Karen Woodbury Gallery

Karen Woodbury Gallery @ The India Art Fair, New Delhi

2012-01-23T09:50:00.002+11:00

Karen Woodbury Gallery is presenting an exhibition of four major works by our sculptor, Sam Jinks, at the India Art Fair, New Delhi from 26 - 29 January.

For further information, click here.

Call out for portrait participants

2012-01-11T15:55:00.005+11:00

Call-out!

Simon Obarzanek is looking for participants to have their portraits taken in his latest video project The 'Movement'.

The 'Movement' is a close-up portrait of subjects who will be shot exercising on a cross-training machine located at West Space gallery, Melbourne.

He is looking for people who:

Are willing to exercise to a state of complete exhaustion for between 10 and 20 minutes and are aged between 18 and 60 years old.

Subjects do not need to be fit to participate in this project. All you need is a black T-shirt.

If you are interested please email Simon Obarzanek to arrange a time for filming: videoportraits2012@hotmail.com

Locust Jones @ Bathurst Regional Art Gallery

2012-01-10T11:25:00.006+11:00

Locust Jones is holding a solo exhibition at Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, that runs from 20 January and continues until 11 March.

The exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive exhibition catalogue with an interview style essay by our very own Gallery Manager, Rachael Watts.

For further information, click here

Pipilotti Rist & The Mad Square + more

2011-12-30T10:16:00.001+11:00

Looking for some great exhibitions to visit over the Summer break?

We suggest visiting Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist's solo exhibition 'I packed the Postcard in My Suitcase' at Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, that runs until 4 March.

Then you can take a short stroll to the National Gallery of Victoria on St Kilda Road and see the landmark exhibition, 'Mad Square: Modernity in German Art 1910-37', that runs until 4 March.

If you are in Sydney make sure you visit Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) and see Mexican-Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer's exhibition 'Recorders'. This interactive exhibition will comprise of twelve installation pieces and runs until 12 February.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales is holding a Picasso exhibition of works sourced from Musee National Picasso, Paris, on display until 25 March.

John Pule survey exhibition

2011-12-27T10:05:00.001+11:00

John Pule is holding a survey exhibition of works from 1990-2011 at Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland. This exhibition continues until January 2012.

For further details click here.

John Pule also has a major publication 'Hauaga: The Art of John Pule' available for purchase through Otago University Press.

For further information, click here.

Season's Greetings

2011-12-19T14:54:00.007+11:00

Season's Greetings from the team at Karen Woodbury Gallery.

Karen Woodbury Gallery will close for Summer from 22nd December 2011 - 18th January 2012.

A few of our favourite things

2011-12-16T11:59:00.003+11:00

We have posted an album on our Facebook page with a selection of some of our favourite things from the stock room to provide you with some inspiration for that perfect gift for that special person and/or yourself.

Click here to be redirected

Happy Christmas shopping!

Sam Jinks @ McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park

2011-12-16T11:40:00.005+11:00

Need a break from Christmas shopping mayhem?

Pack a picnic and take a leisurely drive to McCLelland Sculpture Park + Gallery, Langwarrin to see Sam Jinks' two awe inspiring sculptures 'Hanging Man' and 'Calcium Divide' on display until 18 March.

These works are included in a group exhibition 'Double Vision' alongside works by: Stephen Birch, Lyndell Brown & Charles Green, Juan Ford, Petrina Hicks, Cherry Hood, Justine Khamara, Rosemary Laing, Ron Muek, Jan Nelson, Evan Penny, Patricia Piccinini, Caroline Rothwell, Julie Rrap, Alexander Seton, Ricky Swallow, Colin Suggett, Chritian Thompson & Ronnie van Hout.

Check out a review of the exhibition by Raymond Gill here

Heather B. Swann in Rome

2011-12-07T15:47:00.004+11:00

Heather B. Swann is currently undertaking an Australia Council residency in Rome. While away, Heather is included in a group exhibition 'Seven things to do in an emergency', that runs from 13 - 21 December, at the British School, Rome.

For further information, click here.

We hope you are having a wonderful time Heather!

Port Philip City Collection Acquisition: Lisa Roet

2011-12-01T10:10:00.003+11:00

Congratulations to Lisa Roet whose work has been recently acquired by the Port Phillip City Art Collection.

Her work, 'The Mark of No Human Hand I' 2011, is on display in the group exhibition 'Recent Acquisitions' at the St.Kilda Town Hall Gallery until 29 December.

For further information, click here.

Chapman & Bailey Belle Arti Award

2011-11-25T11:53:00.002+11:00

Congratulations to Marie Hagerty who was recently awarded the 2011 Chapman & Bailey Belle Arti Award.

This award is a $5,000 national 35.0 cm x 35.0 cm acquisitive prize.

Congratulations Marie! For further information, click here

Lionel Bawden featured in the current issue of Artist Profile

2011-11-23T13:25:00.004+11:00

The current issue 17 of Artist Profile features an article on our gallery artist Lionel Bawden. Lionel is currently showing a solo show at Karen Woodbury Gallery.

For an exhibition preview click here.

The opening will be held on Thursday November 24th from 6pm until 8pm.

Open Studio @ Artspace

2011-11-22T14:59:00.004+11:00

Lara Merrett is holding an Open Studio 2nd-3rd December from 11am-5pm at Art Space Sydney (43 - 51 Cowper Wharf Road Woolloomooloo).

The official opening and drinks with the artist will be held on Friday 2nd from 6-8pm.

This is a great opportunity to see some of Lara's new work on display.

Lara will be holding a solo exhibition with Karen Woodbury Gallery in 2012.

For more information click here

Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition

2011-11-10T12:09:00.003+11:00

The 2011 Sculpture Exhibition & Awards at Yering Station, Yarra Glen continues to run until 4 December. The 2011 exhibition showcases the work of 29 artists, including Karen Woodbury Gallery artist, Titania Henderson. For more information click here

Kate Rohde & Pieces of Eight

2011-11-02T14:47:00.002+11:00

Pieces of Eight who sell contemporary jewellery and artist made objects, have been working with a range of contemporary artists including Kate Rohde to create a range of limited edition range of jewellery, 'Edition X'.

Edition X will be launched at Pieces of Eight showroom (635 Brunswick St Fitzroy North) on Thursday 10 November from 6-8pm. The store will open to the public on Friday 11 November.

Karen Woodbury Gallery also sells a range of jewellery by Kate Rohde.

The Edition X range will be on sale at 'Markit @ Federation Square' on Sunday 27 November from 10am - 5pm.

New Romantics

2011-11-01T14:35:00.000+11:00

Simon Gregg (Curator of the Gippsland Art Gallery, Sale) has recently published the book 'New Romantics: Darkness and Light in Australian Art' that features the work of our gallery artists Jane Burton & Philip Wolfhagen, in addition to 34 other contemporary Australian artists.

Set against the dazzling backdrop of the Australian sublime, 'New Romantics' charts the dynasties of Romantic art. From its nascent beginnings in European philosophy to a cause championed by Australian colonialists, this compelling survey seeks to understand how it has landed in the hands of a new generation of Australian artists.

To order a copy, please contact Australian Scholarly Publishing.

Lionel Bawden, Vogue Living

2011-10-29T14:28:00.002+11:00

The November/December Issue of Vogue Living features the new work 'Pattern Spill' (2011) by our artist Lionel Bawden who is holding an exhibition with us from 23 November - 17 December.

Small Sculpture Award

2011-10-22T10:24:00.000+11:00

Congratulations to Michael Doolan, Titania Henderson and Heather B. Swann who are finalists in the Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award!

The exhibition opens on 2 November and runs until 10 December.

For more information click here.

Locust Jones exhibits in Dusseldorf, Germany

2011-10-21T12:20:00.001+11:00

Locust Jones will exhibit new work in Germany at Kunstraum Dusseldorf.

The exhibition 'Top Dead, 2010' opens on 4 November and continues until 13 November.

For further information click here.

In Great Trouble

2011-10-20T11:15:00.002+11:00

Fiona Lowry has curated an exhibition entitled 'In Great Trouble', held at Bondi Pavilion Gallery, Bondi Beach, as part of the Waverley artists in residence program.

