Tag: Contemporary Art

Exhibition | Believe Not Every Spirit, But Try the Spirits | Group exhibition at MUMA

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Exhibition Dates: 21 April – 27 June 2015 Opening function: Wednesday 22 April 2015, 6-8pm The major group exhibition Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits takes as its departure point the art of forgotten Victorian-era Spiritualist Georgiana Houghton (1814-1884), and features contemporary and historical painting, sculpture, video and photography that both explore and adopt Spiritualist practices and methodologies. Rarely seen outside a Spiritualist context since 1871, Houghton’s 25 abstract watercolours from the Victorian Spiritualist Union collection were produced as part of her Spiritualist practice, which saw Houghton use drawing as a way to channel communication with spiritual entities. The works were brought to Australia for an exhibition in 1910, during a period in which Spiritualism was especially popular. The Victorian Spiritualist Union is the longest continuously operating Spiritualist organisation in the world and counts amongst its many distinguished…

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Boiler Room Lecture | Matt Mullican | Wheeler Centre

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MUMA, in association with Monash Art, Design and Architecture [MADA], present a keynote lecture by renowned artist Matt Mullican. The lecture will be introduced by Charlotte Day, Director MUMA, and followed by a discussion and Q&A with Lars Bang Larsen, co-curator of Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits. For the last 30 years Matt Mullican has experimented with hypnosis to create work that both examines his subconscious, and functions as a strategy to break from the patterns of everyday life. Mullican’s practice interrogates systems of knowledge, meaning and language through drawing, collage, video, sculpture, performance, and installation. His interest in modified states of awareness led him to work under hypnotically induced psychoses, and it was during his first performance in 1978 at The Kitchen, New York, where the recurring character and alter ego “That Person” emerged-an ageless, genderless…

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Exhibition | Kate Beynon, Phase Change, and Earth and Sky | TarraWarra Museum of Art

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Three new exhibitions have opened at TarraWarra Museum of art. All exhibitions run from March 28th until 8th June 2015. Kate Beynon | An-Li: A Chinese Ghost TaleTALE Kate Beynon’s new body of work is inspired by a supernatural Chinese tale of two young spirits who traverse two worlds; one magically aquatic, the other earthly. Beynon has imagined the guiding spirit of the goddess Kwan Yin as their paths lead from tragedy to transformation, hope and healing. The works have been commissioned by Art and Australia for a new hardcover publication, An-Li: A Chinese Ghost Tale, edited by Laura Murray Cree, which will include the tale alongside colour reproductions of the works in this exhibition. The book will be launched to coincide with the exhibition. The exhibition will feature works on paper, paintings, an animated video and a suspended sculptural installation.…

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Exhibition and Talks | The Remote Controlled Terroist Coffin (RCTC) , Project Space RMIT

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Remote-Controlled Terrorist Coffin | Adam Kalkin [USA] in collaboration with Aaron Ray-Crichton [USA], Curated by Grace McQuilten [AUS] The Remote Controlled Terroist Coffin (RCTC) is a magic box that houses the violent potential of design. The RCTC is a model for a full-service terrorist operation, activated from an unspecified location by an unknown operator. It contains both conventional and unconventional weapons to provide a full-range of disruptive options. The RCTC includes a spy drone, surface to air missiles, a large bore mortar cannon, truth gas dispersion unit, attack helicopter squadron, cyber coercion technology and an innovative bio-pestilence feature. Remote Controlled Terrorist Coffin is something between a toy model of a fictional building and a fully functioning DIY air force. Venue: Project Space / Spare Room Opening – Thursday 26 February 5-7pm Exhibition Dates – Monday 16 February – Thursday 26 March 2015 Weblink – http://schoolofartgalleries.dsc.rmit.edu.au/PSSR/exhibitions/2015/terrorist-coffin.html Public Program DRONES: THE CULTURAL AND…

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New Book and Book Launches | Three Reflections on Contemporary Art History

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A new book on contemporary art history will be launched in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane over the next two weeks. Melbourne: 12th Feb, 6pm, World Food Books, The Nicholas Building Facebook Page Sydney: Minerva, 4/111 Macleay Street, Potts Point, New South Wales Facebook Page Brisbane: Institute of Modern Art, 420 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane Facebook Page Three Reflections on Contemporary Art History is the first in a series of publications edited and published by Discipline that will be available in paperback and eBook editions. This publication focuses Discipline’s interest in contemporary art onto the practice of art history itself, including essays by three of the discipline’s leading practitioners: Ian McLean, Amelia Barikin, and Terry Smith. In their essays, McLean, Barikin and Smith reflect on the stakes of a properly contemporary art history: its semantic precursors and philosophical potential, its…

