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A few 2020 Australian exhibitions not to be missed!
Listings at AGSA, QAGOMA, AGNSW and NGA discuss water and conservation issues, Australian women artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, and, a rare look at hometown Adelaide artists, David and John Dallwitz (Father and son).
Plus, an exhibition which displays the strength, power and virtuosity of First Nation artist Sylvia Ken.
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Sylvia Ken is from Amata community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands and has been painting since 1999. The seven sisters are a recurring subject within Ken’s paintings. The travels of these sisters across the night sky as they attempt to flee the unwanted attention of an older man are captured in evocative form within this work, which was awarded the 2019 Wynne Prize.
Artist Sylvia Ken with her Wynne Prize-winning painting Seven sisters 2018. Photo: © Mim Stirling, AGNSW
The art centre documentation for this work states:
The sisters are the constellation of Pleiades and the other star Orion is said to be Nyiru or Nyirunya (described as a lusty or bad man). Nyiru is forever chasing the sisters, known as the Kunkarunkara women, as it is said he wants to marry the eldest sister. The seven sisters travel again and again from the sky to the earth to escape Nyiru’s unwanted attention. They turn into their human form to escape from the persistent Nyiru, but he always finds them and they flee back to the sky. As Nyiru is chasing the sisters he tries to catch them by using magic to turn into the most tempting kampurarpra (bush tomatoes) for the sisters to eat and the most beautiful Ili (fig) tree for them to camp under. However, the sisters are too clever for Nyiru and outwit him as they are knowledgeable about his magic. They go hungry and run through the night rather than be caught by Nyiru. Every now and again one of the women fall victim to his ways. It is said that he eventually captures the youngest sister, but with the help of the oldest sister, she escapes back to her sisters who are waiting for her. Eventually the sisters fly back into the sky to escape Nyiru, reforming the constellation.
This exemplary painting by Ken is an example of the purity of the artistic practice that stems from the APY Lands and is inspiring and changing the way the Australian public and the world connect with First Nations artists and their enduring legacies.
Text courtesy AGNSW
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(AGSA)
Art Gallery South Australia, Adelaide
Adelaide Cool
The abstract art of David and John Dallwitz
UNTIL 5 APRIL 2020
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This nostalgic look to the past celebrates the 50th anniversary of a breakthrough moment in Australian hard-edge painting.
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Featuring the work of Adelaide’s father-and-son artists, David and John Dallwitz, Adelaide Cool takes its lead from David’s milestone solo exhibition at Sydney’s Central St Gallery in 1969.
At this time, both artists were simultaneously exploring dynamic colour and formal geometric relationships, often with a characteristic sense of whimsy and humour.
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Be part of something extraordinary. Walk across a vast, rocky, indoor riverbed created by Olafur Eliasson. See animals from around the world gather together to drink from Cai Guo-Qiang’s brilliant blue waterhole.
‘WATER’ UP LATE on two nights: 6 – 10.30pm Friday 20 and Saturday 21 March 2020.
Reflect on the cultural traditions of bodies of water, including the Brisbane River, with Judy Watson;and consider the long history of our reliance on water, illustrated by Megan Cope’s re-created midden.
…‘Water’…aims to spark conversations on the environmental and social challenges faced by the world today.
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BELOW THE TIDE LINE
Kids and families can explore ocean conservation issues — particularly the impact that ghost nets have on the marine environment…
— via a spectacular artwork display, a drawing activity and an interactive screen-based animation.
Developed in collaboration with Erub Arts, Marion Gaemers and Lynnette Griffiths.
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NGA
(National Gallery of Australia, Canberra)
Know My Name
Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now
30 May – 13 September 2020
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Rosemary Laing flight research #6 1999–2000, Type C photograph, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, purchased 2001
© Rosemary Laing
Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now showcases art made by women.
It brings together more than 150 works, drawn from the Gallery’s collection and other collections from across Australia. This exhibition is part of a series of ongoing initiative by the National Gallery to increase the representation of artists who identify as women in its artistic program.
Disclaimer: The works below from NGA’s collection have been selected by liberal eclectic and are not necessarily included in the Know My Name exhibition, albeit the particular artists are entered in the exhibition!
IN THE COMING WEEKS LOOK OUT
FOR MORE 2020 AUSTRALIAN EXHIBITIONS!
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