Artists include: Angelica Mesiti, Jamie North, Tim Silver, Craig Bender, Julie Fragar, Ben Quilty, Jonathan Jones, Nigel Milsom, Simryn Gill, Fiona Lowry & Shaun Gladwell.

Exhibition opens 28 October 6-9pm and continues until 20 November.

Alex Spremberg: PICA & Toyota

2011-10-13T15:22:00.004+11:00

To celebrate the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) and Toyota's new partnership, Alex Spremberg has created a specially commissioned artwork to wrap PICA's new Toyota 'Rukus'. Alex has contributed in creating a stunning, moveable artwork in the streets of Perth!

Alex is currently holding a solo exhibition 'Wrong Angles' at PICA until 30 October. For more information, click here

Coming Soon | Jane Burton

2011-10-12T07:00:00.000+11:00

Karen Woodbury Gallery is pleased to announce Jane Burton’s solo exhibition White Stain, a series of photographic works on display from 26 October – 19 November.

Burton’s new works deal with images and ideas surrounding light, shadow, fragility, decay and the female form. The audience is presented with a series of images of anonymous naked female bodies that inhabit mysterious dark interiors. The singular female form is a central theme in Burton’s work. In ‘White Stain’ the figures appear, ‘isolated in light fall, at once revealed but also self-contained and protected.’

Lisa Roet | Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award 2011

2011-10-04T12:17:00.001+11:00

Congratulations to Lisa Roet who has been awarded the Winner of the non-acquisitive prize for the Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award 2011.

Lisa submitted two new etchings that were recently produced at the Australian Print Workshop for her Collie Print Trust Printmaking Fellowship earlier this year, 'The mark of no human hand'.

We have a range of Lisa's etchings from this series currently available in the stockroom.

Pagan Pop | Kate Rohde

2011-10-02T12:08:00.001+11:00

Kate Rohde has been included in a group exhibition 'Pagan Pop' that opens 14 October 2011 at Canberra Contemporary Art Space. Other artist include: Celeste Aldahn, Tamara Dean, Julia deVille, Jessica Herrington, Robbie Karmel, Owen Lewis, Helen Shelley and Marian Tubbs.

Curated by Yolande Norris, 'Pagan Pop' invokes a collective nostalgia for a time beyond memory and a fascination with the unknown possibilities of the universe; A desire for all things natural, mystical and primitive, for crystals, gold and glitter, feathers, fur and bones. Triggered by technological saturation, this shared longing influences the output of the masses, infiltrating art and culture before manifesting as pre-packaged pop-culture trend.

INVIDEO 2011

2011-09-30T11:58:00.004+10:00

Magda Matwiejew's new work "Wasp Waist" has been selected to participate in INVIDEO 2011 in November in Milan, Italy.

INVIDEO is an International Exhibition of Video Art and Cinema Beyond, organised since 1990 by A.I.A.C.E. in Milan, represents a reference point for non fictional video in Italy and has established itself as an international benchmark for the full range of audiovisual production connected to electronic art and new technologies.

For further information click here

Invitation | Michael Doolan

2011-09-22T07:40:00.001+10:00

INVITATION

MICHAEL DOOLAN

CAUTIONARY TALES

29 September - 22 October 2011

opening drinks Thursday September 29 6-8pm

National Artists' Self-Portrait Prize 2011

2011-09-21T15:53:00.006+10:00

We are pleased to announce that Michael Doolan has been selected to exhibit in the University of Queensland's 2011 National Artists' Self-Portrait Prize.

The exhibition runs from 19 September - 12 February 2012 at the UQ Art Museum, Brisbane.

For further information click here

Imitation of Life, Jane Burton & Fabrice Bigot

2011-09-17T14:45:00.005+10:00

Jane Burton and Fabrice Bigot are currently exhibiting a dual channel video installation 'Imitation of Life' at Screenspace, 30 Guilford Lane, Melbourne. Exhibition continues until 8 October. For further information visit: www.screenspace.com

Coming Soon | Michael Doolan

2011-09-15T07:00:00.000+10:00

We are pleased to announce, Cautionary Tales a new solo exhibition by Michael Doolan.

Doolan toys with the original ending of childhood stories and fairy tales by visually upsetting, changing and twisting their outcomes. Cautionary Tales will feature small-scale hand modeled ceramic sculptures this artist's exploration of childhood fantasy and fictional tales.

To arrange a preview please email: info@kwgallery.com

Cautionary Tales | September 29 - October 22

Simon Obarzanek | Ipswich Art Gallery

2011-09-10T07:00:00.003+10:00

Simon Obarzanek's 80 faces (2006) body of work will feature in, Face in a crowd: new portraiture at Ipswich Art Gallery from today until 13 November.

The exhibition will present works by four contemporary artists, including Justine Khamara, David Rosetzky, Simon Obarzanek and Denis Beaubois examining the complex issue of individual identity within today's ever-changing, global and consumer focused culture.

Heather B. Swann | Text as Image

2011-09-05T07:03:00.000+10:00

Heather B.Swann has been included in the group exhibition Text (as) Image  at Level 17 Artspace, Victoria University, opening September 6 from 6-8pm.

The exhibition will also feature works by:  Brook Andrew, Peter Burke, Angela Cavalieri, Sue Dodd, Christopher Hanrahan,  Bridget Hillebrand, Danius Kesminas, Barbara Kruger, Richard Lewer, Mike Parr,  Simon Pericich, Matt Shannon, and Imants Tillers.

McCulloch & McCulloch | Australian Art Diary 2012

2011-09-03T08:00:00.002+10:00

Lisa Roet and Lionel Bawden have both been included in the McCulloch & McCulloch Australian Art Diary for 2012.

Purchase your copy here.

Titania Henderson | Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition & Awards 2011

2011-09-02T16:45:00.000+10:00

Titania Henderson has been accepted into the Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition and Awards for 2011.

A winner will be announced on October 23. All the best Titania!

Deakin University contemporary small sculpture award 2011

2011-08-31T07:30:00.000+10:00

Michael Doolan, Titania Henderson and Heather B. Swann have been selected as finalists in the Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award 2011. A winner will be announced on November 2. Stay tuned for news!

Michael Doolan then is not now (purple) 2010, enquire about this work.

Alex Spremberg | New Exhibition @ PICA

2011-08-30T07:00:00.000+10:00

Alex Spremberg will feature in a major solo show of new works, Wrong Angles, at PICA from 3 September until 30 October 2011.

In this exhibition, Spremberg seeks to integrate everyday materials such as cardboard boxes and newspapers into his paintings. Five new series of works will explore ideas around the distribution of consumer goods and the flow of information through the media.

Opening Friday September 2, 6pm.

Marie Hagerty | Opening September 1

2011-08-27T07:34:00.008+10:00

Marie Hagerty

31 August - 24 September 2011

Opening drinks
Thursday 1st September 6-8pm

Rider 2011, oil on canvas, 157.0 x 137.0 cm

Rhys Lee | [1.85M] Art Peripheries

2011-08-26T11:22:00.006+10:00

Last week we told you about 1.85 Million: Art Peripheries the new exhibition at Campbelltown Arts Centre featuring the work of gallery artist Rhys Lee.

We didn't make it up to Campbelltown for the opening but Rhys has just sent through some images of the site specific wall painting he made for the show and some installation views of his work. We thought we would share these with you.

Nusra Latif Qureshi | National Portrait Gallery

2011-08-20T07:40:00.000+10:00

Nusra Latif Qureshi who's work was included in our 2009 Figuration Now exhibition has been included in the Beyond Self exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.

This exhibition examines the representation of the self in current South and Southeast Asian art practice through the work of artists from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines and Thailand. Exploring the possibilities of portraiture, Beyond the Self includes painting, photography, sculpture, drawing and media works created from the early 2000s to the present.

Current until November 6 2011.

