LOVE FROM THE STUDIO
A series of stories bringing you behind the scenes of Arts Project Australia.
LATEST INTERVIEWS AND ARTICLES
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Paul Hodges on Capturing Melbourne’s Cafés
Paul Hodges (b 1974, Melbourne) is a mid-career artist known for his figurative paintings. Although his preferred medium is painting, he has worked across a variety of mediums throughout his career. This interview follows his recent virtual exhibition - which featured his reverence of dancers and models - to show another angle of his interest in representing the human figure in motion. His café series contains cubist tendencies with varies contemporary colour applications. People and objects fold together in a synchronic assemblage of both the aesthetic and social of the Melbourne hospitality scene. While created in 2019, these pieces hold a posthumous nostalgia seven months into the city’s lockdown measures. In this discussion, Paul Hodges reflects on one piece within the series, talking on his inspiration, mediums, and live drawing of the artwork. Paul Hodges has worked in the Arts Project studio since 1998 and has presented numerous solo and group exhibitions. His work is held in the National Gallery of Victoria (as gifted by Stuart Purves) and in private collections throughout Australia. Paul Hodges Not titled 2019 ink, watercolour on paper 28 x 37.5 cm PH19-0004 Let’s talk about one of your café series- can you tell me about this work? It started with a picture out of a Monet book - or one of those type of artists – from the Arts Project Australia library. I remember one of the staff artists, Lyn Young, inspiring me to do a café series, which I started from a picture in the book. I was using watercolours at the time, and I remember wanting to do something with perspective. The image looks a bit like Four Beans, the café next to Arts Project Australia. Oh yeah, it is Four Beans! I sat in Four Beans, and they let me draw. I probably spent an hour in there. And the people in the image? They’re just random strangers. It was hectic in the café that day. I think I visited another café up the road as well in Westgarth and did some drawing. Paul Hodges & Jon Campbell at 'We could be heroes' exhibition opening in August 2018 Let’s talk about your process. Did you also work from photographs? I also noticed this particular piece, compared to others in the series, has a different colour palette. The other café series images are brighter while this one stood out to be more muted. I didn’t use photographs! With this one, I started with ink and then took it back to Arts Project studio to add the watercolour. I really liked using the purple and yellow. It’s interesting at a time to look at artistic depictions of people in cafes because it’s something we’re all missing. You were saying before this interview that you miss making big paintings because you can’t be in the APA studio. I’m sure other artists can relate to that. Yeah, that’s right- we can’t even sit in a café! I really miss the studio, too. I just remembered this work was on consignment with Dutton Gallery for the Outsider Art Fair in New York. It’s funny thinking of a Melbourne site-specific image being all the way over in the States. Oh, gee whiz! Yeah, the artwork must have been in an exhibition! Yeah, it’s pretty funny. Support Arts Project Australia and browse more of Paul Hodges’s portfolio at Arts Project Australia’s online shop. Love from the Studio is a series of interviews and articles bringing you behind the scenes of Arts Project Australia. Paul Hodges was interviewed by Arts Project Australia gallery technician Margaret McIntosh.
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At Home with Sassy Park
Sassy Park is a ceramics artist with a focus on memorialising the intimacies of the ordinary every day. Park's practice led her to become a supporter and friend of Arts Project Australia after first encountering Arts Project through travelling exhibition Home Sweet Home in 2007. She has since curated Arts Project artists into exhibitions, including recently featuring Kaye McDonald and Kate Knight in The Vase and Flower Show. Her love for Arts Project extends from the professional to personal with her home proudly displaying collected pieces by Ruth Howard, Amani Tia, Alan Constable, Chris Mason and Lisa Reid, among others. In 2018, Sassy Park interviewed for Collector's Corner, expressing her close relationship with these works. Recently, Arts Project followed up with Sassy Park to see how this relationship with her art collection has evolved since spending more time at home in 2020. Image of Sassy Park's kitchen sideboard: Top: Amani Tia, The Clash, 2018. Bottom left to right: chips and teapot (Sassy Park); espresso cup (Susan Frost); egg cups (Alana Wilson); piped candlesticks (Ebony Russell), spiky blue vase (Lotte Schwerdtfeger); Sassy Park, Looking for Love (Lover) 2018; Ruth Howard, Not titled (large white pile), 2011; salt dish (Glenn Barkley); Staffordshire spill vase with a sprig of geralton wax, 7-11 Japanese-style bowl (Sassy Park); Sassy Park, Sad Teenager, 2019. Spending time at home has further convinced me of the need to be surrounded by the things we love and value most. Not just family and pets but the objects we live with, a theme recently investigated in Arts Projects recent online exhibition, The Object and the Beholden. As with family and friends, objects are in a relationship with each other, especially objects of art. In this time of lockdown, I have expanded my relationship to things that instil meaning and comfort in my life to the plants, trees and flowers in my small inner-city garden. Checking orchids for new leaves or the beginning of a flower spike gives me irrational joy. The plants in my garden hold the memory of people. I have a coffee tree given to me by Melbourne artist, James Morrison, and the violets, flowering now, remind me of the time of year when a friend's father passed away. The camellia at the front which I use to guide visitors to our house (it's the house with the yellow door and the camellia tree) was taken as a seedling from my grandmother's garden nearly 30 years ago. The slipper orchid was my grandfathers. Bringing the flowers inside to place on shelves and sideboards has a ritualistic feel. Arranging them with ceramics and paintings creates a tableau in front of which we can perform small joys and take solace. I especially like to place flowers with ceramic artworks, such as Ruth Howard's Not titled (large white pile). Tabletop scenes encompassing artworks, teapots, eggcups, vases, lamps, and figurines act out a still play against the backdrop of paintings (Amani Tia, The Clash, 2018). The ephemeral nature has the potential for change and renewal. Through artworks and flowers from the garden, the exterior world is brought inside, changing both our physical and mental interiors. SASSY PARK IN HER SYDNEY HOME with ceramics by Ruth Howard and Chris Mason. PHOTO BY OTTO SCHWERDTFEGER. Are you at home with Arts Project Australia? Win a $200 voucher or a chance to be featured on @artsprojectaust. Post a photo on Instagram of an artwork by an Arts Project Australia artist in your home and tag @artsprojectaust. Competition closes Friday 9 October 2020. Winners announced Monday 12 October. Images selected to be featured on Instagram determined at the discretion of APA gallery staff. Winning voucher entrant is chosen at random and contacted via DM. Voucher can be redeemed via online stockroom and is valid for three years. Love from the Studio is a series of interviews and articles bringing you behind the scenes of Arts Project Australia. Sassy Park was interviewed by Arts Project Australia communications and gallery administrator Tahney Fosdike.
