John Fries Memorial Prize Blackfriars off Broadway
John Fries Memorial Prize
11 August – 30 September 2010 Hannah Bertram Jessica Bradford Deidre But-husaim Susan Frisch Christopher Fulham Ike Glatz Sarah Goffman Chrissie Ianssen Melanie Irwin Emily McIntosh SannÊ Mestrom Jamie North Kenzee Patterson Gary Smith Kurt Sorensen Layla Vardo We would like to thank: Robert Boynes Merilyn Fairskye Kath Fries Joyce Parszos Patsy Payne Megan Robson And the exhibiting artists who have made this exhibition possible
The John Fries Memorial Prize has been established in recognition of the formative influence John Fries had on the development of Viscopy. He was a Viscopy director and honorary treasurer for five years until his tragic and unexpected death in 2009. As an accountant with extensive experience in the corporate environment, John’s contributions to the Viscopy board were anchored in his realistic and forward-looking attitude and his empathic understanding of the financial challenges that face visual artists. His absence has been deeply felt by his family, friends and professional colleagues particularly at Viscopy and NSW Red Cross. The Fries family has worked with Viscopy to establish this prize to commemorate John Fries’ supportive nature and generous character, and to promote and encourage the growth of contemporary Australian visual art. The John Fries Memorial Prize is unique as it is directed at artists who are considered ‘emerging’ without the usual age limitations. These artists have completed their studies and are pursuing their practices professionally but their work has not yet been represented in a public collection. John would be very proud of this award and the significant opportunities it presents for the winners to advance their professional vocations at a critical juncture in their careers. Kath Fries Daughter of John Fries, Artist and Viscopy board member July 2010
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Blackfriars off Broadway
Viscopy is Australasia’s rights management organisation for the visual arts. Viscopy provides copyright licensing services in Australia and New Zealand for a wide and varied customer base on behalf of our members. We represent over 8,000 Australian and New Zealand artists and their beneficiaries. Our membership includes many famous names as well as up and coming artists. Viscopy represents approximately 50% of all artists in Australia and New Zealand. Indigenous artists account for almost half of our membership. We also represent some 40,000 international artists and beneficiaries of artistst’ estates in the Australasian territory through reciprocal agreements with 45 visual arts rights management agencies around the world. Blackfriars off Broadway is Viscopy’s exhibition space for artists which is located at our premises in Chippendale, Sydney. There is an annual exhibition program which aims to showcase the quality, beauty and diversity of the visual art created by our members. We are delighted to have the opportunity to exhibit the work of 16 Australian contemporary artists who have been selected as finalists in the John Fries Memorial Prize 2010. The winner of the $10,000 prize will also have the opportunity to hold a solo exhibition at Blackfriars off Broadway in early 2011. We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the Fries family for making the John Fries Memorial Prize and exhibition possible. We would also like to thank artists Robert Boynes, Kath Fries and Patsy Payne for judging the prize and Megan Robson for writing the catalogue essay. For more information about Blackfriars off Broadway, please telephone 02 9310 2018.
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John Fries Memorial Prize The inaugural John Fries Memorial Prize presents the work of sixteen artists working across a range of media, encompassing painting, drawing, video, sculpture, design and photography. Each of the finalists brings a unique perspective to concerns ranging from the environment and the representation of history to formal investigations into technique, skill and material. Collectively, these diverse artists all share an investment in what it means to be an artist, a role which involves the observation, exploration, representation, and discussion of contemporary life. The urban environment is the focus of work by Chrissie Ianssen, Kurt Sorensen and Gary Smith, who each explore our interaction with suburban and industrial sites. In Form Conversion, Zoom 1 (2009) Ianssen has painted geometric forms that respond to her experience exploring the architecture of Western Sydney, as well as the local visual motifs and colloquial structures. Sorensen’s photograph Station Street (2010) depicts a desolate suburban street at night. The eerie scene plays with the perception of the city as a dark and dangerous place, evoking urban stories and contemporary folklore. In Pipes (2009), Smith elegantly renders a detail of complex piping from an oil refinery, an image which could almost be described as romantic except for the inclusion of a slick line of black paint, which reminds us of the destructive beauty of the industrial landscape. Jamie North and Susan Frisch both take inspiration from the natural world within very different contexts. Frisch’s jewellery pieces, Flowering Gum Neckpiece and Flowering Gum Brooch (both 2009), reflect the natural forms and colours of Australian flora and fauna, and draw attention to the delicateness of this unique ecosystem. In A Study of Concrete Things (The Banausic Twins) (2009), North has created a lithophytic sculpture which replicates the manner in which the natural world has adapted to the urban landscape. The ability of nature to not only survive but thrive in this uninhabitable situation is both awe-inspiring and somewhat frightening. In Plastic Arts (2009) Sarah Goffman presents a collection of plastic recyclable objects decorated by hand using blue marker pens in the style of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain. In re-presenting refuse as art objects, Goffman raises pertinent issues regarding the way in which we appraise waste in our consumerist society. Hannah Bertram, like Goffman also considers the worth of detritus through the use of ‘Ornamentation’ in her ephemeral installation, An Ordinary Kind Of Ornament (2010), made with collected dust. The beautiful and opulent pattern offers an alternative concept of value by positioning dust as a precious material. Sanné Mestrom and Emily McIntosh also challenge the possibilities and limitations of objects in their sculptural works. Mestrom undermines our expectations of particular materials by producing sculptural forms that belie their physical properties. In Four Possibilities and A Promise (2009), the contradiction between the solidity of an object, which we presume is fluid, creates a situation of uncertainty where what we know is questioned. McIntosh’s blown glass sculpture Accrete Constrain; Growth and Restriction III (2008), in form is suggestive of a strange scientific or classification instrument. Designed to hold thoughts and recollections, the vessels protect fleeting memories against the ravages of time.
