Category: Melbourne Exhibitions

Forum | Max and Olive | Ian Potter Museum of Art

by  • 
Olive Cotton Max after surfing 1937 gelatin silver photograph 38 x 30 cm National Gallery of Australia, Canberra Purchased 2006

Olive Cotton and Max Dupain are key figures in twentieth century Australian photography. Champions of modernism, they were an important and influential part of a generation of Australian photographers during the 1930s and ‘40s, engaged in international debates on the role of photography in modern Australian life. Through their images they explored the ways that form, technology and the properties of photography come together. Working separately, but often alongside each other they created a sense of a ‘contemporary Australian photography’ for the first time. Max and Olive: the photographic life of Olive Cotton and Max Dupain is the first exhibition to bring together Dupain and Cotton’s work in a comprehensive way. Join us for an illuminating forum discussing these two luminaries of Australian photography. Speakers Dr Isobel Crombie, Assistant Director, National Gallery of Victoria and author of Body Culture: Max…

Read more →

Exhibition | Sitelines – Natatsha Johns-Messenger | Heide Museum of Modern Art

by  • 

Sitelines presents new installations, photographs and light-works by Natasha Johns-Messenger, an artist from Melbourne now based in New York, whose art explores the gap between knowledge and perception. A starting point for her work came from her discovering that the stars we see in the night sky may no longer exist. She tries to replicate this sense of wonder by creating spatial and viewing experiences that make us question what is real and what is not. Johns-Messenger achieves this by blurring the divisions between her work and the exhibition site itself. Her works extend the architectural features of the Heide galleries, and emphasise the existing relationship between the museum’s indoor and outdoor spaces. Several installations use mirrors in a disorienting way that expands our awareness of where we are – we need to pay close attention to our surroundings rather than…

Read more →

Lecture | International Degas expert Xavier Rey on Degas and the Nude | NGV International

by  • 
Edgar Degas Woman in a tub c. 1883 pastel 70.0 x 70.0 cm Tate, London Bequeathed by Mrs A.F. Kessler 1983 (T03563) © Tate, London 2016

The nude figure was central to the art of Edgar Degas, and yet frequently the artist’s expansive body of work in this area has been overshadowed by focus on portraits and dancers. Listen in as Xavier Rey, Director of Collections, Musée d’Orsay explores the evolution of Degas’s nude, from the academic and historical approach of his early years to the role of the body in modernity. Xavier Rey is the Director of Collections at the Musée d’Orsay. He has curated numerous exhibitions including Degas and the Nude (2012); Degas. The Masterpieces of the Musée d’Orsay, Paris (2012-13) and Faces of Impressionism: Portraits from the Musée d’Orsay (2014-15). Date: Friday 8th July, 2.30pm Cost: Free, booking essential. Book via the NGV website: http://connect.ngv.vic.gov.au/single/SelectSeating.aspx?p=8686 Venue: Clemenger BBDO Auditorium, NGV International

Read more →

Panel Discussion | The trouble with remuneration: the tricky business of being an artist | West Space

by  • 

THIS TUESDAY 5th July: Panel Discussion – The trouble with remuneration: the tricky business of being an artist   In conjunction with West Space’s exhibition, The Trouble with Remuneration, there will be a panel discussion to explore different ways artists are engaged with contemporary economic realities: as survival, as challenge, as resistance, as opportunity. Speakers: Janet Burchill, Masato Takasaka, Debris Facility and Beth Rose Caird. Chaired by: Jan Bryant. Date: Tuesday 5th July 2016 – 6pm Venue: West Space – Level 1, 225 Bourke St Melbourne RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/panel-discussion-the-trouble-with-remuneration-the-tricky-business-of-being-an-artist-tickets-26125648518 Janet Burchill is a Melbourne-based visual artist. Masato Takasaka is a Melbourne-based artist, known for both his performances as a lead guitarist in über-hip rock bands as well as his visual art practice. Takasaka thinks about his studio practice in musical terms, describing his aesthetic as an iPod Shuffle on endless repeat: playing the greatest…

Read more →

Masterclass | Degas – A new vision, a new beginning | University of Melbourne and NGV

by  • 
Edgar Degas Rehearsal hall at the Opéra, rue Le Peletier 1872 oil on canvas 32.7 x 46.3 cm Musée d'Orsay, Paris (RF 1977) © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski

In partnership with the National Gallery of Victoria’s exhibition Degas: A new vision, the Faculty of Arts is proud to present a four-part masterclass series on the life and art of Edgar Degas, one of the most recognizable grand masters of French modernism. Drawn from across the globe and with over 200 artworks, this exhibition represents one of the most internationally significant retrospectives of Degas, highlighting his influential contribution across the different mediums of painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking and photography. This masterclass will reflect the breadth and diversity of the exhibition as we explore the development of Degas’ art from its beginnings. We will contextualise his work within the dramatic social and political change that occurred during his lifetime, which made Paris the centre of the art world, and inevitably provided the backdrop for his innovative and creative depictions. Join…