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James Brett on Artists Outside the Cultural Mainstream
I look forward to a future where every state and national museum includes astonishing material by unusual people, independent of physicality, neurology, colour or class. James Brett, founder of the Gallery of Everything As Melbourne patiently wades through months of closures and pauses, there is a reprieve in thinking of two Arts Project Australia artists being viewed and relished faraway in London. At the Gallery of Everything, APA’s Julian Martin and Terry Williams are exhibiting side-by-side in The Deep. The Gallery of Everything is London’s first and only commercial space dedicated to non-academic and private art-making, ancillary to the Museum of Everything, a non-profit which has been advocating for artists beyond the cultural mainstream since 2009. The exhibition - dates recently extended until October 1 - explores the vocabulary of the two non-verbal artists working within the contemporary art world and their total embrace of the self as they, as atypical art-makers, mesh into the widest cultural circles. James Brett, the founder of the Museum of Everything and the Gallery of Everything and curator of The Deep, recently took time to talk with Arts Project Australia about the ideological overlap between the two arts organisations and his aspirations for platforming the voices of artists outside the mainstream. You can take a virtual tour of The Deep here. Terry Williams and Julian Martin in The Deep at the Gallery of Everything until 1 October The Museum of Everything, and now The Gallery of Everything, have always been dedicated to non-academic and private art-making. Why is it important to provide space for this type of art? We started the museum just over ten years ago for one reason: there was no real space in the UK dedicated to alternative artmakers working outside the cultural mainstream. The Museum of Everything was an experiment. We curated over 500 works in a found space in the middle of London and invited the art world to take a look. The response was incredible, and it really helped put the artists - and the genre - on the map. Ever since, our projects - small and large - have aimed to give the artists and artworks we love a voice and a platform. That’s also why we travel to places and countries with less knowledge of this unusual material. Mainstream galleries and museums are finally starting to wake up to this stuff. We hope this is in some small part due to our curated installations in the UK and beyond. James Brett at MONA's Museum of Everything which included APA artists Julian Martin, Alan Constable and Terry Williams When did your relationship with APA begin and what have been some of the critical collaborations along the way? We discovered APA when researching our fourth museum exhibition at Selfridges in London. In this massive undertaking, we presented artwork across the store, its windows, its exhibition space and its hotel. The show, comprising hundreds of artworks, was dedicated to studios for artists with communication issues and disabilities. I should point out that “disability” is a word which we would have loved not to use because we didn’t think it was appropriate or even accurate - but we wanted to celebrate the studios, and we had to communicate. The exhibition presented artists and organisations from around the world; it turned out that APA had some of our favourite artists in the entire show. We fell in love with the work and the ethos: and we featured several artists including Julian Martin, Alan Constable and Leo Cussen. From then on, APA artists featured in all our museum shows; and when we opened our gallery, Alan Constable was someone we immediately wanted to represent. The current exhibition is another terrific step forward. Julian Martin, untitled, 2018, pastel on paper, 38 x 28.5 cm. Represented by Fleisher/Ollman, Philadelphia and Arts Project Australia, Melbourne. Tell me about the inspiration behind your current exhibition, The Deep- why did you decide to feature APA’s Julian Martin and Terry Williams? In some ways, The Deep is connected to and inspired by the museum exhibition of 2010. Terry Williams and Julian Martin are dynamic contemporary artists. That we decided to exhibit them together - a decision we made despite, and not because of, the APA connection - was entirely to do with how they visually describe the outside world. There is a curious, ill-defined line between interpretation and abstraction. For us, both Terry and Julian exemplify this ambiguity. Most of all, we thought they would look great curated together! Terry Williams, Untitled, 2016, assorted material and stuffing, 47 x 51 x 56 cm The Museum of Everything has been around for a decade, what developments – whether that be exhibitions or general discourse or changes in art world values- would you like to see for artists and art ‘outside the cultural mainstream’ over the next few years? A lot seems to have changed since we first started. Mainstream galleries and museums increasingly curate artists outside the dominant cultural map. Yet there is still the feeling of them as something of a curiosity. The new focus of the art world is "diversity,” which is a word which does not really help the field. While it is true that so-called outsiderism has always been fundamentally diverse, it is relevant to point out that human life is by its nature diverse! That the art world - like every other part of society - tends to exclude the many and not the few, is simply a byproduct of a narrow gaze by historic gate-keepers. Similarly, the term “neuro-diverse” may be a step forward from many of the other terms, yet it still functions as a metaphor for an apparent “otherness” - and what we really would like to see is a move away from this. Some museums are doing a great job of just incorporating, like the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which is now curating artists from studios around the world as part of the new gallery hang. Artists are placed alongside their brethren of past and present; for me, this is evidence of real change. I look forward to a future where every state and national museum includes astonishing material by unusual people, independent of physicality, neurology, colour or class. I hope that’s not too much to ask! Love from the Studio is a series of interviews and articles bringing you behind the scenes of Arts Project Australia. James Brett was interviewed by Tahney Fosdike, Marketing & Communications Coordinator at Arts Project Australia.
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Matthew Gove and his Surfin’ Rabbit
Matthew Gove Surfin' Rabbit 2015 gouache on paper 29 x 38 cm MAGO15-0013 Matthew Gove (b 1977, Melbourne) is an emerging artist working across a variety of mediums including painting and ceramics. His artworks reveal a penchant for quirky and humorous subject matter often involving animals in ridiculous 'humanistic' scenarios. Gove has worked in the Arts Project since 2012; his work has been included in several group exhibitions in Melbourne and Sydney and is represented in private collections throughout Australia. In August 2019, Melissa Pesa commented in Art Almanac, "Gove humanises pets, giving them hobbies, careers and everyday chores just like their human counterparts; mice play cricket while smoking, cats indulge in a ‘purrrfect’ massage or read the newspaper while drinking tea. The secret lives of Gove’s anthropomorphised animals are parallel to their owner’s, a result of years of cohabitation and interdependency; consequently absorbing each other’s habits and traits..." Echoing Pesa's succinct analysis, this interview sees Gove exploring the ways in which his attachment to animals fuels his creative practice. While often resulting in playful narratives beyond the realm of reality, Gove's comical anthropomorphisation resonates with anyone who has ever had a bond with a pet or furry friend. - Your paintings are so quirky, funny and beautifully done. You have a knack for capturing a moment. Can you tell me about your process and where you source your ideas, like with this piece Surfin' Rabbit? I love using colours – reds or browns – as well as finding ideas and how to apply these to paper. I look on the internet and try to find a good picture and funny things. Some are not from there; they are from Rottnest Island on holiday or of my dogs at mum and dad's place. For Surfin' Rabbit, I found the idea on the internet through a funny photo of an actual rabbit. Then I made it my own. He's surfing but not actually surfing because he's surfing the internet. What animals do you feature in your paintings? It's hard to say, but my favourite animal tends to be dogs. I've been around dogs a long time and seen them act like humans because they really think they're humans. At mum and dad's home, I have three dogs. One is 14, and the others are about 2. Their names are Sunny, Birdie and Alfie. Sunny is 14, so he doesn't do much, but the other ones are like "me, me, me, me!" I like to paint them cuddling me. Matthew Gove Bad to the Bone 2015 gouache on paper 29 x 38 cm MAGO15-0011 Can you tell me about some of the other scenarios you have depicted in your work? A dog playing tennis, and hamsters riding bikes. A dog riding a motorbike in a gang or something with a cigar. He is bad to the bone. So, I called it Bad to the Bone. I got ideas from a holiday at Rottnest Island when I was there on a trip. I won't be going away this year! I was supposed to go to Europe. We had planned everything – England, Italy, France and a cruise to Greece. I think we will go next year when all this is over. You will get some great inspirations for paintings on that trip! Yeah, I really will. Matthew Gove Not titled 2015 gouache on paper 28 x 38 cm MAGO15-0007 Support Arts Project Australia and browse more of Matthew Gove's portfolio at Arts Project Australia's online shop. Love from the Studio is a series of interviews and articles bringing you behind the scenes of Arts Project Australia. Interview by gallery administrator Jo Salt.