Rhys Lee | Campbelltown Arts Centre

2011-08-19T12:03:00.009+10:00

Rhys Lee features in 1.85 Million: Art Peripheries a new exhibition curated by Joseph Allen Shea and also featuring the work of Howard Arkley (Australia), Mohamed Bourouissa (France), Paul B. Davis (USA), Will French (Australia), Jesse Hogan (Australia), Miranda July (USA), Corita Kent (USA), Amanda Maxwell (Australia), Susumu Mukai (Japan), Garry Trinh (Australia).

1.85 Million: Art Peripheries will open this evening from 7pm at the Campbelltown Arts Centre with guest speaker: Anne Loxley, Curator C3West, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. The exhibition looks at cross-cultural and geographical comparisons and connections between social experiences of urban and suburban environments and includes number of newly commissioned works.

Join Rhys Lee, curator Joseph Allen Shea and artists Jesse Hogan and Amanda Maxwell for a discussion on Saturday 20 August, 1-3pm.

Campbelltown Arts Centre | 20 August – 23 October

Photo by Garry Trinh.

Coming Soon | Marie Hagerty

2011-08-13T11:16:00.006+10:00

We are very pleased to announce Marie Hagerty’s first solo exhibition at Karen Woodbury Gallery.

Hagerty’s paintings have been described as oscillating between the figurative and the abstract as forms appear familiar yet also indistinguishable.

The exhibition will consist of a suite of major paintings ranging in scale with a shift in palette from previous works. These new paintings are aesthetically stunning whilst technically complex, provoking a prolonged engagement with the viewer.

Please contact the gallery to arrange a preview, info@kwgallery.com

Marie Hagerty | 31 August - 24 September

Rider 2011, oil on canvas, 157.0 x 137.0 cm

Titania Henderson | NGV

2011-07-29T12:36:00.005+10:00

Titania Henderson has been selected to participate in the 6th Cicely and Colin Rigg Contemporary Design Award.

Titania's work Together 2010 will be included in the exhibition at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia in 2012.

Magda Matwiejew | Wasp Waist

2011-07-23T12:23:00.005+10:00

We thought we would share a few images from Magda Matwiejew's newest video work Wasp Waist ("Taille de guêpe") which was completed in April 2011.

The work has been selected in the 2011 Videoholica International Video Art Festival in Varna, Bulgaria, from August 5-12.

100 Artists. 100 Tickets. 100 Dollars.

2011-07-18T07:00:00.001+10:00

We are very pleased to support You're Welcome - a charity art raffle where every ticket wins an original work and all proceeds go to the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre.

100 Artists. 100 Tickets. 100 Dollars.

Heather B. Swann, Lara Merrett, Lionel Bawden and Rhys Lee have donated works to the project. Get involved!

For one afternoon only at Mars Gallery (418 Bay St, port Melbourne) from 3-6pm on Sunday July 24 to add a special piece to your wall and contribute to a great cause.

We're Loving | Nell and Romance Was Born

2011-07-15T07:00:00.001+10:00

We're loving the newest collaboration by our friends Romance was Born and Nell.

The first drop of the SS12 collection has arrived in Melbourne and we are super keen to snap some up!

You may recall gallery artist Kate Rohde collaborated with the eponymous fashion duo last year for their Renaissance Dinosaur collection? (We blogged about it here.) And before that Del Kathryn Barton.

Save the Date | Locust Jones

2011-07-14T13:10:00.006+10:00

Locust Jones features on this Sunday's Art Nation on ABC 1 from 5pm, ABC 2 9.50pm.

On the programme Locust talks about his concerns about contemporary international politics and issues via the voice of his practice.

Gallery Interview | Michael Cusack

2011-07-07T15:08:00.010+10:00

Michael Cusack has been in Melbourne these last few days to launch his new exhibition Transverse Series at Karen Woodbury Gallery. We caught up with him for a few quick questions about his life as an artist...

Michael Cusack

Describe your work in 5 words.
Abstracted, reduced, interrupted, optimistic, autobiographical

Tell us about this new body of paintings? They seem a lot ‘looser’ than the works in your 2008 show. Once you make something its made, then you have to make something else. It can apply to a body of work or to shapes within a work. I took a slightly different approach this time, a more vigorous approach. I used bigger brushes and rags to make marks. I was also toying with ideas about when a painting is finished and I wanted to use the whole canvas again. My last exhibition I was moving shapes around on a flat background and the shape making was more contained. On this occasion I wanted to change the way I made paintings. I introduced line and made structures or frameworks to support the shapes. The large dark shapes are still there but they are getting older and heavier now they need frames or scaffolding to support or hold them up.

top: anchor 2011, bottom: fig.11 2011

What are your influences at this time? Hard to say, as the process is internal and widespread. Everything from photographs by Cartier Bresson, to architectural plans, to images of ship building. Any old stuff on the street I find inspiring. It can be anything from a cardboard box shape to oil marks on the road. As an Art teacher I do a lot of research into other artists and artists practices, so these too are influences. There is also studio research of course.

Who or what inspires you to keep making? I think Jasper Johns said, “Do something and then do something else to it, and then do something else to it.” And there you go; you’re painting. The act of painting and the use of materials is its own inspiration, I guess you choose to do it. Being in the studio is not always about painting but research and converting the sometimes mundane into something poetic or of beauty. I really haven’t solved all the problems I am trying to work out in the studio and I am inspired to work on that. I believe in the work and that it changes every year and I am curious enough to stick at it to learn new things and to try and make the best work I can. I haven’t finished working out things yet and that is inspiring.

top: stone wall in Ireland, bottom: paintings at home

Tell us about your background. What path led you to become an artist? I grew up in Ireland and moved to Australia when I was 21. Early on in Dublin I had no inkling of becoming an artist, certainly not a painter. We were exposed to a lot of literature and I was inspired by a lot of Irish writers Beckett, Joyce, O’Casey etc. Apart from musicians, they were the creative people I was attuned to early on. When I was 16 or so I took up photography and spent those early years wandering the streets of Dublin taking photographs. I think photography taught me how to look and examine. I still find it incredibly inspiring. Much later after moving to Australia all my negatives were burnt in a fire and soon after my cameras were stolen. I took that as a sign and so I gave up photography per se. I did draw from an early age but didn’t go to Art school until 1995 (when I was thirty five) at Hunter Street Institute in Newcastle NSW, which I loved. That was the beginning of painting making sense to me, now I teach painting trying to make it make sense for others.

What does a typical day in the studio involve? There is nothing typical in the studio though I always listen to music, but closer to an exhibition I will be in there day and night. It’s sort of like: paint, paint, paint, sit around and read, do some drawing, experiment, paint, paint, paint, tidy up, jump on the computer, sit around again.

top: studio inspiration, bottom: the studio

What is your dream project? I don’t really have a dream project as such but I love travel and it feeds the mind so guess a few residencies in odd locations might be something.

If you could live with any artwork ever made what would it be?
There is too many to choose from really though I would like a Thomas Nozkowski painting. I do have a lovely drawing done by my daughter who has drawn me with a scruffy beard and the words ‘my naym is dad’ written on it. I am happy to have that one.

my naym is dad'

Michael Cusack | Transverse Series

2011-07-02T14:25:00.006+10:00

As the final touches are put in place for Michael Cusack's upcoming exhibition, Transverse Series we thought we would give you a glimpse into this new body of work... in the words of the artist.

This stream of work began in 2009 with an exhibition in which the walls of the Aran Islands (off the west coast of Ireland) with their interlocking shapes held together by weight, weather and time were the beginning of a seed of influence. The metaphor of those walls (sometimes called famine walls) is long forgotten in the making of the work in that the work is not specific per se and can be read as autobiographical as much as any reference to a certain place and time.

What isn’t forgotten is the sort of logic of construction. With a long time interest in the diagram, the architectural blueprint, engineers’ drawings, boat diagrams etc, the interlocking shapes in building and technical drawing. It is not as if the paintings have to stand up as an architectural model but they do have to a certain purpose. I am trying to make work that has a certain logic, but at the some stage that logic is interrupted.

With every new body of work I am trying to re-write. Not a new language but trying to inform my current language with new codes, new rhythms, new passages. I don’t want to give too much as I want the reader to have something to do. I am interested in space and although I have abandoned perspective per se I am interested in the relationship between 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional space.

