Exhibitions 2023
Townsville City Galleries
January - July 2023
Townsville City Council acknowledges the Wulgurukaba of Gurambilbarra and Yunbenun, Bindal, Gugu Badhun and Nywaigi as the Traditional Owners of this land. We pay our respects to their cultures, their ancestors and their Elders – past and present – and all future generations.
Cover image Carolyn Cardinet, installation view Fish Trap, 120 x 25 cm, 2021 and Dredging, 200 x 280 cm, found baling twine. Image courtesy of the Australian Tapestry Workshop
Exhibitions 2023
Townsville City Galleries
January - July 2023
FOREWORD
It is a great pleasure to be able to contribute to the re-opening of the Pinnacles Gallery in May 2023. After repairs from the 2019 monsoon and re-location of the Thuringowa Library to the old theatre complex, the Riverway Art Centre promises to be a pivotal site of cultural activity, creativity, learning and celebration in the city of Townsville. The centre will provide visitors with a range of services beyond the new state of the arts library and gallery. A new café and community meeting room along with the magnificent lagoon set on the banks of the Ross River make the Riverway Art Centre a great destination to relax and engage with the arts with your friends and family.
Jane Scott Galleries Director
ART IN CONFLICT: AN AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL TOURING EXHIBITION
3 March - 7 May 2023 Perc Tucker Regional Gallery 02
LEFTOVER LOVE - NEW DIRECTIONS
29 April – 18 June 2023 Pinnacles Gallery 03
LEN COOK: FIRE AND RAIN
12 May - 13 August 2023 Perc Tucker Regional Gallery 04
RICKY EMMERTON: WHO FLASH!
12 May - 13 August 2023 Perc Tucker Regional Gallery 05
ONE FOOT ON THE GROUND, ONE FOOT IN THE WATER
23 June - 27 August 2023 Pinnacles Gallery 06
EPHEMERA: SEASIDE SCULPTURES
22 July - 6 August 2023 The Strand, Townsville
CONTENTS 01
ART IN CONFLICT: AN AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL TOURING EXHIBITION
3 March - 7 May 2023
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
Simon Gende, Plane crash into the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, 2012 acrylic on canvas, 107 x 123.5 cm
ART96124, Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial
Contemporary artists’ responses to conflict bring to light untold stories, reveal neglected histories and deepen our understanding of Australia’s experience of conflict, in both the past and present.
LAUNCH
Thursday 2 March 2023
6pm for 6.30pm speeches
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
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LEFTOVER LOVE - NEW DIRECTIONS
29 April – 18 June 2023
Pinnacles Gallery
Leftover Love – New Directions, brings together contemporary artists who use textiles or textile techniques to create sculptural forms that engage with ideas around sustainability, environment, and material culture. This exhibition has evolved from the 2021 show Leftover Love, curated by Adriane Hayward for the Australian Tapestry Workshop. These artists aredriven bya desireto have a sustainable practice; all reuse, repurpose and remake using found and discarded materials. Techniques such as stitching, knitting, weaving, and quilting are used to create textural and sculptural forms that coexists together within a shared space.
Carolyn Cardinet, Fish Trap and Dredging, 2021, found baling twine, installation view (detail)
Photographer: Marie-Luise Skibbe
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Adapted from the exhibition Leftover Love, 2021, Australian Tapestry Workshop.
LEN COOK: FIRE AND RAIN
12 May - 13 August 2023
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
Len Cook is one of Australia’s foremost woodfired potters. The exhibition Fire and Rain draws together nearly 80 artworks created over 40 years of ceramic practice with loans from public and private collections, as well as key works from the artist’s own collection. Len first became interested in pottery when he moved to Townsville from Victoria in 1977 and joined the North Queensland Potters’ Association. The formative experience of attending a 10-day workshop convened by the Potters
Association, led by Carl McConnell whose pottery style was inspired by Japanese techniques, reinforced Len’s excitement with traditional methods of firing. The exhibition highlights the artists lifelong passion for wood-fired kilns and pots that are glazed by natural ash deposits over extended firing in traditional Japanese anagama (cave) kilns. Len Cook’s practice encompasses domestic ware, ceramic sculpture inspired by the coral forms of the Great Barrier Reef, and his anagama-fired work.
LAUNCH
Friday 12 May 2023
Len Cook, Blossom jar, 2021 100 hour wood fire, reduction kiln using pine and black wattle, 39 x 30 x 30 Image courtesy of the artist. Photographer: Michael Marzik
6pm for 6.30pm speeches
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
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RICKY EMMERTON: WHO FLASH!
12 May - 13 August 2023
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
Ricky Emmerton is a Kalkatungu man living in Townsville. Emmerton has commenced a Doctor of Philosophy (Creative Arts) at James Cook University. Who Flash! will preview new paintings from his university research which asserts that Kuathuat Ritjinguthinha, Rainbow Serpent Dreaming, is a living tradition that maintains our culture and identity.
‘Flash’, in Indigenous art, is in the form of bright colours, dots and patterns. Emmerton’s paintings reflect experimentation into new and expressive forms of ‘flash’ colours and composition. Inspired from Kalkatungu rock art, historical documents and artists within our family, Who Flash! will demonstrate a continuance of Kalkatungu culture through art.