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James McDonald on Taking the Arts Project Studio Online
Swimming against the current of this year's surprises, Arts Project Australia hasn’t stalled with audiences enjoying a refreshed program of weekly online exhibitions, articles and videos. But what about the artists who are the bedrock of Arts Project Australia? It should come as no surprise that they haven’t been caught in limbo either, and have continued creating behind the scenes. The studio is usually a hive of activity with over 150 artists attending over a six-day schedule, from those who have joined in recent years to some whose career at the studio spans decades. For studio manager James McDonald, it was imperative to maintain Arts Project Australia studio’s energy despite the permeating uncertainty. In this interview, McDonald speaks on how he ensured the artists had the support to continue their practices by transitioning to a remote online studio program. Reflecting on the whirlwind of 2020, he celebrates the seamless character and strong values of Arts Project Australia. When the first lockdown rolled out across Victoria in March, Arts Project Australia had to respond quickly in the best interests of the studio artists. From your position as studio manager at Arts Project Australia, what was this period like for you? When the decision was made to close the studio my initial reaction was disbelief. Up until that point, COVID-19 was something we’d been watching on the news from a safe distance. We had been putting posters up in the studio with good hygiene protocols and putting other plans in place but not thinking that it would affect us any time soon. And then, whack! There it was, right in front of us. I was fortunate to be part of a team whose first response centred around the artists’ wellbeing. We strategically thought about the effect the close down would have on them, even though early on there was uncertainty throughout the organisation about our immediate future. Instead of sheltering in place and bidding farewell until a sunnier day, the studio almost immediately launched the Satellite Arts program. Over the last six months, many artists have continued their regular studio practice over Zoom in the company of other studio artists and staff artists. What have been the logistics and reception to this remote program? The Satellite Arts program has been such a fantastic way to keep everyone connected, both socially and creatively, while in lockdown. The numbers of participants have steadily grown to over 90 artists. This growth is a testament not only to a commitment to practice by the artists but also their support of Arts Project as a place that’s important to them, and in many cases is the most enjoyable and rewarding part of their week. The studio sessions are conducted on Zoom with all our programs are available to the artists, including ceramics, digital and printmaking. The staff artists have worked hard to engage the artists in creative activity that is pertinent to their interests, while also encouraging the artists to bring their own ideas and themes to the sessions, utilising the interactive capabilities of the Zoom platform. Once we got the Satellite Arts program up and running, it was important the artists had access to art materials. Some staff artists and I have delivered these materials to artists, which has been vital to the success of the program. This service has helped the artists get the high-quality materials and equipment they need to create their work. This quality and support upholds Arts Project Australia’s values. Using Arts Project art materials also means there’s a familiarity with the media, which has been helpful to the artists at a time when so many things are different. There have been some lovely moments, especially when we were delivering to the artists doorsteps very early on. On several occasions, the supplies would arrive while the artist was on a Zoom session which meant a lot of laughter and merriment as they unwrapped their supplies in front of their friends and colleagues. Moments like these of human contact and shared experiences seem so vital in this COVID world. Although they’re only small connections they can help us get through these tough times. What have been some challenges, surprises and joys over the last six months? As hard as it has been for everybody over that last few months, we’ve also shown our resilience and adaptability across the whole of Arts Project Australia. As always, the staff artists have risen to the challenge and are doing an excellent job keeping the artists connected and engaged. For some of our artists, the remote program has offered fresh perspectives and a more comfortable way to connect. For others, due to the parameters dictated by the remote program, it’s been an opportunity to try something different creatively. I’ve particularly enjoyed seeing artists who I would never have dreamed would be interested in engaging on a remote platform, getting online and actively participating. After so many years of involvement with Arts Project, the artists continue to surprise and delight. What are your hopes for the remainder of 2020? My main hope is we all come out of this safely. As much as remote working has involved some extraordinary moments, I hope we can all be together onsite again. There’s something very special about the Arts Project studio, and I know that the staff and artists are missing it. Love from the Studio is a series of interviews and articles bringing you behind the scenes of Arts Project Australia. James McDonald was interviewed by Tahney Fosdike, Marketing & Communications Coordinator at Arts Project Australia.
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Rosie O’Brien on Being Drawn to Colour
“I have always had a big atmosphere for colour.” Across her practice, Rosie O’Brien sensitively experiences colour. It’s an almost chromesthesia sentimentality: when asked about an exhibition, she recalls the yellow of the walls, and as she talks about selecting materials, it’s all about their ability to conjure the colours she wishes to imbue in her art. O’Brien (b 1974) is an emerging artist working on paper, digital animation and textiles. The vibrant use of pattern and placement of soft vessel-like flowers demonstrates her observant style, the soft palette reminiscent of spring. O’Brien has worked in the Arts Project Australia studio since 2015 and has exhibited in several recent group exhibitions in Sydney and Melbourne. In this interview, O’Brien reflects on a 2019 artwork depicting a bouquet of purple flours spatially composed against a yellow background and speaks on her draw to the botanic and use of specific reference points and materials. She also reflects on her inclusion in and on the eyes, black sleep of night curated by Sarah Brasier. The exhibition, which showed at First Draft Gallery in Sydney and Seventh Gallery in Melbourne, included the work of artists - some of them O’Brien’s Arts Project colleagues- who had experienced the premature loss of a parent. Rosie O'Brien, Not titled, 2019, gouache, greylead pencil, ink on paper, 28.5 x 19.5 cm I love your floral drawings. You certainly have an eye for colour. Do you work from reference material? They are very colour coordinated. My reference material for this work has mainly been a Joseph Banks' Florilegium book I’ve been working with for maybe two or three months. Can you tell me about the materials you’ve used in this artwork? The selections of colours together seem to be an essential part of your practice. It’s gouache; I always use it. It’s a really nice paint to work with, and it’s really rich in colour. I have always had a big atmosphere for colour. When I look for images, I am often drawn to colour first. But I mean, the botanical drawings I am doing at the moment are in just black watercolour pens, which is really nice to work with too. This work was part of an exhibition curated by Sarah Brasier. I went to it when to it in Melbourne at Seventh Gallery, and your work was displayed in a beautiful room. What was it like to be involved? Oh, it was a lot of fun. I got to go to the exhibition in Sydney. I was there at the beginning, and I was there at the end! I remember the room was painted yellow; I associate really strongly with yellow. It brings up a nice feeling. There were nine paintings that I had in that exhibition, but I think there is only six left now because three of them sold when I came back. When it was in Melbourne, I had a few people who came and looked at it. ROSIE OBRIEN (WALL), ON THE EYES, BLACK SLEEP OF NIGHT, first draft GALLERY, 2019. IMAGE COURTESY OF Guy Grabowsky and first draft gallery. Love from the Studio is a series of interviews and articles bringing you behind the scenes of Arts Project Australia. Interview by Margaret McIntosh, Gallery Technician.