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Gosia Wlodarczak performs a drawing | TarraWarra Museum of Art

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Gosia Wlodarczak will make a performance drawing this weekend (6-8 Feb) on TarraWarra’s iconic window.The drawing will frame the landscape of Long Gully. The work will be called Long Gully, Frost Drawing for TarraWarra. Gosia draws continuously from 11am until 5pm (with an hour lunch break), taking inspiration from her surroundings, both in the gallery and beyond the window. Dates: Friday 6th until Sunday 8th February, 11am-5pm Venue: TarraWarra Museum of Art, 311 Healesville-Yarra Glen Road, Healesville Website: http://www.twma.com.au/events/drawing-performance/

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Exhibition | Justene Williams: The Curtain Breathed Deeply at MUMA

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The Curtain Breathed Deeply at Monash University Museum of Art | MUMA from 7th February – 2nd April 2015 Opening function: Saturday 7 February 2014, 3-5pm. With opening remarks by Anne Loxley, C3West Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia The Curtain Breathed Deeply is an exhibition of a series of newly commissioned video installations by Sydney artist Justene Williams. In this rich environment of pattern, colour and texture, curtains and screens act as thresholds between the energy of one realm and another. For Williams, the curtain and the exhibition pay tribute to her father, to his life and work, as well as the hospital curtain that marked the final stage of his life when he passed away from mesothelioma. The Curtain Breathed Deeply is poignant and celebratory, acknowledging the life of a loved one while also taking pleasure in the…

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News | A New Museum of Contemporary Art for Melbourne University

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News that Melbourne University has received a $26 million gift of contemporary art from the property developer and art collector Michael Buxton. The collection will be housed in a new purpose-built museum on the VCA Southbank campus. The museum will operate in conjunction with the University’s Ian Potter Museum of Art. Director, Kelly Gellatly said, “The Collection, which has been established with curatorial rigour, will enable the establishment of an extraordinary museum. It will showcase exhibitions that embrace experimentation and explore some of the major concerns of the 21st Century. Through the activities of the Potter’s Academic Programs unit – unique within Australia – the museum will facilitate object-based learning for undergraduate and graduate students from the University’s diverse faculties and different campuses.” From the university The Buxton Collection is one of the most important private contemporary collections in Australia,…

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Discussions and Workshops for the opening of Emily Floyd: The Daw at NGV

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Celebrate the opening weekend of Emily Floyd: The Dawn at the National Gallery of Victoria with a series of discussions and hands-on workshops. About the Exhibition | Emily Floyd: The Dawn is a survey exhibition of the work of Melbourne-based artist Emily Floyd. The exhibition will feature works dating from 2001 to 2014 including lesser-known early works, major installations and a newly commissioned children’s project based on Feminist activism from the 1970s and 80s. Floyd works across the mediums of sculpture and printmaking and is known for her installations and public art. From the 21st November 2014 to the 1st March 2015. Events Saturday 22nd November 12.30pm: Play sculptures for the 21st century | Artist Emily Floyd and curator Jane Devery give an introductory tour of The Dawn 1.15pm: Mary Featherston and Emily Floyd discuss the children’s commission and The Dawn…

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Lecture | Museums for Contemporary Art in Central Europe – Dr Katarzyna Jagodzińska | University of Melbourne

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For countries in Central Europe the revolution in 1989 meant a new freedom in cultural activity and artistic creation, the beginning of transparent principles in financing culture, the end of censorship, as well as unhampered access to international cooperation. It is certainly one of the most symbolic dates in history. A period of transition began, when fully democratic states and societies were built. As an important element of civil societies, culture was also involved in the process of adaptation to the rules of free-market economy. But it does not mean that in institutions collecting and exhibiting art this transformation occurred instantly. An exception in Central Europe was Hungary, where initiatives aimed at creating a museum of contemporary art commenced before 1989. The record of Central European institutions devoted to modern and contemporary art before that date statistically does not look…

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Gertrude Discipline Lecture | Inside Outside and In Parallel: Speculations from four curators working in the Turkish Context