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Kenzee Patterson and Melanie Irwin utilise elements of performance within their works as a means of exploring the position of the artist within a wider social and historical context. In AS/NZS2210.3 (2010) Patterson’s use of the cube, an iconic sculptural symbol of 1960-70s Minimalist and Conceptual art movements, references the omnipresent weight of the art history. However, the artist humorously acknowledges the reality of the contemporary artist, and his own situation, through the inclusion of the steel capped boots that support the structure, a reference to his paid work as a gallery technician working on other artists’ project to support this own practice. Irwin’s untitled (action_structure_drawing) (2008) documents a performance by the artist in which cubelike structures are attached to the artist’s body over a period of time restricting her ability to continue working in the gallery. These physical obstructions mimic the structures and systems in our own society, which are designed to restrict movement and control space. The idea of history is examined by Deidre But-husaim and Layla Vardo across two very different mediums. But-husaim’s richly decorative painting Paul (2010) is inspired by the artist’s travels to St Petersberg, Russia. Merging contemporary and traditional imagery with a particular emphasis on pattern and ornamentation, the work depicts a fictitious re-imaging of a once dominant society. In the video O-bit (2009) Vardo edits together footage from the ABC Television archives of newsreader Richard Morecroft presenting stories relating to the death of famous individuals or tragic incidences in the moment before he utters his first word. The abridged filmed segments, taken over a two decade period, reveal elements which normally go unnoticed when viewed in the original context and question the traditional presentation of historical television footage. Jessica Bradford explores elements of the familiar and the strange in her drawing Untitled (2009) to challenge conventional ideas of portraiture. Informed by damaged or badly exposed black-and-white portrait photographs, the artist has created an image which questions the manner in which we categorise and identify individuals based upon their physical appearance. Ike Glatz and Christopher Fulham present two very different works that uniquely engage with the technical aspects of art making. In 380_2 (2009), Gatz makes a connection between the act of drawing and the lines that feature in our everyday, and in doing so places the artist within a context that both reflects and engages with the wider world. In Fulham’s The Runners (2009) a grid of joggers jostle for space evoking a contemporary version of an Eadweard Muybridge photograph. The work creates the sense of movement but one which is restricted to the boundaries of the video frame, in this manner the video draws our attention to both the formal qualities of the work and unnoticed everyday events. Like all the artist’s featured in the exhibition, Fulham allows us to reconsider the world in a new light. Megan Robson Sydney 2010
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Hannah Bertram An Ordinary Kind of Ornament 2010 ash and dust, 300 x 200 cm approx Š Hannah Bertram Licensed by Viscopy 2010
Jessica Bradford Untitled 2009 charcoal on canvas, 61 x 45.5 cm Š Jessica Bradford 2010
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Deidre But-husaim Paul 2010 oil on linen, 122 x 112 x 4 cm Š Deidre But-husaim Licensed by Viscopy 2010
Susan Frisch Flowering Gum Brooch 2009 sterling silver, soda lime glass, stainless steel, 4.5 x 4.5 x 1.5 cm
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Š Susan Frisch Licensed by Viscopy 2010
Christopher Fulham The Runners 2009 video 6:50 mins © Christopher Fulham 2010
Ike Glatz 380_2 2009 mixed media 55 x 55 cm © Ike Glatz Licensed by Viscopy 2010
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Sarah Goffman Plastic Arts 2009 pet bottles, enamel paint, permanent marker, dimensions variable Š Sarah Goffman Licensed by Viscopy 2010 Photo Mike Myers
Chrissie Ianssen Form Conversion, Zoom 1 2009 acrylic on cut marine ply, 80 x 122 cm Š Chrissie Ianssen Licensed by Viscopy 2010
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Melanie Irwin untitled (action_structure_drawing) 2008 performance video 12:09 min © Melanie Irwin Licensed by Viscopy 2010 Photo Judy Perfect
Emily McIntosh Accrete Constrain: Growth and Restriction III 2008 70 x 45 x 45 cm © Emily McIntosh Licensed by Viscopy 2010
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Sanné Mestrom Four Possibilities and A Promise 2009 cast bronze, cast resin, 80 x 20 x 15 cm © Sanné Mestrom Licensed by Viscopy 2010
Jamie North A Study of Concrete Things (The Banausic Twins) 2009 concrete, plant species native to Sydney, 62 x 25 x 25 cm
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©Jamie North Licensed by Viscopy 2010
Kenzee Patterson AS/NZS2210.3 2010 steel capped safety boots, stainless steel 58.5 x 62.5 x 65.3 cm
© Kenzee Patterson 2010
Photography Darren Knight. Collection of Tim North Melbourne
Gary Smith Pipes 2009 acrylic and pigment on canvas 120 x 120 cm © Gary Smith 2010
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Kurt Sorensen Station Street 2010 (from the series There is no one. What will take care of you?) C-type photograph Š Kurt Sorensen 2010
Layla Vardo O-bit 2009 video installation (1:29 looping) Š Layla Vardo 2010
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photography by the artist unless otherwise stated
Viscopy 1 Blackfriars St Chippendale NSW 2008 ABN 98 069 759 922 Phone: 02 9310 2018 Fax: 02 9310 3864 Email: bob@viscopy.org.au Web: www.viscopy.org.au Open: 1.00 – 5.00 pm Wed to Fri