The Go Between, 2005, Gouache and pastel over unfinished gouache on paper by Hal Hattam, 56 x 63 cm, Collection William Mackinnon, Image courtesy the artist and Daine Singer, Photography: Simon Peter Fox
A new exhibition has just opened at Deakin University Art Gallery Katherine Hattam: Desire first: 1978–2015, which is a survey of Hattam’s career to date. The exhibition includes paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture.
In the exhibition viewers can see the development of Hattam’s distinct style. Recurring motifs in her work include chairs and other domestic objects, which she combines with references to literature, feminism, art history and modern psychoanalysis to create work that is personally symbolic. The artist and her experiences have some kind of presence in many of the works; anthropomorphic chairs stand in for a range of family members and Hattam herself is present in many of the spaces she depicts.
Hattam has exhibited widely throughout Australia. Her work is included in numerous major public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, Heide Museum of Modern Art, the Bendigo Art Gallery and Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art. She is represented by Daine Singer, Melbourne.
From Deakin University Art Gallery manager Leanne Willis:
Katherine Hattam is a contemporary Australian artist of great merit and has been a valuable contributor to the Melbourne visual culture since the late 1970s. Deakin University has a long relationship with Katherine as she completed her PhD here in 2003, so it seems fitting that we are the venue to present a survey of her work.
The exhibition catalogue includes an essay by exhibition curator Emma Busowsky Cox, and a preface by Patrick McCaughey.
Katherine Hattam: Desire first 1978–2015 runs to 16 October at the Deakin University Art Gallery, Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Tuesday to Friday between 10am and 4pm, or by appointment on Monday for groups over 10. Entry is free.
Free floor talks with the artist and exhibition curator will be held on Wednesday 30 September at 12.30pm and Friday 16 October at 12.30pm.
Deakin University Art Gallery, Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway | Tuesday-Friday 10 am-4 pm. Free admission. Website.