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Lisa Reid on the Value of Memory
"A lot of my artwork is about memory." Lisa Reid (b 1975, Melbourne) is an accomplished multidisciplinary artist working in ceramics, painting, drawing, printmaking and digital media and has worked at Arts Project since 2002. She has shown in major exhibitions nationally and internationally, including Painting More Painting at Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) and her work is held by the National Gallery of Australia and National Gallery of Victoria. Often utilising preliminary workings of an image as a blueprint for her work, Lisa Reid's attention to detail is unparalleled. In this interview, Reid focusses on The Old Fashioned Cash Register with the Old Paper Dollar Notes and Coins 2018 which was a center-piece at the recent Leonard Joel auction The day we all went home.¹ Discussing this work, she also speaks on her other ceramics, which are often comprised of multiple components and meticulously constructed over a long period. While she talks on the value of memory in her process, she doesn’t shy away from the present as she also ponders on the pandemic’s disruption to her practice. Can you tell me a little bit about this artwork? I got the image off the internet. I found it online, and I found the paper notes online too. The money used to look like that back in the early 1980s, when I was a child. Do you remember seeing cash registers like this in the 80s? I remember seeing them in op shops. I like going to op shops, but unfortunately, we can’t go to them much because of COVID. Can’t really go anywhere much because of COVID. I can’t even visit my family. You’re an artist that works with lots of different mediums, including printmaking, zines, ceramics, painting and drawing. Which of these do you think is your favourite? Well, I used to do printmaking until I got that part-time job at Foodworks. My favourite is ceramics and 2D. I like everything, making things, all different things. I like working in ceramics in 3D. I’m currently making a walkman. I had a few walkmans back in my past. I had a Discman too— I had a few of them because they wore out all the time because I listened to them so much. A lot of my artwork is about memory. How hard is it using a 2D image from the internet to make a 3D artwork? You just copy it from a template. You put it on pieces of paper first and then make it in the clay. You cut them out. And I just copied the coins out of clay from the real stuff. Can you remember how long it took to make the cash register ceramic? A bit over a year? It took a lot of concentration and a lot of work. A lot of detail. The numbers are a bit like a calculator too. I like how I did the in-tray with the bluey-grey- that’s something that I decided to do myself. In choosing your reference material, do you prefer to work with images you find on the internet or your own personal photographs? Both— I like working with photos of my family and with the ones I find on the internet. Recently, I’ve been doing a zine, with my Grandmother’s face in the Red Riding Hood bed. What do you like about being an artist? I just like to be challenged and to keep myself busy. Making things. I just like using a lot of detail. I’ve been making art since primary school and started at Arts Project nearly 20 years ago… and now all this has happened. It is tough to know something so well and to be faced with a big change. We’ll get back to the Arts Project studio eventually though, won’t we? Yeah, it all takes time. Images | Lisa Reid, The Old Fashioned Cash Register with the Old Paper Dollar Notes and Coins, 2018, glazed earthenware, 12.5 x 25 x 32 cm Lisa Reid, Self Portrait Of Me Wearing My Best Dress, 2017, pencil on paper, 56 x 38.5 cm ¹The lot was passed in and the artwork remains for sale through the Arts Project Australia gallery. Love from the Studio is a series of interviews and articles bringing you behind the scenes of Arts Project Australia. Interview by Margaret McIntosh, Gallery Technician.
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Sue Roff on the Past, Present and Future
Over this unusual year, Arts Project Australia Director Sue Roff has taken running an arts organisation during a pandemic into her stride. In this Q & A, she articulates her approach to dealing with an unordinary set of circumstances and summarises APA's aim to confidently support its artists through virtual and flexible delivery modes. Roff reflects on the challenges and lessons of creatively negotiating changes to the studio and gallery to ensure their functionality, while also musing on the collective grit exhibited by the organisation that will be taken into the future, whatever it may hold. How has Arts Project Australia responded to COVID-19, and what have been some of the lessons learned? Sue Roff: Our closure started a week earlier than most as we waited for the results of one artist's COVID-19 test (it was negative). By then, restrictions were in place, and we began to implement a remote program to enable artists to develop their art practice at home. The gallery started presenting exhibitions online, together with artist stories and interviews. We have proudly kept all staff in work and continued to deliver services throughout the different stages of the pandemic. After developing a COVID-19 plan and instituting new hygiene and social distancing protocols, we slowly started to invite artists back to the studio – particularly those who were unable to join the remote program. Due to current restrictions, the number of artists attending the studio each day is capped at ten until further notice, and the gallery remains closed but operating at a high level online. Lessons learned along the way: Good communication is vital. The external environment is highly dynamic – sometimes changing every day. It has been crucial to keep staff and artists informed and how it may affect our work. Regular online staff meetings and written communications have been so important in keeping us together, and better understanding the pandemic's impact. There is always a way to do things better. We are learning to change the way we do everything very quickly. The Arts Project team is extraordinary in the face of adversity. Our well-developed culture of support and care has been at the forefront of our ability to continue. How has the studio adapted and continued to support its artists? Sue Roff: Creative staff means creative solutions to problems. The APA studio responded quickly by delivering art materials to artists' homes, helping artists and their families use Zoom, and then delivering group and individual art sessions online. Challenges included a lack of technology and WIFI access for some artists, and the disinclination of some carers and house staff to assist in this access. But there have been many more highlights: some incredible artwork created at home, artists gathering in small groups maintaining a sense of community and our staff getting to know the families and carers of our artists better. What are the benefits of moving the gallery online for the rest of the year? Sue Roff: Recognising social distancing protocols will be in place for some time, bringing artists back to the studio is our top priority. We've resolved to turn our gallery space into a second studio, while the gallery will grow in its capacity for external opportunities and partnerships. COVID-19 has allowed us to grow our digital presence – something we didn't have time for in the past. The gallery team moved efficiently to present weekly online exhibitions, interviews and stories. Unable to hold our annual fundraising dinner, our long-term partner, Leonard Joel, conducted an online auction – which culminated in $47,000 of sales, of which 50% went to participating artists. We think this will become a new addition in our annual calendar! The past four months have shown that online infrastructure allows showcasing of more artists and more work- translating into excellent sales, opportunities for artists in Australia and overseas and the reaching of new audiences. We don't have much insight into the future right now. Instead of asking about your hopes for the next 12 months, what is APA's mantra to approaching them? Sue Roff: Whatever we do and however we do it, we will continue to remain true to our mission – to support artists with intellectual disabilities, promote their work and advocate for their inclusion in the broader contemporary art sector. We now know this can be done remotely, as well as in person. While we hope to be working with more of our artists face-to-face as time goes on, we will continue to do so safely and endeavour to manage health and safety risks in the best way possible. As our manifesto says – we march to the beat of our own drum and map our own future. And we are determined to have a future!
