michael Hains COLOUR SEPARATIONS: Spitting Image, Sydney Cover Image: Warrior 1, 2022, terracotta and glaze, 38 x 18 x 29 cm
1.
Father, 2022, white raku, glaze and gold lustre, 42.5 x 31 x 18 cm
2.
Cheerer, 2022, terracotta, glaze and gold lustre, 32 x 24 x 14 cm
3.
Healer, 2021, white earthenware and glaze, 35 x 26 x 15 cm
4.
Apostle, 2021, terracotta and glaze, 36 x 40 x 13 cm
5.
Prince, 2022, terracotta and glaze, 26.5 x 21 x 11 cm
6.
Warrior 1, 2022, terracotta and glaze, 38 x 18 x 29 cm
7.
Seated Goat Figure, 2022, terracotta, glaze and gold lustre, 36 x 25 x 36 cm
8.
White Hands, 2022, white raku and glaze, 36 x 31 x 15 cm
9.
Sun King, 2022, white raku, glaze and violet lustre, 56 x 33 x 25 cm
10.
Matriarch, 2022, sandy raku and glaze, 39 x 25 x 18 cm
11.
The Pregnant Boy, 2021, white earthenware and glaze, 35 x 26 x 15 cm
12.
Warrior, 2021, white raku and glaze, 55.5 x 45 x 25.5 cm
13.
Queen (Sheba), 2022, white raku, glaze and gold lustre, 40 x 25 x 18 cm
14.
Venus de Jam, 2022, white raku and glaze, 37 x 22 x 18 cm
15.
Adoration of the Prince, 2022, oil on canvas, 132 x 102 cm
16.
Moon Ritual, 2022, oil on canvas, 115.5 x 91 cm
17.
Primavera, 2022, oil on canvas, 76 x 62 cm
18.
Venus, 2022, oil on canvas, 61 x 92 cm
It Takes A Village The first work I made for this exhibition was the Venus de Jam sculpture; it’s also the first sculpture I made during my residency at The Jam Factory in Adelaide. The figure takes inspiration from the Venus of Willendorf; one of the oldest pieces of art and figurative sculpture known to man, found in Austria and estimated to have been created between 25,000 and 30,000 BC. The purpose of the Venus of Willendorf is the subject of much speculation. However for my exhibition the Venus offers a beginning point and embodies the village’s mother. Each sculpture in the exhibition draws inspiration from an archetype or historical figure that I have reimagined in clay and represented further in my paintings. During production as I continue to create more and more figures, I sit them in my studio drying before they are kiln fired. At this point I begin to imagine their possible interactions and this becomes the basis for my paintings. My first exhibition of this type of work in 2021 was titled There Were Many Edens in which I imagined figures inhabiting a Garden of Eden style beginning of time. In many ways It Takes A Village is a continuation on that theme. Perhaps in response to the physical, social and political divisions experienced over recent years, the exhibition uses archetypes to imagine a unified community. The title It Takes A Village references the proverb “It takes a village to raise a child” which means that an entire community of people must provide for and interact positively with children for those children to experience and grow in a safe and healthy environment. This idiom is often shortened to ‘It takes a village’ and used in broader context to say that it takes many people’s help or involvement in order to achieve a goal. This is an idea that has taken prominence in my mind recently and while I created this body of work I dreamt up many personal and societal goals I wish to see achieved. Tom Keukenmeester, July 2022
Father, 2022, white raku, glaze and gold lustre, 42.5 x 31 x 18 cm
Cheerer, 2022, terracotta, glaze and gold lustre, 32 x 24 x 14 cm
Healer, 2021, white earthenware and glaze, 35 x 26 x 15 cm
Apostle, 2021, terracotta and glaze, 36 x 40 x 13 cm
Prince, 2022, terracotta and glaze, 26.5 x 21 x 11 cm
Warrior 1, 2022, terracotta and glaze, 38 x 18 x 29 cm
Seated Goat Figure, 2022, terracotta, glaze and gold lustre, 36 x 25 x 36 cm
White Hands, 2022, white raku and glaze, 36 x 31 x 15 cm
Sun King, 2022, white raku, glaze and violet lustre, 56 x 33 x 25 cm
Matriarch, 2022, sandy raku and glaze, 39 x 25 x 18 cm
The Pregnant Boy, 2021, white earthenware and glaze, 35 x 26 x 15 cm
Warrior, 2021, white raku and glaze, 55.5 x 45 x 25.5 cm
Queen (Sheba), 2022, white raku, glaze and gold lustre, 40 x 25 x 18 cm
Venus de Jam, 2022, white raku and glaze, 37 x 22 x 18 cm
Adoration of the Prince, 2022, oil on canvas, 102 x 132 cm
Moon Ritual, 2022, oil on canvas, 91 x 115.5 cm
Primavera, 2022, oil on canvas, 76 x 62 cm
Venus, 2022, oil on canvas, 92 x 61 cm
TOM KEUKENMEESTER 1988, Adelaide EDUCATION
COLLECTIONS
2019 Master of Art History, The University of Melbourne & The University of Adelaide
ArtIncubator
2015 Drawing, Painting, Adelaide Central School of Art 2012 Bachelor of Marketing (Management), The University Of South Australia 2010 Endeavour Scholarship, University of Concordia, (Montreal)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2021 There Were Many Edens, Jerico Contemporary, Sydney NSW 2019 Adelaide 2069, Adelaide 2017 The Rocks, (12 public installations commissioned by PNSW), The Historical Rocks Precinct, Sydney, NSW 2015 The Trophy Life, Adelaide, SA GROUP EXHIBITIONS (incl prize finalist exhibitions) 2022 Melbourne Art Fair, Martin Browne Contemporary, NSW 2021 Royal South Australian Biennial Art Prize, Adelaide, SA 2020 Fisher’s Ghost Art Prize, Campbelltown Arts Center, NSW 2019 Kilgour Art Prize, Newcastle Art Gallery, NSW 2019 Memento, Saint Cloche, Sydney, NSW 2019 Royal South Australian Biennial Art Prize, Adelaide, SA 2018 Parklands Art Prize, SA 2018 Youth Opportunities fundraiser, TransformARTive, Plant- 4Bowden, SA 2017 Cliftons Art Prize, NSW 2017 Royal South Australian Society of Arts, Biennial Portrait Prize, RSASA Winner, Adelaide 2016 Fleurieu Art Prize (Finalist), SA 2016 Chancery Lane, Adelaide Fringe Exhibition (Group) SA 2016 Loreto Spring Art, Star Portrait Artist, Adelaide SA 2015 Lethbridge 10000 Finalist, Brisbane, QLD 2015 Loreto Spring Art Fair, Adelaide SA 2014 Cossack Art Prize (Finalist), Western Australia 2014 Royal South Australian Society of Arts Youth Art Show, Adelaide, SA