Michael Cusack, July 2011

Transverse Series opens on Wednesday July 6, from 6-8pm.

Apology

2011-06-25T14:31:00.002+10:00

We would like to apologise for the Heather B. Swann post which was emailed earlier today - this was a technical error. The Heather B. Swann show took place from March 30 - April 30 2011.

Warm regards,

The Karen Woodbury Gallery team.

Lisa Roet: Adelaide Zoo

2011-06-25T11:56:00.014+10:00

Lisa Roet’s sculpture Chimpanzee Finger 2006/07 has been donated to the Adelaide Zoo by collectors Paul and Bronwyn Smith.

The sculpture was unveiled earlier this month by primate expert Jane Goodall, and now sits in the zoo’s entrance forecourt.

Meeting Goodall was an incredible highlight for Roet who told the Adelaide Advertiser,

"For me, it's huge, it's like meeting my childhood hero. When I was about 10 or 11, I was reading one of her books – I was fascinated by chimpanzees and her research. I wanted to go and study primatology or zoology but I did very badly in physics."

Read more about Roet's work and her path to becoming an artist in our gallery interview, here.
Roet's exhibition of primate inspired prints finishes today at the APW.

Gallery interview: Rhys Lee

2011-06-18T13:08:00.014+10:00

Rhys Lee, image courtesy of Cory White / Mr Blanc

We sat down with Rhys Lee for a quick chat about his newest exhibition Scarecrow...

Tell us about the process of putting this show together?

I have always had in my mind that I wanted to make vessels and as you know I’ve made bronze things before but I ran out of money so I had to come up with a way of making new works on the cheap so I decided I’d get some clay. It’s a lot less expensive but it’s actually a lot harder because you are making something that becomes the finished product... when you make a bronze you can make it out of anything it goes into a mould and becomes a bronze thing so it was a lot more difficult than making a bronze.

It’s been really nice as well, Pia had a little show of ceramic stuff and that got me really interested in doing it when I saw that she was quite good at it and made some really beautiful things. Our studios at home are right next to each other, we see can each other and work in the same space and ideas bounce off each other so the work evolves together and almost becomes one work in a lot of ways.

bird 2011

What about the other artists you worked with for this exhibition?

They are all people that I admire and have a reasonably close relationship with, some I’ve known a long time, some not that long. I'd been wanting to curate a show for a long time with people’s work I really love and seeing all their work together. With this show I really liked the idea of an eclectic group of work that feels like someone’s collection almost and I think the show has that feeling. Usually people’s collections have a few things like a sculpture, a painting and drawing so there is that element to it as well that I like. I wanted to mix it up and make it more interesting than just paintings on the wall.

irma (picnic at hanging rock) 2011
collaboration with Heidi Yardley

What would you say are your main influences at the moment?

That’s a really strange question because I am easily influenced by things. I might see something while walking down the street or I might look at someone’s blog and there might be a photo I’ll remember or go back to. If I feel like doing a painting I’ll just go down to the studio and maybe turn my phone on and that image will come up and I’ll start painting that image and that will evolve into something else. Like a visual memory that feeds into the work? Yeah. I think so. Yeah. So it’s constantly different things influencing the work.

Can you tell us a little about your background and what led you to become an artist?

I was never discouraged to draw or paint or do that stuff growing up. My parents were always pretty good with that and encouraging me. If you don’t get told not to do something I suppose you just keep doing it if you feel like doing it. It’s always been a constant thing that just kept going. The graffiti thing was a pretty big part of my life for awhile in the nineties - pretty much all the nineties - then I moved to Melbourne. I had no money so I started doing drawings then selling them to people, trying to get them into shops and I had work up in Fat 52 (now FAT) they would buy drawings off me so that gave me a bit of a kick-start showing work here and then it just evolved from that into the gallery thing.

the bunyip that William Buckley saw 2011

Do you have a typical day in the studio? What does that involve?

There’s never really a typical day in the studio. When I am making work for a show I will dedicate a solid block of maybe 3 or 4 months everyday I’ll go to the studio. I’ll be working on bits and pieces, maybe work on a painting for an hour then do a bit of sculpture, a lot of the time is spent pacing around thinking.

Do you have a dream project?

I don’t have a dream project... It changes depending on what I’m working on at the time I suppose it’s not about one definitive project it’s about how I am feeling at the time. If I want to make some ceramics then I’ll dedicate time to making that and I’ll have an outcome and be happy. Or if I want to make a book I’ll make a book and be happy with that and if I want to make 10 paintings… It’s more about the little things than one big thing.

baboon 2011

I think you were asked this recently… If you could live with any artwork every made what would it be?

There are nice things that would be nice to have around but there’s not one thing. No one could be happy with one thing. That’s why people buy stuff - that’s why people have ten pairs of shoes!

boxer, 2011
collaboration with Rob McHaffie

Magda Matwiejew: Black Box White Cube

2011-06-15T07:00:00.001+10:00

Magda Matwiejew features in Black Box White Cube a free exhibition that explores the creative intersections between art and performance in contemporary Australian art at the Arts Centre. Starting with performance art from the 1970s, the exhibition captures the vitality that music and dance, staged photography and film, theatricality and the spectacle of performance infuse into contemporary Australian art. Current until September 25.

54th Venice Biennale: glimpses

2011-06-14T15:22:00.000+10:00

Australian Pavilion, Hany Armanious

54th Venice Biennale: glimpses

2011-06-14T07:20:00.000+10:00

Peggy Guggenheim

54th Venice Biennale: glimpses

2011-06-13T07:00:00.000+10:00

54th Venice Biennale: glimpses

2011-06-12T07:09:00.000+10:00

How to get around when in Venice (left)
Palazzo Bembo (right)

54th Venice Biennale: glimpses

2011-06-11T15:03:00.002+10:00

Venezuela (left)
Venice by night (right)

Michael Cusack

2011-06-11T13:59:00.007+10:00

Michael Cusack has been featured on the johnnygoodsir blog this week - offering a sneak peak into some of the works he is making for his upcoming exhibition at Karen Woodbury Gallery, from July 6-30.

Jonathon Nichols and Derek O'Connor: Cologne

2011-06-10T11:22:00.005+10:00

Jonathon Nichols and Derek O'Connor have work included in the exhibition *Schnittmengen/Intersections* at Galerie Emmanuel Walderdorff in Cologne.

If you happen to be in Cologne be sure to check it out.

Current until July 9 2011.

Lara Merrett | new website

2011-06-03T14:41:00.004+10:00

Gallery artist Lara Merrett has recently launched her new website. Save it to your bookmarks and take a moment to explore Lara's backlog of exquisite works and projects.

www.laramerrett.com

Art Guide Australia launches iPhone app

2011-05-28T16:27:00.003+10:00

We're pleased to be involved with the new Art Guide Australia iPhone App. Download it here for the most up to date coverage of what's on in the visual arts.

Danie Mellor joins Karen Woodbury Gallery

2011-05-24T07:11:00.003+10:00

Karen Woodbury Gallery is pleased to announce that Danie Mellor has joined the gallery.

We look forward to exhibiting Danie's work in 2012.
Please contact the gallery on info@kwgallery.com regarding available works.

Piccaninny Paradise 2010

Titania Henderson: News

2011-05-22T08:00:00.001+10:00

Our congratulations to Titania Henderson who has been selected as a finalist in the prestigious 9th International Ceramics Festival, Mino in Japan with her work Piled Up (Orange) 2008/09.

Please contact the gallery on info@kwgallery.com for enquiries about available works.

Artist Profile: Current issue

2011-05-20T15:28:00.004+10:00

The current issue of Artist Profile is a feast for the eyes in more ways than one!

Del Kathryn Barton features on the cover and in an in-depth interview with Owen Craven - offering a sneak peek into her studio and exquisite new works in progress. Brett Ballard previews Jane Burton's stunning new body of photographic works and Dan Rule talks to Locust Jones.

Certainly a bumper issue and definitely worth picking up a copy...

