Exhibition | Danae Valenza and Simon McGuinness, The Torn Cloud | Gertrude Glasshouse

gertrude torn cloud

Exhibition dates: 11 September–10 October 2015
Exhibition opening: Friday 11 September 2015, 6–8pm

Gertrude Contemporary is pleased to present a new Gertrude Glasshouse exhibition by Studio Artist Danae Valenza in collaboration with Simon McGuinness. Their exhibition, titled The Torn Cloud, reflects on the scale and potentiality of humans and their built environments. The artists describe the project as folows:

Temporary/permanent. A scaffold bigger than the sum of its parts. Tall buildings cast shadows. From atop, people glint, pulse through streets with a hum. Flecks of stone in the pavement become a tiny phenomenon. Phone lines are electric with human voices. If you could reach so far to tear a cloud, where would you go from there?

Danae Valenza and Simon McGuinness are Melbourne-based creative practitioners who work together in many ways, often with friends and other people they meet. The Torn Cloud is their first solo exhibition together, comprising of sound, sculpture, painting, and a text by Al McKay.

As a Studio Artist, Danae Valenza has exhibited widely in Australia and internationally, including: ACCA, 2014; Gertrude Contemporary, 2010, 2014; Prawneg & Wolf, South Tyrol, Italy, 2013; Objectifs Centre for Photography & Film Making, Singapore, 2014; and Bus Projects, 2013; Blindside, 2011; Arts House, 2013; and Next Wave Festival, 2012. She has been awarded The Ian Potter Travelling Scholarship, 2013; a JUMP Mentorship Grant, 2013; an ArtStart Grant from the Australia Council of the Arts, 2012; and a city of Melbourne Docklands Grant, 2012. In 2015, she undertook the Australia Council studio residency at Suomenlinna Studio, Helsinki. Valenza has a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Monash University.