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The Natural Way Interview #3 – Daniel Richardson
For the exhibition The Natural Way — a show which focuses on the individual practices and thoughts of art creation — curator Elyss McCleary spoke with each artist about their process and practice. The following interview is with Daniel Richardson who creates collage works, replicating various images as well as his own image. Elyss and Daniel talked together during the installation of The Natural Way. - Elyss McCleary: I'd like to ask you about some of the selected works from your practice in this show. We are currently installing it still, what do you think? - Daniel Richardson: I like it cause I'm going forward in the future. -- EM: Can we talk about these framed works on the back wall, featuring a variety of different personalities, overlaid with your drawings? -- DR: That's showing before the 1950s. Victoria Allen Richardson fell in love with Dr. David Thomas Richardson. She is a timelord. This is other one is Matt Smith's wife. -- EM: How about this one here? -- DR: That's Dr. Daniel Johnno Richardson - he' s really me in 2049, it's the new future! -- EM: What materials do you like using in the studio? = DR: The paint texta is my favourite. I like collage and I start early in the day. = EM: I noticed in the studio you like to set up your work space in a certain way with research materials, do you enjoy starting like that? = DR: I like images a lot. I like a lot of new piles of work - it is good for some reason for me. I do everything, that's right. = The Natural Way ends 23 November.
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The Natural Way Interview #1 and #2 – Robin Warren & Danny Lyons
For the exhibition The Natural Way — a show which focusses on the individual practices and thoughts of art creation — curator Elyss McCleary spoke with each artist about their process and practice. The following interviews are with Robin Warren – whose gentle yet assured abstract works conjure explorations into colour and layered compositions — and Danny Lyons, who continuously inserts himself into various pop culture scenes in digital works that draw upon internet culture. Interview #1 - Robin Warren - Elyss McCleary: Im going to start of the interview as I have with all the artists involved in this exhibition with a question about you and an action. Was there a time you remember that you first thought I want to make an image of what I see? Robin Warren: I've done representational things, but have sometimes explored an idea just to see what happens. I was pretty good at art in high school, and have been layering things recently. EM: What was it like in the studio in Perth where you made your formative body of work? RW: I went to TAFE and made a lot of work. I heard about Arts project in Melbourne and moved here, first to Preston to be near the studio, then house sitting Hampton, and then finally back near Arts Project. EM: Did you always have a close understanding of colour? RW: My favourite colours are blue and orange, but I use all the colours. EM: How do you like to begin a work? RW: I start in the centre and then work outwards. EM: Has moving to Melbourne and being part of a large collective of artists here at Arts Project influenced or changed the way you work? RW: The textas and materials have made a change in my work — it's where the blending happens. EM: Is there anyone or a few artists that you admire or have had a strong positive impact on your practice? RW: I've always thought music had an influence more than visual arts, in particular the band CREAM. But if I did have to choose an artist of influence it would be Salvador Dali. Interview #2 - Danny Lyons - Elyss McCleary: The works featured in The Natural Way are photos you have made with collage that have yourself pictured performing in them. When did you start making this series? Danny Lyons: I started in 2017. James got me interested in the idea through my I love music. I love music, I love movies and the idea of doing photography has given me the opportunity to express my ideas and about how I feel about it. EM: I'm interested in how you set up these scenarios for the photoshoot? DL: I come to Penny with the ideas in my head, I tell her what the ideas is, and we find ways to transfer it into an image. We put it up and we show everyone. I'm still in the process of evening things out. EM: Do you prepare your set and outfits? DL: Some costumes I've got at home, and some I had to photoshop off the computer with the help of Eden Menta — one of the artists that works here. She helped me paint my face like Robbie Williams from the Let Me Entertain you clips, which was one one of the first ones I did two years ago. EM: Great! Is it fun to do that? DL: I get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Some of the things are funny and happy, like pretending to be Rocky Balboa boxing and Rambo cause I'm a fan of Sylvester Stallone. I find a picture I really like and interests me, and I try to do the poses to match the picture. EM: Tell me about these footy photographs. DL: I'm a big fan of Essendon. I have been since I was little. I always want to see them playing well either in person or on TV. And we came close to the season just gone. It's been almost 20 years since we won a premiership and I'd love to see that happen one day. The picture of Joe Danahoe and me in the coaches box and the press conference — it captures where they go and talk about the game, their thoughts on how well they played what they did right and what they did wrong, and what they hope to improve and make it better, and the steps it takes to win the grand final. EM: How about the image of you and ET, what brought you to create this? DL: Well, I just love the ET movie and I've loved it for so many years. It was the first movie I ever saw growing up and I reckon it's the best work Steven Spielberg has ever done. It was a beautiful friendship, and there were so many people that wanted to be in the picture with ET. I put myself in the picture so now I can be part of the picture too with ET. I really enjoyed doing that.
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Collector’s Corner #6 – Charlotte Day and Kirrily Hammond
- Collector’s Corner presents a series of conversations with avid art collectors, searching for the rich stories and ideas that are woven into their incredible (and enviable!) collections. The collectors we chat with show a boundless support of contemporary art, with their ever-growing enthusiasm entwined with the story and artists of Arts Project Australia. For Collector's Corner #6 we caught up Charlotte Day, Director of Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA). Charlotte was previously an Associate Curator at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art and part of the curatorium who worked on the Michael Buxton Collection of Australian Art. She's a passionate supporter of the speculative and experimental in art and sees her role as being to bring people, art and ideas together. Charlotte interested in ways art collections can be activated and shared and how we can work with art in the public realm. Not to mention she also curated the group exhibition Let's Dance at Arts Project in 2017. We also talk with Kirrily Hammond who works alongside Charlotte as the Collection Manager at MUMA, as well as being a practicing artist. She was previously employed at Canberra Museum and Gallery, Megalo Print Workshop, Canberra, and the National Gallery of Victoria. She has a Curatorial Masters Degree at the University of Melbourne and a Diploma of Law through the Institute of Art & Law, UK. As Collection Manager at MUMA, Kirrily oversees the installation of art across the various Monash University campuses. Together, the pair have an incredible amount of collecting and artistic wisdom, both from their professional perspectives, as well as acute personal insights. Have a read as they discuss their art epiphanies, working with artists from Callum Morton to Bianca Hester, and the importance of story-telling and personality when collecting artwork. "I WAS VERY EXCITED THAT WORKS BY FULLI ANDRINOPOULOS WERE RECENTLY ACQUIRED FOR THE MONASH UNIVERSITY COLLECTION. I’VE BEEN A FAN OF HER RICHLY COLOURFUL DRAWINGS FOR QUITE A FEW YEARS..." FULLI ANDRINOPOULOS, NOT TITLED, 2015, INK ON PAPER, 11 X 14 CM. - We're curious as to how you first became interested in art? Did you have an art epiphany for instance? Charlotte: I grew up going to galleries but my first love was the old Melbourne Museum’s dioramas which I thought were absolutely magical. When I was ten my family went on a whirlwind tour of Europe and we visited a lot of museums. After university, I went again and I think it was these trips that really cemented my love of museums. I came back and enrolled in the Post Graduate Diploma in Art Curating, as it was then called at the University