Gallery Interview: Monika Tichacek

2011-05-18T07:51:00.008+10:00

On the eve of her highly anticipated performance and solo exhibition after an absence of 6 years from the arts scene we spoke to Monika Tichacek about art, life and what's been keeping her inspired...

breathing dark soil maze 2009/11

Describe your work in 5 words. Mysterious, Alive, Manifest - un-manifest, Intricate

Tell us about your practice? I am still very interested in the experience of self. Still investigating myself personally in relation to what is present in my inner life. Whilst this is the constant, the environment where the self is engaged has changed. My earlier works reflects my sense of self being very anchored in the physical and social constructs of femininity with an air of oppressive confinement and constriction. In the Shadowers I dove more deeply into the psyche, portraying parts of the ego through distinct characters. Habituated workings of the mind were exposed as self-limiting and self-torturous. The relationship to the natural world was portrayed as conflicting and disturbed. The behaviour of the different characters was controlling and destructive... And yet throughout the darkness there were many glimmers of light, literally communicated via the use of light and sequins, jewels and rubies glistening in images of death and decay.

During my past years with much time spent in silence in nature I was able to see my western cultural inheritance. Our approach to nature, one of domination, control and destruction our cultures obsession with superficial surface appearance. The Shadowers was an outcry at this condition, like taking the lid off the pressure cooker. Since then, and in my travels I have let nature teach me and I have spent much time investigating the nature of the mind. Therefore now my interest in the experience of self is investigated via my interest in the complex workings of our ecosystem, which I believe is a metaphor for the internal workings of the body/mind experience.

I am finding that drawing is very intimate and very kinaesthetic. There is not so much separation between myself and the process - in the sense of embodying the process directly. I felt that with the video works there was a lot of process, which was very practical, and to do much with planning before I would get to the part of physical embodiment of my ideas. With drawing the process is happening right in that moment, I have to be intensely present.

the Albert Street boys pitching in to get Monika's work off the truck

The new exhibition at Karen Woodbury has been long awaited, tell us about the journey of making this project come to life? That is too big a story really! All of my travels and life essentially collide into this project. Everything I have experienced up until now has brought me to express in this way at this point. However, I can say that the drawings began in the jungle, where I sat in 2 months of semi solitude. I would break open some ink pens and randomly splatter the paint on the paper. Then I would sit and watch to see what shapes would emerge. I would draw what I saw and that was the beginning of this drawing series.

Beauty shattered all ideas of who I am 2011
(performance with harpist Robert Neil 120 minutes)

Tell us a little about your travels. Much time spent in nature, listening, observing and letting go of the fast paced life as much as possible. I experienced as much as possible of indigenous ceremony and ways of life as possible.

Who or what inspires you to keep making? Art is my language. It surpasses the intellect and cannot be confined or categorised. It is endlessly creative with limitless potentiality. I like that…it’s a doorway to touch infinity.

What path led you to become an artist? Ever since I was little I wanted to be an artist and I used to draw from the time that I could hold crayons. Art was always my favourite subject in school. After high school I went to art school for a year in Zurich. I then diverted for a few years and studied social sciences to quench my thirst to know more about the human psychological and social experience. However I eagerly went back to art as my creative side was dying in such an intensely academic environment.

What does a typical day in the studio involve? There isn’t really a typical day, but with this last project it would mostly be drawing. I also spent a lot of time just looking and meditating on the painting with my eyes open until the shapes to be drawn would appear.

to all my relations 1 2009/11 (detail)

What is your dream project? Whatever comes from the most genuine place of inspiration

If you could live with any artwork ever made what would it be? I do live with it - I live in the bush…Actually it is the light, and the way it plays with the surfaces…to me it is one of the most beautiful visual experiences.

the space in everything 2009/11

Albert Street Galleries Open Day

2011-05-14T15:05:00.007+10:00

The annual Albert Street Galleries Open Day is in full swing and it's great to see so many people brave the cold to listen to our program of speakers across the 5 galleries, visit the pop up book store and enjoy a burger from Beatbox Kitchen.

Anne Marsh's discussion of Monika Tichacek's newest body of work, to all my relations, was a full house! We look forward to doing it all again in 2012.

Monika Tichacek | to all my relations | until May 28

Monika Tichacek | to all my relations

2011-05-07T15:55:00.003+10:00

Monika Tichacek's newest body of work, to all my relations, has been a highly anticipated event at Karen Woodbury Gallery and for Monika's many dedicated followers. It was 2005 when we last saw a major body of work by Monika and this new performance and series of sublime watercolour, ink and gouache works on paper have certainly been worth the wait. The performance aspect of the exhibition is taking place as I type it is quite simply uplifting and moving - and a privilege to experience (May 7 3-5pm).

Monika Tichacek, to all my relations, is current until May 28.

Note: We will post images and footage as soon as they are available.

2011 Albert Street Open Day

2011-05-06T07:00:00.003+10:00

We have a great line up in store for the 2011 Albert Street Open Day including a performance by Jill Orr, a curated pop-up Book Store by Perimeter and food by Beatbox Kitchen. Each of the galleries in the street will host a program of special guest speakers - see the website for more details here.

At Karen Woodbury Gallery we will be presenting Anne Marsh, Professor Theory of Art and Design Monash University from 2:30-2:50pm. The line up promises a really engaging day celebrating contemporary art making.

See you there!

Save the Date

2011-05-04T07:00:00.004+10:00

Lisa Roet: APW

2011-04-30T11:13:00.006+10:00

Gallery artist Lisa Roet has been busy of late. Since closing her first major solo exhibition in New Zealand she has been working with master printmaker Martin King and the team at the Australian Print Workshop on a suite of new etchings. The works will be exhibited and available for sale via the APW gallery. Stay tuned for details.

If you would like more information or images of other works in the suite please email the gallery, info@kwgallery.com .

Rhys Lee | Mr Blanc

2011-04-16T12:36:00.005+10:00

Rhys Lee was the feature of a Mr Blanc and Broadsheet Melbourne collaboration this week.

Photographer Cory White aka Mr Blanc popped in to Rhys' Airey's Inlet home and studio, you can see the resulting shoot and mini interview here and here.

In the lead up to Rhys' solo exhibition at Karen Woodbury Gallery we're excited for you to see this sneak peek into his home, studio and some of the new work in progress.

Rhys Lee | June 8 - July 2 2011

Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prize Finalists

2011-04-09T15:39:00.006+10:00

We are very pleased to announce that four of the Karen Woodbury Gallery artists have been announced as finalists in the prestigious 2011 Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes.

Del Kathryn Barton has been selected as a finalist in the 2011 Archibald Prize with her portrait of Australian actor Cate Blanchett:

Mother (a portrait of Cate)

Fiona Lowry has also been selected as a finalist in the 2011 Archibald Prize with her portrait of Tim Silver:

portrait of Tim Silver

Phillip Wolfhagen has been selected as a finalist in the 2011 Wynne Prize and Elisabeth Kruger has been selected as a finalist in the 2011 Sulman Prize. A winner announcement will take place Friday April 15.

Gallery Interview: Heather B. Swann

2011-04-09T09:00:00.020+10:00

We took a moment to chat to Heather B. Swann about her newest exhibition Bone, currently showing at Karen Woodbury Gallery. Here is what she had to say:

Heather B. Swann

KWG: Now that your new exhibition, Bone has been installed in the gallery, can you tell me a little about how you got here?

HBS: When I started to think about a new body of work to show at Karen Woodbury I immediately considered the rectangular space. There is nowhere to hide so I decided that the work should read as a whole, as an installation rather than a group of works. As usual I started by spending some weeks drawing. I have been making sculpture for nearly twenty years now so each exhibition is a chance to start something new but inevitably I start where I left off last time and loop back on old ideas, take the chance to refine forms that I have worked on before - I can fill a whole sketchbook with tiny refinements of just one shape. A woman’s thigh can mutate into a horse’s head and then into the barrel of a gun… A dog’s head can align with a bicycle seat and then become a Picasso bull’s head pun. A man’s exaggerated long back becomes a bone and at the same time it becomes a cock. The drawing process is messy and wild and fun. I usually take over our dining room table as well as working in the studio. This time I kept coming back to the bone shape. At the same time I was reading Suttree by Cormac McCarthy. This is a very intense novel, it is not as violent as some of his other work but the feeling is raw – down to the bone.