LAUNCH
Friday 12 May 2023
6pm for 6.30pm speeches
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
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Ricky Emmerton, Yaruwala Thuat Waru (Rainbow Serpent Way), 2019 acrylic on cardboard, 120 x 60 cm Image courtesy of the Artist
ONE FOOT ON THE GROUND, ONE FOOT IN THE WATER
23 June - 27 August 2023
Pinnacles Gallery
At a time when many are experiencing complex feelings about the frailty of life and future uncertainty, the exhibition One foot on the ground, one foot in the water turns to the subject of our own mortality. Eleven contemporary artists present paintings, sculptures, installations and sound works that invoke experiences of loss, impermanence, transience, remembrance, memorialisation and their own expressions of grief. Each artist offers insight into the ways we let go of death, or hold it close, as a continuing living presence in the world. Artworks and other objects can reflect these kinds of present-absences, allowing the departed to continue to resonate in our memory, and in objects that outlive them.
One foot on the ground, one foot in the water is a La Trobe Art Institute exhibition toured by NETS Victoria. Curated by Travis Curtin.
LAUNCH
Friday 23 June 2023
6pm for 6.30pm speeches
Pinnacles Gallery
EXHIBITION PARTNERS
Catherine Bell, Final resting place [detail], 2018-20 100 vessels hand-carved from floral foam, 100 digital photographs, digital photo display installation, dimensions variable Image courtesy of the Artist and Sutton Gallery, Melbourne
Photography: Ian Hill
EXHIBITION SUPPORTER
The exhibition has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body, as well as receiving development assistance from NETS Victoria’s Exhibition Development Fund, supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.
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Ephemera: Seaside Sculptures has become one of the largest biennial outdoor sculpture festivals in Northern Australia.
Ephemera is supported by a multitude of engaging public programs and features a selection of curated sculptures of national and international acclaim alongside those vying for the $1,000 People’s Choice Award, $10,000 Artistic Excellent Award and the $90,000 Ephemera Acquisitive Prize.
Competitive works will be on display along Townsville’s picturesque 2km beachfront – The Strand – from 22 July to 6 August 2023.
ARTIST WALKING
TOUR
Saturday 22 July 2023
The Strand
LAUNCH
Saturday 22 July 2023 6pm for 6.30pm speeches
The Strand
Seaside Sculptures
Karl Meyer, Hand in the Sand 2019 Glass fibre reinforced concrete
240 x 240 x 180 cm
People’s Choice Award Winner 2019
Photography: Andrew Rankin Photography
ephemera
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FRIENDS OF THE GALLERIES
Townsville City Galleries is excited to present our new-look Friends of the Galleries membership program. Our Friends of the Galleries membership program will keep our members up-to-date on Gallery opportunities and news, as well as offering discounts and advanced bookings on our programs.
Friends of the Galleries can engage in a range of activities that go beyond just visiting and viewing, offering opportunities to engage with local artists, art enthusiasts, volunteers and supporters of the arts in our region.
Friends of the Galleries benefits include:
• Invitations to all opening functions throughout the year
• Advance invitations to a range of Gallery events including artist talks, workshops, tours and lectures
• Monthly E-Newsletter to keep up to date on the latest Gallery news
• Membership exclusive events at the Gallery
• 30% discount on paid events
• 10% discount on all items available in our Gallery Shop
• 10% discount on Townsville City Council’s 2023 Theatre Season at the Townsville Civic Theatre.
Memberships for the year will now run from 1 November 2022 – 31 October 2023, and renewals in the future will always fall on 1 November.
Our Friends of the Galleries play an important role in our Galleries with their ongoing support for our exhibitions, events, and activities, and we look forward to sharing our new and exciting programs with you!
Single membership price is $45, or $30 with a Concession card. All memberships commence 1 November and run until 31 October the following year.
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Sign up now to become a member! K Friends of the Galleries
CONTACT US
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
Cnr Denham and Flinders Street
Townsville QLD 4810
Tue – Fri: 10am – 5pm Sat - Sun: 10am - 1pm
Closed on Mondays, public holidays and during exhibition change overs. Free Admission. 07 4727 9011
galleries@townsville.qld.gov.au
whatson.townsville.qld.gov.au
Townsville City Galleries
TownsvilleCityGalleries
Pinnacles Gallery
Riverway Arts Centre 20 Village Boulevard
Thuringowa Central QLD 4817
Tue - Fri: 10am - 5pm Sat: 10am - 3pm Sun: 10am - 1pm
Closed on Mondays, public holidays and during exhibition change overs. Free Admission.
07 4773 8871
galleries@townsville.qld.gov.au
whatson.townsville.qld.gov.au
Townsville City Galleries
TownsvilleCityGalleries
GALLERIES E-NEWSLETTER
Free monthly email updates are available with specific information on exhibitions, workshops, events, and more. Submit this online form to receive updates.
(e-Newsletters - Townsville City Council)
Please ensure you select Galleries as the e-News you would like to receive.
VOLUNTEERING
Register your interest, or phone 13 48 10. Sign up now.
Are you Interested in becoming a volunteer? Townsville City Galleries is always seeking passionate volunteers to assist with a range of duties.