Read more →

NGV acquires Degas sculpture

by  • 
Edgar Degas Dancer looking at the sole of her right foot (Second study) c. 1900–10, cast 1919–37 or later bronze 47.3 x 24.3 x 20.8 cm Czestochowski/Pingeot 59 (cast T) National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Purchased with funds donated by Leigh Clifford AO and Sue Clifford, 2016

At today’s preview for the new Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition – Degas: A new vision – the NGV announced that one sculpture in the exhibition will be staying in Melbourne. Degas’s ‘Dancer looking at the sole of her right foot (Second study)’ has been purchased for the NGV collection with funds donated by Leigh and Sue Clifford. Many of Degas’ sculptures were unknown during his lifetime. After the poor reception of his now-famous ‘Little Dancer’ (a cast of which is in the exhibition) in 1881 he kept much of his work in sculpture secret. He modelled in wax and is known to have remade and often destroyed works. Around 150 wax studies were found in his studio when he died in 1917 and 74 of these were salvaged and cast in bronze by the Adrien-A. Hébrard Foundry, Paris, and their Milanese master craftsman Albino Palazzolo. The NGV’s new sculpture is…

Read more →

Exhibition | Max and Olive: the photographic life of Olive Cotton and Max Dupain | Ian Potter Museum of Art

by  • 

Exhibition Dates: Tuesday 31 May 2016 to Sunday 24 Jul 2016 A National Gallery of Australia Exhibition Olive Cotton and Max Dupain are key figures in Australian visual culture. They shared a long and close personal and professional relationship. This exhibition looks at their work made between 1934 and 1945, the period of their professional association; this was an exciting period of experimentation and growth in Australian photography, and Cotton and Dupain were at the centre of these developments. This is the first exhibition to look at the work of these two photographers as they shared their lives, studio and professional practice. The exhibition includes 71 photographs from the collection of the National Gallery of Australia and focuses on the key period in each of their careers, when they made many of their most memorable images. Keenly aware of international…

Read more →

Exhibitions | CCP Declares: On the Social Contract – Gordon Bennett: Moving Images, Part One | CCP

by  • 

Exhibition Dates: 27th May 2016 to 10th July 2016. Opening: 26th May 6-8pm. GALLERY 1 | CCP DECLARES: ON THE SOCIAL CONTRACT Artists: Mohini Chandra, Miriam Charlie, Cherine Fahd, Katrin Koenning, Pilar Mata Dupont, Tom Nicholson and Elvis Richardson Curated by Pippa Milne CCP Declares: On the Social Contract draws together emerging and mid-career artists working at the forefront of Australian photography and video in its expanded field. The subtitle to this second iteration of CCP Declares acknowledges that these works examine or extend the idea of social contract theory; the idea that moral and political obligations and rights are bound upon an intrinsic agreement amongst the various constituents of a society. GALLERY 4 | GORDON BENNETT AND JOHN CITIZEN – GORDON BENNETT: MOVING IMAGES, PART ONE Curated by Helen Hughes and Chiara Scafidi This two-part exhibition explores the role of moving-image…

Read more →

Exhibtions | Lou Hubbard – Rebecca Joseph | TCB

by  • 

Exhibtion dates: 25 May until June 11, 2016 | Opening May 25th 6-8pm FRONT SPACE – LOU HUBBARD Att: Main Reception Level 1, 12 Waratah Pl, Melbourne VIC 3000 I was looking for an angle to describe my exhibition Att: Main Reception, Level 1, 12 Waratah Pl, Melbourne VIC 3000. So I googled “dread” and “anticipation” but somehow hit Enter before typing in “Virginia Woolf”. The top search result was un Bloomsbury yet sweetly coincidental: Adam Kucharski’s essay “The Science of Dread: anticipating pain makes it worse.” Kucharski cites researchers who “looked at what happens when people can delay a painful experience much further into the future. The participants were given a hypothetical scenario in which they had to schedule an appointment for a painful dental procedure…” Dr Adam Kucharski Research Fellow in Mathematical Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Dear Dr…

Read more →

Symposium | Degas: A New Vision | NGV International

by  • 

As part of the the NGV’s winter exhibition on Edgar Degas the gallery is hosting a symposium with international experts on the artist. From his paintings of ballerinas to the social world of Parisian nightlife, Degas’ works demonstrate great technical, conceptual and expressive skill and reveal his openness to experiment with a range of mediums. Date: 2-5pm, Friday 24th June 2016 Venue: Clemenger BBDO Auditorium, NGV International Bookings required – book online here. Tickets $35 A / $28 M / $30 C (includes light refreshment) Speakers Henri Loyrette, Exhibition Curator Henri Loyrette is a French arts administrator and historian who served as director of the Louvre Museum in Paris from 2001 to 2013 and is now president of Admical, a nonprofit organization involved in corporate philanthropy. Loyrette received a master’s degree in history and studied in Rome at the Academy of France (1975–77). Upon…