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Mari Spirito, Övül Durmuşoğlu, Başak Şenova and November Paynter The next Gertrude-Discipline lecture takes the form of a panel: a discussion between four curators whose work concerns the presentation and production of contemporary art from Turkey. Mari Spirito, Övül Durmuşoğlu, Başak Şenova and November Paynter represent a range of voices from within the independent, not-for-profit and museum sectors in Turkey. They will discuss their approaches to curating contemporary Turkish art, highlighting the individual concerns, challenges and circumstances that motivate and inform their curatorial approaches. Following the panel discussion, Associate Professor and Director of Curatorial Practise at Monash University and Editor at-large for The Exhibitionist, Tara McDowell, will facilitate a Q&A with the audience. Inside, Outside & In Parallel: Speculations from four curators working in the Turkish context is presented by Gertrude Contemporary and Discipline in collaboration with Artspace and Protocinema. Mari Spirito, Övül Durmuşoğlu, Başak…

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Lecture | Continuum and Urban Boundary Propositions – Ash Keating | La Trobe University

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Melbourne artist Ash Keating will present a public lecture as part of his Artist Residency with the Centre for Creative Arts at La Trobe University.Keating will discuss his current work on the project Continuum and Urban Boundary Propositions, which he will discuss in detail in this upcoming lecture. Ash Keating has exhibited extensively in galleries and created numerous large-scale, site-responsive art projects in Australia and internationally since 2004. He recently undertook a major painting commission in collaboration with RMIT University and Peter Elliot Architects in Melbourne for RMIT’s A’Beckett Urban Square. Recent projects include North Wall Billboard on the NGV International for Melbourne Now (2013), Continuum for Palimpsest at the Mildura Biennale (2013), West Park Proposition for Artist’s proof #1, Monash University Museum of Art (2012); Gertrude Modern and Namsan Plus for City Within the City, Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne, (2012) and Artsonje Centre, Seoul, Korea (2011) respectively; Gardensity, 6th SCAPE Christchurch Biennial of Art in Public Space,…

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Lecture | Nathaniel Mellors gives the MUMA Boiler Room Lecture

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  MUMA, in association with Monash Art Design and Architecture [MADA], present a keynote lecture by LA-based, British artist Nathaniel Mellors.The lecture will be introduced by Associate Professor Kit Wise, Associate Dean (Education), MADA, Monash University and followed by a discussion with the artist convened by Simon Maidment, Curator, Contemporary Art, National Gallery of Victoria.Nathaniel Mellors makes irreverent, humourous and absurd filmic works, sculptures, performances and critical writings that challenge our notions of taste, morality, and intelligence. His seminal series Ourhouse (2010- ongoing) is a six part film project (written and directed by Mellors) following the structure of a standard television drama and loosely based on Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Teorema (1968). Ourhouse features a cast of misfit characters enacting the decline of an eccentric British family as they are confronted by ‘The Object’ – an unexpected manifestation who invades their country manor. Drawing inspiration from popular…

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Lecture | Djon Mundine OAM: A Personal History of Aboriginal Art | La Trobe University

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The history of Aboriginal art has a number of overlapping, blurred edge phases; it is market driven and of European historical conceit on one side, and the offering up of icons, ideas, and possibly a moral-memory insistence on the (Aboriginal) other side. Djob Mundine is a member of the Bandjalung people of northern New South Wales. With an extensive career as a curator, activist, writer and occasional artist, Djon worked in Arnhem Land as Art Adviser to the Milingimbi, Maningrida, and Ramingining Aboriginal communities for sixteen years. Djon was concept curator of The Aboriginal Memorial, 1987-88, now on permanent display at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Over 1993-4 he was travelling curator for the important Aratjara exh., that travelled to Dusseldorf, London, and Danmark. Djon And Natalie King are co-curators of ‘Whisper in My Mask’, 2014 Tarrawarra Biennal, Healesville. Djon has…

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Exhibition | Art as a Verb | MUMA

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Art as a Verb at Monash University Museum of Art. Exhibition Dates: 3 October – 16 December 2014 Opening function: Saturday 4 October 2014, 3-5pm About the Exhibition | Art as a Verb is a major thematic exhibition that takes as its departure point the concept of art as action, both inside the gallery and beyond. Drawing upon the unbridled energy and anarchy of fluxus and happenings, and looking back to a moment when art dematerialised, Art as a Verb presents a range of projects from the 1960s to today that challenge the traditional role of the artist and the site of the museum. What constitutes the work of an artist? How do the varying roles of an artist (as instigator, facilitator, teacher, performer, consumer or visionary) fit within broader society? And how does the museum support art forms that…

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