Pablo Picasso bull's head 1943

A working drawing from Heather's sketchbook

KWG: So the drawing is instrumental. You always draw in black ink and your sculptures are nearly always black. Is there a link?

HBS: Yes. I started making art as a printmaker – this is not as straightforward a link as it could be but I do think that working with all that rich beautiful black ink captured my soul. I started out making etchings that were very figurative and full – I was enraptured by the works of Hieronymus Bosch just like many art students – by the freedom that the visions of the Temptations of St Anthony give any artist. When I discovered sculpture I merely translated the figures that I had been drawing and etching into three

dimensions. I used colour and decoration and was excited about it. And then I was awarded a residency to spend five months in Paris – this was my first travel out of Australia – and everything changed. I spent nearly every day of that five months in the Louvre and other museums and galleries – I discovered history through objects. I found myself going further and further back in history – I started to dream of falling into shapes – those shapes were simple and refined and worn with time. I wanted to throw everything away and start again, so I did. I dispensed with colour and decoration and narrative and concentrated on form and profile and curve. I dressed those forms in black – it could have been white, but not colour.

All through this I kept drawing in black ink on white paper and gradually the drawings too became simpler, less about telling a story and more about form. I am not trained in drawing and merely use it as a vehicle to get ideas onto paper. This suits the way I work as a sculptor – capturing a black edge against white – the profile of a black sculpture in a clean space.

Heather B. Swann Hyper-text 2010

KWG: Can you tell me how you translate the drawing into sculpture?

HBS: During the drawing I eventually manage to draw something that looks like a sculpture that I would like to make. Then I start – wood, modelling clay, glue, nails etc. I never have 12 drawings of sculptures and then 12 sculptures. One feeds off another, one leads to another. There will be many drawings that simply play around with ideas and forms that can never be realized – these drawings just pile up and I go through them over and over again or pin them up on the studio wall.

This time I started by making the bone that is like the long back of a man – it became a long back to bear the weight of a monkey. I was reading around the folklore and phraseology of the monkey on your back and discovered that a monkey with a long tail is slang for a mortgage – this rang true with my current financial struggle and also suited my penchant for an elegant serpentine curve. I always work like this – a drawing, a curve, a form comes together with a situation, an idea; this will fit a line from a song, a feeling, an art historical reference, a joke or a weight and then they will fit with a making technique, a material.

The long man’s back led to making the raw woman bone that became the sculpture Equestrienne. A feeling of raw desperation but also a quiet nod to Brancusi’s Princesse X and a good old fashioned belly laugh with Bourgeois’ Fillette. The double-backed beast brought those two backs together and sees them rutting on the floor in the corner. I have been drawing these two backs for years – they used to have legs but through the drawing process they had become simpler, more connected and now they had found a place.

Heather B. Swann Equestrienne 2011

The rat and the dog are simply two more troublemakers to join in the fun with the monkey. That dog will always be waiting for a bone. The rat is a boner, a huge shunga print phallus. The bicycle thieves can also read like two boners checking each other out, but equally they are two birds, two Venetian masks, an impossible journey. I really do not have any reasoning with this one, it was a drawing and became a sculpture.

The long back bone had become so luxurious and like a weird chaise lounge, I liked it but I was not prepared to let everything settle into such comfort so I drew out the bones of the spine into a spiky barbed whip. And then I made it. And hung it. And was a little frightened.

Heather B. Swann Barb (detail) 2010

KWG: It sounds as if things can get a little out of hand in your studio…

HBS: Yes, I like that!!

Heather working in the studio

Heather B. Swann | Bone | until April 30 2011 | info@kwgallery.com

Lisa Roet: Radio New Zealand National

2011-04-02T07:04:00.001+11:00

The work featured in Lisa Roet's recent New Zealand solo exhibition also part of the White Night event has been the subject of the Art on a Saturday morning programme on Radio New Zealand National, a segment of Saturday morning with Kim Hill.

Listen here.

Heather B. Swann

2011-03-30T07:00:00.012+11:00

We are pleased to launch the highly anticipated exhibition of works by Heather B. Swann this evening from 6-8pm. The show will be officially opened by Professor Sasha Grishin AM, FAHA The Sir William Dobell Professor of Art History, Australian National University.

David Hansen has written a brilliant overview about Heather's work which we have included below:

Breathing down your neck

In this exhibition, Heather B. Swann lays bare one of her central preoccupations" wilderness and containment, and the nexus or relationship between the beast and the body.

Animals appear often in the artist's work; creatures both wild and domesticated, cunning and dumb, with their physical features refined or intensified, abstracted or hybridised.

Here in Bone we encounter three particular favourites.

The dog has long been a significant brute presence in Swann's work, from her earliest undergraduate etchings to more recent Romanesque-surrealist sculptures such as Dog Eat Dog (2005, Dubbo Regional Gallery) and the 2007 City of Melbourne Laneways project, Gates of Hell. Then there is the rat, standing on its hind legs and sniffing the air, which has featured in many drawings as well as in the pack of Ratties of 2005 (private collection). Finally, there is the relatively recent addition to the artist's menagerie, the skyhook-tailed monkey which we see in Grinderman (2008, private collection) and Hook (2009 National Gallery of Australia).

But this trio are more than just comfortable familiars. These particular species have been adopted by the artists because of their dark sides, their bad reputations: the snarling, barking, growling, howling canine; the dirty rat of sexual and economic opportunism, of sewers and gangsterism; the lewd, loud incorrigible, mischievous ape. They are troublemakers.

In these works not only is there the possibility of anthropomorphic reading, the possibility that each figure might stand for a particular attitude or emotional or intellectual position. The long history of human interaction with these guys is such as to have produced a rich store of linguistic and pictorial metaphor: the low dog, the black dog, the mad dog, the lap dog; the rat race, rats leaving sinking ships, rats we can smell; the cheeky monkey business in the margins of medieval manuscripts, the monkey on your back of addiction or obsession, the monkey the the long tail of a mortgage. These are not rudderless, cute animalia.

There is also something deeper, something primal happening here. Swann emphasizes this mythic dimension through the three beasts' essential dependence on a human climbing frame of reference. This is fauna in your face, on your back, breathing down your neck, gnawing on your bones; the dog, the rat and the monkey require a structure for their fierce play of dominance and submission.

Swann provides just such zoo-enclosure furniture in the current installation's hard, osseous core, a suite of variously abstracted human backbones: a long torso racked over a wooden wedge to create a strange form somewhere between a vaulting horse, an avil, the pommel of a saddle and a Chinese footbinding shoe; a couple of Duchampian bisexual bicycle wheel vertebra-rings; a massive metacarpal woman knuckle; a corset laced, dark, upright tower; and that familiar, ferocious atavism of sexual coupling, a Rabelaisian-Shakespearean 'beast with two backs'.

Here in this dream space, in the beast mistress 'Platonic cave, homo sapiens' fragile, temporary, frontal-lobe dominance of the earth is revealed as a very nervous system indeed, little more than a pattern of shifting profiles, a vague, ambiguous spinal x-ray, a dance of evolutionary shadows.

David Hansen
Melbourne, January 2011

The exhibition runs until April 30. Please email the gallery on info@kwgallery.com for further information

image details: Ratty 2011 49.0 x 16.0 x 65.0 cm metal and resin

John Pule: Dunedin Public Art Gallery

2011-03-29T08:00:00.001+11:00

John Pule: Hauaga (Arrivals) is the first solo exhibition of Pule’s art to be shown in a public gallery presenting a landmark survey of work by a living contemporary Pacific artist. The exhibition actively demonstrates the reach of Pule’s work, varying art forms and cultures, drawing from the historical and contemporary across the Pacific, New Zealand and further afield.

John Pule: Hauaga (Arrivals) features 16 large canvases and 33 works on paper, surveying the artists career from 1991 (the year he travelled back to his birthplace, Niue, reconnecting with the traditional Niuean art of Hiapo) until today.