of Melbourne. This was a new course, and at the time I was unaware that it was actually one of the first of its kind in the world. It provided a broad overview of the museum profession but through it I interned at 200 Gertrude Street where I got to meet artists and get closer to contemporary practice. It wasn’t until I worked on the Michael Buxton Collection, in the late 2000s, that I became involved in an art collection. Kirrily: I guess it’s apt that a very early art epiphany happened while I attended a catholic primary school in New South Wales, where the other kids always asked me to draw Jesus for them! It made me realise not everyone had a natural predilection for drawing. Throughout my career working in museums and galleries, I’ve always gravitated towards caring for collections – I love working with objects and I feel pretty lucky to see how a wide range of artists approach their practice. Monash University Museum of Art Collection contains an incredible selection of works. How would you describe your approach to collecting art for MUMA? What decisions and processes come into play when selecting work on behalf of an institution? Charlotte: When I first came to MUMA I undertook a review of the collection to test the assumptions made about it. We looked at the collection from many different angles: gender, generational, media, subject, topicality etc, and made decisions on what to prioritise accordingly to build up representations and fill certain gaps. This makes the process sound scientific and I do like to have a collecting plan! That being said it is also important to allow for spontaneity and to be able to be responsive to what artists make and in doing that you may not be able to predict. Kirrily: First and foremost, I think the work has to be compelling, and it should be an excellent example of the artist’s practice. In terms of the Monash University Collection, the focus is on Australian contemporary art, so it’s important to be aware of what artists are doing – from studios, artist run spaces, commercial spaces to larger institutions and everything in between! CATHY STAUGHTON, LADY ARTS PAINT PAGE, 2017, WORK ON PAPER, 50 X 49.5 CM. - You both collect art in your personal lives, as well as in your roles at MUMA. What do you love about collecting art and what compels you to collect and keep collecting? Charlotte: I think Kirrily might be more of a collector than I am! The artworks I do have are mostly connected to exhibitions or projects that I have been involved in. When I was an undergraduate student I did acquire two postcard sized artworks by Tony Clark that I am still very fond of. Most recently I acquired a 2D work by Alex Martinis Roe for my daughter. Kirrily: The works that I own were mostly collected due to a personal connection to the artist - whether it’s a swap, or I’ve purchased a friend’s work, or the artist is pursuing similar interests to my own through their practice. Surrounding myself with these works is rejuvenating and inspiring. Is there a particular artwork or artist that you’ve been most excited to collect? Whether in your roles at MUMA or personally? Kirrily: Late last year I oversaw the installation of Kulata Tjuta (2012-14), a significant installation of 277 spears suspended from the ceiling in the university’s main library at the Clayton campus. This is a compelling work that was created by artists from the Tjala Arts centre in the community of Amata in South Australia. Charlotte: A number of years ago I was involved in the collecting of Simryn Gill’s Throwback - Remade internal systems from a model 1313 Tata truck, circa 1985. (2007) for the Michael Buxton Collection. It's an ambitious work that is also rife with inherent vice. So when it was acquired, it was a real sign of the Collections' support for challenging work. At MUMA, in recent years we have focused on work by Indigenous artists with the Kulata - that Kirrily has mentioned - as being one of our most significant acquisitions. We are currently working on a public art project with artist Megan Cope that incorporates languages and sharing of knowledge that we are excited about. A few years back we acquired an instructional performative work by George Egerton Warburton that heralded a new collecting direction for the Monash University Collection. Do you have a memorable art-related experience or moment? Either as a curator, artist or collector? Charlotte: I have so many! Setting up Callum Morton’s three-quarter scale version of his family home as a ruin at the Venice Biennale was thrilling. Working with Bianca Hester on her installation at ACCA, which changed every day across the course of the exhibition, was challenging and liberating. When I first came to MUMA I invited Fiona Connor to make a responsive work to the university context and she made a great project that connected the museum to the collection, the architecture of Monash and the history of display. I have to mention too, Stuart Ringholt’s nude disco which had a profound effect on the museum and its audiences. These are just a few…What I like about MUMA is that it's a museum space with climate control etc, so we are able to loan really significant works to exhibit but it also has the quality of a project space in which we can commission new work and build in situ – hopefully we can maintain a useful tension between these two approaches. Kirrily: In 2005 I undertook an extended period of research in the British Museum’s prints and drawings study room, with open access to a mind-boggling collection, there were many amazing things to study. Leafing through Bellini’s sketch book from the mid-1400s was one highlight. At MUMA we have many school groups visit behind-the-scenes: to be able to facilitate viewing works from the collection and see the looks of wonder on students’ faces is pretty special. What was your first encounter with Arts Project and when did you first start to become interested in artwork by our artists? Charlotte: I think it was Ricky Swallow's involvement with Arts Project, as well as my own interest in a number of the artists that drew me to visit the first time. Arts Project does such a great job of promoting artists and creating opportunities for them to connect with other artists. Kirrily: I was very aware of Arts Project for some time before I had the opportunity to delve deeper into the archive whilst curating an exhibition for them in 2013. It was such an inspiring experience to be surrounded by such a rich collection of work and be in the vicinity of some truly prolific artists. "CHRIS MASON’S NUDE YOGA CERAMICS ARE PRETTY SPECIAL..." CHRIS MASON, RECLINING NUDE, 2015, CERAMIC, 19.5 X 35.5 X 42 CM. - Can you talk about the artworks you have collected from Arts Project? We know you’ve collected works personally, but there was also an exciting recent addition to MUMA’s collection… Kirrily: I was very excited that works by Fulli Andrinopoulos were recently acquired for the Monash University Collection. I’ve been a fan of her richly colourful drawings for quite a few years and being able to acquire a significant group and then immediately put them on display at the university was immensely satisfying. If you were to purchase another Arts Project artwork right now, which artist would you look at and why? Charlotte: A number of Art Project artists’ work is inspired by science fiction and outer space – I’m drawn to those subjects and imaginative spaces! I really like Cathy Staughton’s work, also Chris Mason’s nude yoga ceramics are pretty special too. Kirrily: The drawings and paintings of Warren O’Brien and Rebecca Scibilia are wonderful. WARREN O’BRIEN, NOT TITLED, 2018, WORK ON PAPER, 38 X 56 CM. - And finally, what pearls of wisdom have you learnt about collecting – both from a gallery perspective and as a personal collector? Charlotte: The collections I like the best have personality and stories that connect to them. They follow particular passions or threads and go deep into practice. Kirrily: Avoid collector’s regret – if it’s possible to acquire a work that you are particularly drawn to, go for it - the opportunity doesn’t usually happen twice! This is Arts Project Australia’s fifth edition of Collector’s Corner. Have a read of Collector’s Corner #1 with Clive Scott, Manager of Sofitel Melbourne; Collector’s Corner #2 with Abi Crompton, founder and director of Third Drawer Down; Collector's Corner #3 with Kim Butterworth and Graham Meadowcroft, publishers of Art Guide Australia; Collector's Corner #4 with artist Ricky Swallow; and Collector's Corner #5 with artist Sassy Park. Stay tuned for further editions and feel free to gander through our art collections, as well as find out more about Arts Project Australia’s artists and art. "THE DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS OF WARREN O’BRIEN AND REBECCA SCIBILIA ARE WONDERFUL." REBECCA SCIBILIA, THE ROYAL WEDDING, 2018, TEXTA ON PAPER, 35 X 50 CM.