Read more →

Panel Discussion | Borders, Barriers, Walls | MUMA

by  • 
Image: Amy Spiers & Catherine Ryan Closed to the Public (protecting space) 2016 performance, Freiburg, Germany Photo: Marc Doradzillo

Borders, Barriers, Walls To coincide with MUMA’s exhibition Borders, Barriers, Walls curated by Francis E. Parker, this panel discussion will address some of the exhibition’s key themes and concerns. Panelists include: Associate Professor Leanne Weber, co-director of the Border Crossing Observatory, and participating artists Catherine Ryan and Amy Spiers. The panel discussion will be convened byFrancis E. Parker, MUMA – Curator Exhibitions. Borders, barriers and walls delineate this group exhibition of Australian and international artists. It reflects on how these contested and complex forms shape the world, producing situations of separation, isolation or thwarted passage across the globe. Whether they be physical constructions, psychological constructs or natural defences, the exhibition considers the forces by which these divides are either upheld or breached. Borders, barriers, walls features more than twenty-five artworks ranging from video installation, painting, photography and sculpture. The exhibition…

Read more →

Current and Upcoming Exhibitions at No Vacancy

by  • 

Current and upcoming exhibitions at No Vacancy Gallery. Rituals of Belonging (HRAFF) Artists: Amona Hassab, Suzana Jacmenović, Minela Krupić, Alesh Macak, Linda Studena, Nela Trifković, and Elmedin Žunić Location: No Vacancy Gallery, Project Space: Tenancy 32, The Atrium, Federation Square, Federation Dr, Melbourne, VIC, 3000 Exhibition Dates: Tuesday 10 May to Sunday 15 May Rituals of Belonging showcases an immersive visual, sound and performance experience from Australian contemporary artists and refugee perspectives. This exhibition explores and unravels memories of culture abandoned and reformed within an Australian context. Against the backdrop of current global refugee migrations, this exhibition looks at issue of dislocation nostalgia and home. The artists encourage the audience to question whether Australian xenophobia is sustainable and what the necessary foundations for tolerance, hope and human values are. Rituals of Belonging is presented by Multicultural Arts Victoria in partnership…

Read more →

New Exhibitions at Gertrude Contemporary | Ua numi le fau and Andrea Simmons

by  • 

Ua numi le fau Exhibition dates: 6 May – 25 June 2016 Curated by: Léuli Eshraghi Artists: Yuki Kihara, Carlos Motta, Frédéric Nauczyciel, Mandy Nicholson, Dale Harding, Atong Atem, Megan Cope and Robbie Thorpe. Gertrude Contemporary is pleased to present, Ua numi le fau, an exhibition developed through Next Wave’s Emerging Curators Program with Gertrude Contemporary for Next Wave Festival 2016. The exhibition title, Ua numi le fau, is a Sāmoan expression, literally translating to ‘the string tying the lupe pigeon (prized in Sāmoa) is entangled’ yet metaphorically meaning ‘the affair is complicated and difficult’. Ua numi le fau considers bodies and kinships through sexuality, spirituality and ecology. Articulated in multiple local and migrant languages and mediums this exhibition reflects on the heritage and practice of Aboriginal civil rights, the union movement and queer rights from Wurundjeri territory of Fitzroy, Collingwood and Abbotsford out into the wider world.…

Read more →

Symposium | Turning on Burn: A Reflective Conversation | VCA

by  • 

A symposium presented by Art & Australia at VCA |Turning on Burn: A Reflective Conversation This symposium explores and speculates upon the work and legacy of Australian conceptual artist Ian Burn (1939–1993). After graduating from the National Gallery of Art School (now the VCA School of Art), Burn spent much of his career working in the avant-garde scenes of London and New York. He was a key member of Art & Language, a collaborative group who produced the ground-breaking publication  Art–Language and included artists Roger Cutforth, Joseph Kosuth and Mel Ramsden. Returning to Australia in 1977, Burn became involved in the Art Workers Union (AWU), a political and social platform that championed artists’ rights and helped change the landscape and expectations under which artists work in Australia. In addition to his artistic practice he also taught art history, developing an…

Read more →

Exhibition | Making History – The Angry Penguins | Heide Museum of Modern Art

by  • 

Making History celebrates the influential role of Heide founders John and Sunday Reed in the development of Australian art and intellectual culture from the 1930s right up to the early 1980s. The Reeds’ first home at Heide, the Victorian farmhouse now referred to as Heide I, provides the setting for a changing selection of art works, archival material and personal effects which reveal the range of their activities and commitments: as art collectors and benefactors; as instigators of significant cultural organisations; and as cultivators of their extensive property, developed so that one day it would become a public gallery and park for all to enjoy. The first display features works by the revolutionary and now highly acclaimed artists who congregated at Heide during the watershed years of the 1940s: Arthur Boyd, Joy Hester, Sidney Nolan, John Perceval, Albert Tucker and…

Read more →