John Pule: Hauaga (Arrivals) is showing at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery until Sunday, 8 May 2011.

image details: i dreamed i kissed the ocean's lips 2009 94.0 x 74.0 cm ink and oil stick on paper

Lisa Roet: Interview

2011-03-26T12:59:00.025+11:00

We have been busy working on a series of short interviews with our gallery artists to provide you a little glimpse into their studio practice. On the eve of the conclusion of her New Zealand solo exhibition we thought it would be great to quiz Lisa Roet on what she's been up to in the studio and what inspires her to keep making her work....

White Ape II 2011

Describe your work in five words.

Documentation of human/nature relationship

What are you working on now?

I am currently working on a series of etchings based on a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, The Murders in the Rue Morgue as part of an Australian Print Workshop Scholarship.

work in progress at the Australian Print Workshop

And I have been working a series of sculptures for Karen Woodbury Gallery, based on the palm lines of a particular chimpanzee that I worked with, and it’s called lifeline. It’s been a very complicated process what I am trying to do is extract those lines through a digital process and turn them into three-dimensional objects so these works will be quite abstract pieces but based on this individual line / palmistry of one ape. Was that while you were in Borneo? No it was from a zoo in Atlanta. It has been interesting as it is technically challenging but we’re getting somewhere. I think it will be quite an interesting work that fits both in my practice but is also going in a different direction as well. What type of materials will you be using? Not sure. I haven’t worked that out yet – I’m still working on the technical side of it... it could be bronze.

untitled 2011

And the third project? I am working on finishing off a series of monkeys [sculptures], which are based on putting together pieces of information that I have been collecting at the Melbourne Museum and other research - of extinct and near extinct monkeys. I have already made three and there are three more to do.

Melbourne Museum archives

Grizzle Face Langure 2009 (shown at the 2010 Melbourne Art Fair)

Who / what inspires you to keep making your work?

That’s a really good question. Every time I stop I want to start again. So it’s always good to stop to get that feeling of desire to do it again. It’s just a necessity I have been making art since I was a teenager. I don’t know how to do anything else to be honest! I think when you make art it isn’t necessarily for a tangible reason but rather a physical thing.

I do see things that really inspire me. I really love the documentary work of Werner Herzog. Every time I see one of his documentaries I get really inspired. I feel like he is totally on the same wavelength as what I am doing with what he is doing with his docos and his weird dark sense of humour.

Tell me about your background. What path led you to become an artist?

My mother and father used to collect art and they always liked to show me art. My mum used to take me to a lot of galleries and my father used to take me to museums. So it was in our family, an interest in art. It really came down to an art teacher who encouraged me to take it more seriously and she basically pushed me into going to art school. I did want to study some kind of science like zoology but I did badly in physics at school stopping any further education in science. It’s amazing you can end up doing what you want to do in a roundabout way? My stepmother gave me about a year or so ago this IQ test they had done on me when I was about 11 (roughly 1978) and it said I should do something that’s in between art and science. I don’t agree with those tests but isn’t that bazaar? The things it said about me were so true. I’ve got this really selective interest path and I show no interest in general knowledge or Hollywood stars names, etc and I can be quite focused, I suppose.

studio

What does a typical day in the studio involve?

A typical day in the studio involves basically just turning on my CD’s getting into it. I tune in quite quickly to what I am working on. I have to go across town a lot for foundry and production so there’s quite a bit of that and I also go to the zoos and museums so there’s a crossing of being in the studio and research. How often would you go to the zoo or museum? Quite often depending on where I am at with a project I would spend half a day. Sometimes I would do the whole week of just research if I’ve got something.

ham (astro chimp) #40, 2010

(part of an ongoing series available from Karen Woodbury Gallery)

What is your dream project?

I want to do big big big works! I was shortlisted for a commission in Sydney, which unfortunately I didn’t get but it was my dream project with a huge budget. The work I proposed was two very large bronze chimpanzee hands where people could walk through them. I would love to do a really large bronze work - like seven metre high.

If you could live with any artwork ever made what would it be?

There was a really beautiful work that I saw of Anish Kapoor’s in Naples, it was a giant five metre huge sound disk – I don’t know what they call them. You walked up to it and it reflected yourself but all around the room you could hear what everyone was saying - it was weird and amazing.

www.lisaroet.com

Titania Henderson: 2011 Manningham Ceramic Art Award

2011-03-26T07:14:00.004+11:00

Titania Henderson has been selected as a finalist in the 2011 Manningham Victorian Ceramic Art Award. The exhibition will officially open this Wednesday March 30 with the announcement of a winner, from 6pm. The exhibition will run until Saturday April 16. Read more about the award and view a catalogue here. If you would like more information about available works please email the gallery on info@kwgallery.com

Piled up 1 (yellow) 2010, 25.0 x 52.0 x 38 cm (variable) bone china

Del Kathryn Barton: Works on Paper

2011-03-19T12:05:00.006+11:00

We have received and installed 6 works on paper from Del Kathryn that become part of our Basic Instinct exhibition. If you haven't yet had an opportunity to view the show you have just one more week - until March 26.

The gallery is open from 11am - 6pm Wednesday - Friday and 11am - 5pm on Saturday. Heather B. Swann will be our next exhibition opening March 30.

Kate Rohde: RWB / LMFF 2011

2011-03-18T08:00:00.003+11:00

Kate Rohde’s collaboration with Romance was Born keeps on going! You may remember our Renaissance Dinosaur exhibition back in 2010 which bought together some of the signature pieces from the collection of the same name. We were excited to spy some more of Kate’s new collaborative designs in this years LMFF 2011, Runway 1.

The incredibly talented Kate Rohde has had a busy 12 months with projects ranging from fashion runway shows to a solo exhibition at the Tokyo University Museum. As an offshoot to Kate’s art practice she has been experimenting with wearable resin pieces… stay tuned for more news on this project.

We are just about to receive a new delivery of Kate’s exquisite vitrines (please email us on info@kwgallery.com if you would like to preview these works). Also new in the gallery is a display of Kate’s jewel hued crystal resin cuffs - available in 2 sizes.

Jonathon Nichols settles in Liverpool

2011-03-16T07:00:00.000+11:00

We've just heard from Jonathon Nichols who has settled in Liverpool as the current Australian resident artist working from the Static Studios in Roscoe Lane for the Liverpool Biennial. You may recall we blogged about Jonathon's Australia Council Grant here?

Nichols was a founding member of Melbourne artist-run galleries Stripp and Lovers, and continues to curate artist projects and write about the work of other artists. His painting practice is an ongoing investigation into the possibilities of painting - conveying a moment in time and even paying homage to the experiments of other painters. Keep up with Jonathon's residency news here or head over to his great blog.

For enquiries about Jonathon's works, please email the gallery: info@kwgallery.com.

Lisa Roet: White Night Movie Night

2011-03-11T10:26:00.003+11:00

As part of the Auckland Arts Festival galleries across Auckland will be open late this weekend with events lined up for all art lovers. WHITE NIGHT is on this Saturday March 12 with over 50 participating venues.

Gow Langsford Gallery is hosting a special twilight viewing of the Lisa Roet exhibition and a screening of the Stanley Kubrick classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. For more details see the website.

Basic Instinct | 2 - 26 March 2011

2011-03-04T13:11:00.006+11:00

Basic Instinct signals the kick off of our 2011 exhibition schedule. We have loads instore for the year including solo exhibitions by Heather B. Swann, Monika Tichacek, Rhys Lee, Michael Cusack, McLean Edwards, Marie Hagerty, Michael Doolan, Del Kathryn Barton and Lionel Bawden, so stay tuned to all of our updates.

Basic Instinct is a group exhibition bringing together the work of eleven contemporary Australian artists for whom drawing is an essential element of their practice.

Alongside eight of our gallery artists we have invited Patrick Doherty, Lorraine Heller-Nicholas and Simon O'Carrigan to be a part of the show which aims to locate the intrinsic, subliminal and instinctive quality that drawing holds for the exhibiting artists.