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Collector’s Corner #5 – Sassy Park
SASSY PARK IN HER SYDNEY HOME. PHOTO BY OTTO SCHWERDTFEGER. -- Collector’s Corner presents a series of conversations with avid art collectors, searching for the rich stories and ideas that are woven into their incredible (and enviable!) collections. The collectors we chat with show a boundless support of contemporary art, with their ever-growing enthusiasm entwined with the story and artists of Arts Project Australia. For Collector's Corner #5 we caught up with artist Sassy Park. Based in Sydney, Park is currently completing a Masters in ceramics at the National Art School, having previously studied painting at Sydney College of the Arts. Between working at various galleries in Australia and overseas before starting her Masters, she eventually found herself at Darren Knight Gallery in Sydney, where she first became acquainted with Arts Project Australia. Through Darren Knight's philosophy and approach to art and artists, Park found a great match to her own ideas. Her time at the gallery allowed her to meet and find out about a wide range of art practices and practitioners. Arts Project became one of these areas of interest, with new artists to follow and new artwork to engage with. Nowadays, When she's not creating or studying, Sassy spends time with her partner Karl and their three children (not to mention the chickens and cats!). Have a read of our interview with Sassy, where she delves into the intuition behind collecting, how her daughter inspires her practice and why "looking at art is like falling in love." "A life-size ceramic typewriter and script describing a ‘harrowing disaster at Summer Bay’ from the TV soap. It is a masterpiece..." Lisa Reid, TA Adler Contessa 2, 2016, ceramic, 14 x 33 x 33 cm. - We're curious as to how you first became interested in art? Did you have an art epiphany for instance? I grew up in a regional town in Queensland, a bit bereft of cultural pursuits, but perhaps that made it all the more exciting to seek out and buy my first artwork at about 16 years of age from the only commercial gallery in town. My parents, unconventionally for the times, encouraged me to go on to art school, although my father warned me about the boys, having briefly been an art student himself in London. From this background I’ve always loved all aspects of art; the making, thinking, looking, curating, collecting, caring for art and advocating for artists. How would you describe your approach to collecting art? Do you think being an artist yourself influences the pieces you collect? Collecting art is a compulsive pursuit, like any other form of collecting. However, I have always thought that it is far more enriching buying an artwork than say, a pair of shoes. I still use this judgement when I think of spending on something—what would I rather have? This is much easier now as I've taken to wearing Birkenstocks, which leaves even more in the art budget. I am constantly amazed when I walk into people’s houses with barren walls lacking any form of visual stimulus. I suppose I have a need to be surrounded by all the things I love, which includes art. Being an artist maybe makes me more confident about what I think is great and rewarding. I’m also interested in what other artists buy and collect as a reflection and insight into their own work. What do you love about collecting art and what compels you to collect and keep collecting? Being surrounded by and living with art keeps me collecting. Obviously this can become problematic with diminishing wall and shelf space. I do rehang and rearrange occasionally, which is like having a mini curatorial project in your own home. Looking at art is like falling in love. When an artwork hits you, there is a rush of excitement and an impulse to keep it near to you. You keep them in your heart and head as well as on the wall. It’s a continuous dialogue. You think about the beauty and the ideas that arise out of the work, the ideas of the artist, what were they thinking about, how did they go about making it. "More pieces by Ruth Howard would be a goal..." Ruth Howard, Not titled, 2011. ceramic, 14.5 x 9.5 x 9.5 cm. - Generally speaking, which contemporary artist do you most admire and why? Visiting museums and galleries wherever I go has excited and inspired me, but then I am equally in awe of my own children’s artwork: seeing what comes from their imaginations. I was profoundly impressed when my daughter, Lotte, first started making ceramics at the age of eight; how had she combined the two-dimensional painting with the three-dimensional form? She really started me on my pathway in ceramics. Also, artists that show some vulnerability in their work, or come from a personal place, further interest me. Noel McKenna is one such artist, as well as a friend. I continue to admire and fall for his work: the artist and the work are mutually exclusive but also bound up in one another. Do you have a memorable art-related experience or moment? Either as an artist or a collector? After working in galleries, I now really enjoy putting people in touch with pieces that they end up loving and buying. This reinforces my convictions about the meaning and purpose of art as an integral part of life. In recent years, I have had the experience of people responding to my own work. It feels like the tables have turned when I am on the receiving end. It’s a wonderful feeling to receive feedback because as an artist you are embedded in the relationship with the art object. To see them out in the world and having a life of their own is quite strange. Maybe they take a little part of me with them. What was your first encounter with Arts Project and when did you first start to become interested in artwork by our artists? I think I first saw Arts Project artists at Peter Fay’s travelling exhibition Home Sweet Home in 2007, as well as encountering the ceramics of Alan Constable. The work was immediately intriguing and compelling to me. Then it was exciting to following up the artists, visiting Melbourne, and seeing Arts Project exhibitions, as well as representation at art fairs and wider group shows. I try and visit when I come to Melbourne and have curated a show in Sydney with Arts Project artists, Lisa Reid and Alan Constable. I’ve always come away from my contact with Arts Project deeply impressed with their philosophy and passion. "Alan Constable’s cameras work grouped or solo, and I like the connection to ceramics and photography, reflecting my and Karl’s careers." Alan Constable, Not titled, 2016, ceramic, 13 x 18 x 13 cm. - Can you talk about the artworks you have collected from Arts Project? Is there a pride of place where they sit or hang? I like the idea of the mantlepiece as a central focus for the display of objects in the home. This is an area I often arrange with pieces such as Ruth Howard’s Pile or Alan Constable’s cameras. Alan Constable’s cameras work grouped or solo, and I like the connection to ceramics and photography, reflecting my and Karl’s careers. I was thrilled when Karl became enamoured with one of Chris Mason’s ladies, which now sits pride of place on the bookshelf next to the mantlepiece. I also have Lisa Reid’s work TA Adler Contessa 2, a life-size ceramic typewriter and script describing a ‘harrowing disaster at Summer Bay’ from the TV soap. It is a masterpiece but I need a larger area to display it! If you were to purchase another Arts Project artwork right now, which artist would you look at and why? I just realised I have collected solely ceramic sculptures from Arts Project artists, which I suppose is unsurprising. I am always interested in what clay can do. More pieces by Lisa Reid and Ruth Howard would be a goal, and I've seen some shoes Lisa made which I think are great. I like Ruth Howard’s paintings and Alan Constable’s drawings too. I’ve always enjoyed the strong graphic colours of Julian Martin’s pastel drawings and the immediacy of Boris Cipusev’s pen drawings. I am also drawn to works based on contemporary pop culture, which several of the artists make their subject matter. And finally, what pearls of wisdom would you give a first-time collector? Don’t be afraid to go with a gut instinct. It’s worth recognising when something has connected with you, maybe deeply or even superficially, that it is something special. Also buy what you like and what you can afford as this provides the longest enjoyment of an art collection. This is Arts Project Australia’s fifth edition of Collector’s Corner. Have a read of Collector’s Corner #1 with Clive Scott, Manager of Sofitel Melbourne; Collector’s Corner #2 with Abi Crompton, founder and director of Third Drawer Down; Collector's Corner #3 with Kim Butterworth and Graham Meadowcroft, publishers of Art Guide Australia; and Collector's Corner #4 with artist Ricky Swallow. Stay tuned for further editions and feel free to gander through our art collections, as well as find out more about Arts Project Australia’s artists and art.