Head to our website to find out more about this exhibition and the exhibiting artists, including pricing.

Please note: Six of Del Kathryn Barton's drawings will join the Basic Instinct exhibition after the Freehand exhibition closes on Sunday at Heide Museum of Modern Art. We will let you know as soon as they are on the wall.

Jane Burton and Fabrice Bigot | Film project

2011-03-01T07:20:00.002+11:00

Gallery artist Jane Burton and partner Fabrice Bigot have been busy collaborating on some film projects. Their most recent film Imitation of Life (a dual video installation, 3:30min) was recently awarded Winner - Best Experimental Film at the Three Minute Film Festival in Indiana USA.

The film / installation will be screened in Melbourne at Screen Space, from September 16 - October 8. We will keep you updated!

Your move: Australian artists play chess

2011-02-25T13:15:00.005+11:00

Inspired by the international exhibition The Art of Chess, Bendigo Art Gallery commissioned thirteen of Australia’s leading contemporary artists make a work in response to the game of chess. Michael Doolan, Lionel Bawden and Kate Rohde were each invited to make a work for the show, Your move: Australian artists play chess, and was exhibited late last year at the Bendigo Art Gallery.

See a previous post on our blog.

The exhibition is now touring and will open today at UQ Art Museum, until April 24 2011 before touring to McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park, Victoria and the Samstag Museum, South Australia.

Lara Merrett and Del Kathryn Barton: Hong Kong

2011-02-25T07:00:00.003+11:00

The work of Del Kathryn Barton and Lara Merrett will feature in Wattle - the first major survey exhibition of contemporary Australian art in Hong Kong. The exhibition will take place at the Cat Street Gallery and features a curator’s pick of forty-five artists currently working in Australia and includes painting, sculpture, photography and mixed media installation. The exhibition will open on Saturday February 26th from 6pm.

WATTLE | Contemporary Australian Art
24 February 2011 - 26 March 2011

Magda Matwiejew: Female Eye Film Festival

2011-02-19T14:13:00.003+11:00

Magda Matwiejew's film Pretty Ballerina has been nominated for the best Experimental Film at the Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto, Canada.

The Female Eye Film Festival is an annual event - now in it's 9th year - that celebrates female directors from around the world.

The festival will run from March 16 - 20.

Locust Jones: Art for literacy

2011-02-17T07:00:00.002+11:00

Gallery artist Locust Jones along with other well known Australian artists and a group of teens from Lurnea High School will participate in the exhibition, Subtext: Art for Literacy presented by the Australian Literacy & Numeracy Foundation at Carriageworks.

The centrepiece of the show is an impressive 25m long canvas that Jones worked on with 21 students from East Turkestan, Iraq, Vietnam, Sudan, Argentina and Thailand. The work came together over a series of 5 workshops where the stories of the students were translated onto the canvas.

Read more about the project here.

The show will open this evening and run until March 5.

Del Kathryn Barton: Artist Talk

2011-02-12T16:56:00.003+11:00

Del Kathryn Barton will speak about her new series of drawings especially created for the freehand exhibition at Heide Museum of Modern Art tomorrow at 2pm.

This is a free event.

Jane Burton - In the Blood

2011-02-11T11:15:00.017+11:00

Jane Burton will exhibit a new body of work, titled, In the blood at Gippsland Art Gallery. Curator of Gippsland Art Gallery, Simon Gregg has written an exquisite essay about Jane's work in the limited edition catalogue.

Gregg writes about Jane's luscious and evocative photographs, their deep appeal to the imagination and their reference to the Australian Gothic. In the blood will officially open this evening from 6.30pm by Dr David Hansen, curator and art writer. Jane Burton will hold an artist talk before the opening at 6pm.

Jane Burton In the blood
Gippsland Art Gallery
February 5 - March 27 2011

top image: Jane Burton, In the Blood #2 2010, 17 x 25 cm, pigment print, edn of 3
bottom image: Jane Burton, In the Blood #8 2010, 17 x 25 cm, pigment print, edn of 3

Sam Jinks - Pieta'

2011-02-10T07:00:00.001+11:00

Gallery artist Sam Jinks, renowned for his incredible hyper real sculptures will exhibit a collection of works including the moving Pieta' at Gippsland Art Gallery.

Gippsland Art Gallery curator Simon Gregg, has written a beautiful essay, in the limited edition catalogue. Gregg's essay looks at Jinks' exploration of the experience of being human and death as part of the greater cycle of birth and life as a recurring theme in the work.

Pieta' will officially open on Friday 11 February from 6.30pm by Andrew Gaynor, independent curator and arts researcher.

Sam Jinks
Pietá
Gippsland Art Gallery, Sale
12 February - 20 March

Simon Obarzanek: Photofile

2011-02-09T07:00:00.001+11:00

Kirsten Rann has written a feature piece on the work of gallery artist, Simon Obarzanek, titled Unperfect Bodies in the current and final print issue of Photofile 91: The Body and Space.

Curious Colony: travelling exhibition

2011-02-08T07:00:00.003+11:00

You may recall we posted about Curious Colony: A twenty first century Wunderkammer when it was first exhibited at Newcastle Region Art Gallery? Gallery artists Kate Rohde and Phillip Wolfhagen were both invited to participate in the exhibition. Well the exhibition has been on the move and is now on show at the National Trust S.H Ervin Gallery. If you missed it the first time you can still catch it, until February 20.

Curious Colony: A twenty first century Wunderkammer
National Trust S.H Ervin Gallery
January 11 - February 20 2011.

Nusra Latif Qureshi - Reframed

2011-02-07T07:00:00.001+11:00

Nusra Latif Qureshi (who featured in our Figuration Now show) has work in the Reframed exhibition at Counihan Gallery, Brunswick. Reframed brings together a selection of works form the Moreland Art Collection that explore social and environmental themes.

Until Sunday February 13.

Lisa Roet - White Ape

2011-02-05T11:51:00.007+11:00

Lisa Roet's White Ape was collected late yesterday for delivery to New Zealand. White Ape will be exhibited at Gow Langsford Gallery alongside a collection of charcoal drawings and bronze works.

Lisa Roet at Gow Langsford Gallery
March 2 - 26 2011

Kate Rohde: McClelland Gallery & Sculpture Park

2011-01-27T17:05:00.007+11:00

Rachael and I took a trip out to McClelland to see Kate Rohde's Lucky Cat - a finalist in the McClelland 2010 Sculpture Survey and Award.

The works are on display until July 17.

Aida Tomescu: Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize 2011

2011-01-21T11:24:00.002+11:00

Aida Tomescu has been shortlisted as a Finalist in the Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize 2011 @ Bendigo Art Gallery.

A winner announcement and official opening will take place from 6pm, February 11... fingers crossed!

Exhibition Dates: February 12 - April 3

Lisa Roet: Gow Langsford New Zealand

2011-01-20T15:11:00.006+11:00

We are pleased to announce that gallery artist, Lisa Roet will exhibit at Gow Langsford Gallery, New Zealand.

The exhibition will showcase a selection of bronze works and charcoal drawings from March 2 - 26.

See more about Lisa Roet here.

Titania Henderson: 2011 Manningham Victorian Ceramic Art Award

2011-01-14T13:13:00.005+11:00

Titania Henderson has had 2 works accepted as finalists in the 2011 Manningham Victorian Ceramic Art A ward.

The winner of the first prize acquisitive award will be announced at the opening on March 28, from 6-8pm.

50 of Australia's most collectable artists 2011

2011-01-14T12:25:00.006+11:00

Australian Art Collector has released their annual 50 issue with the list of 50 of Australia's most collectable artists 2011. We are pleased to note that several of our artists were on the list, including:

Del Kathryn Barton
Locust Jones
Aida Tomescu
Philip Wolfhagen

Jonathon Nichols - new blog

2011-01-13T13:10:00.004+11:00

Gallery artist Jonathon Nichols has recently established a blog with information and images from as far back as 1992. This is a comprehensive survey of his exhibition history and general goings on, including a studio glimpse - one to add to your 'favorites'.

http://jonathan-nichols.blogspot.com/