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Collector’s Corner #4 – Ricky Swallow
Ricky Swallow. Photo by Aya Muto. - Collector’s Corner presents a series of conversations with avid art collectors, searching for the rich stories and ideas that are woven into their incredible (and enviable!) collections. The collectors we chat with show a boundless support of contemporary art, with their ever-growing enthusiasm entwined with the story and artists of Arts Project Australia. For Collector's Corner #4 we caught up with Ricky Swallow, a renowned artist who works primarily in sculpture. Raised in San Remo, and now living and working in Los Angeles for the past 15 years, Swallow initially studied at the Victorian College of the Arts, living and working as an exhibiting artist in Melbourne in the late 90s and early 2000s (during this time he was associated with artist-run initiatives Grey Area Art Space and Rubik, and had a very productive two-year residency at Gertrude Contemporary). These days he shares home-life, and a studio, with his wife Lesley Vance and their young son. As Ricky says, "Lesley is a amazing painter and it’s great to be around such unwavering dedication like that. I think together we’ve made sense of our roles as artists." Ricky has long been a great supporter and friend of Arts Project's and in 2016 he curated a sell-out show of Terry William's soft sculptures at New York's White Columns. Read below as Ricky tells us about how he encountered Arts Project, how collecting art can tell us things about ourselves and how being an artist is somewhat akin to the act of a cat pooping! "Really precious ceramics..." Terry Williams, Not titled, 2009, ceramic, 8 x 6 x 3 cm. - - Could you tell us about when you first met Arts Project Australia? That’s tricky because I was aware of Arts Projects when I lived in Melbourne—via a guest lecturer at Victorian College of the Arts—but it wasn’t something I was really looking into at that stage. When Alex Baker was a curator at the National Gallery of Victoria we became friends through a show I did in 2009, and he started putting certain artists from Arts Project onto my radar, via his enthusiasm and the projects he was planning with you guys. Alex eventually went to Fleisher/Ollman in Philly (John Ollman, the owner of Fleisher/Ollman, is obviously legendary in the field of self taught art and a lightning rod in putting so much of it into the culture here in the states), and perhaps since Alex has been there I’ve been able to see certain things that made me realise I needed to take a closer look. I visited Arts Project in 2013 and again in 2014 and at that point I was starting to talk to Sim (Arts Project Manager and Curator) about projects I wanted to curate and also collecting a few artists... And then somewhere in the middle was the small show I organised for South Willard of Alan Constable’s camera sculptures! _ We're curious as to how you first became interested in art? Did you have an art epiphany for instance? I’m not sure if you mean collecting art or making art? My grandfather on my mothers side was a huge factor—a real Bricoleur and Sunday painter—along with my grandparents who collected small things (more like crafts and small sculptural souvenirs from travel), and that was actually the first instance of being exposed to collecting, curating and also displaying I think... My grandfather posed this question, "What is the artists role? What do they do?” As a kid I answered I wasn’t sure. So he said, “What does the cat do when he climbs my fence at night and shits in my garden? What is he doing?" My grandfather answered, “He’s leaving his mark, and that’s what artists do. Leave their mark.” It's still the best explanation anyone has offered me perhaps! "There's something very aggressive and also very generous to the images and language he's building. It's asking a bunch of interesting questions about the very nature of picture making, I think." Samraing Chea, Universal vision of the Entire Space, 2015, pencil on paper, 18 x 19 cm. _ _ How would you describe your approach to collecting art? Do you think being an artist influences the pieces you collect? I think my approach is basically to try and be true and trusted in your attraction to an artwork. It’s hard to turn off outside influence or a kind of ambient buzz toward certain things, but that’s collecting for the wrong reasons. Being an artist and being married to an artist obviously effects things. What I’ve learnt is that living with a great or mysterious artwork can be very generative—certain artworks can literally cause the creation of a certain work in one's own practice, or present a problem-solving mechanism—a freedom, or perhaps a dose of colors that you yourself would not normally permit into your practice. So collecting is not just about amplifying an interior or seeming to have a certain taste. It’s part of a bigger creative process. - What do you love about collecting art and what compels you to collect and keep collecting? At a really basic level I love waking up and looking at this stuff, or coming home from the studio to artworks which now seem like permanent fixtures in our house (we hang very little, if any, of our own artworks at home). There’s also an addiction or habit to it—to try and collect a perfect grouping of one artist in which each piece is either in synchronicity, or tells you one specific thing about the artist, or how it can be a diverse group which signals different worlds of interest for the artist. There’s always an artist you haven’t been exposed to and sometimes I like how the juxtaposition of different works creates an unexpected connection. This is something that’s obviously not accidental, but it’s interesting how it occurs. What we collect can tell us a lot about ourselves, I think—I’m always shocked and a little suspicious of those with no collecting habits! - Generally speaking, which contemporary artist do you most admire and why? That's really impossible to pin down! What has been nice through a few curatorial projects I've done is getting to know artists with multiple decades of working under their belt—there's something deep there to admire in just persisting as an artist and walking into a room for 40-50 years every day and setting to work with materials and contributing to the world of objects in such a specific way—finding your own way of doing things and not compromising and getting through some sleepy decades without losing faith. Ron Nagle is an artist I really admire in this regard and also Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, both of whom I'm happy to count as friends too. From these artists I've learnt a great deal about stubbornness and the importance of humour as necessities to always keep moving things forward—and the powerful authority of the domestically scaled object! - Part of Ricky's Arts Project Collection. Alan Constable, Not titled, 2010, ceramic, 14.5 x 29 x 12.5 cm. - Can you describe your best art experience for us? I can describe a recent one that's really fascinating to witness, and that's our son's recent awakening, or daily commitment, to drawing and mark making. He's four now and I feel like it's been important for me to always put materials in front of him—things like sculptural-drawing and painting tools. It's really been in the last couple of months that he's started making drawings which follow some strange internal logic—a world I just could never access. And when he's making them he's really in the zone and I like to just step back and watch it happen. It's not even as simple as this, as if it's just a middle earth between abstraction and figurative logic creeping in. It's a weirder place than that and I have this feeling it's a small window of image making that is momentary and important. - When did you first hear about Arts Project and first encounter artwork by our artists? It's hard to pin point the actual time of the encounter. I want to say in my early 20's when the collector Peter Fay from Sydney was showing me his collection—he had been collecting works from Arts Project that he was excited about. And I mentioned Alex baker already, who connected me more specifically to some of your artists. But perhaps the most meaningful encounter was visiting in 2013 because that was a full tour with time to really see the facilities, meet some of the artists and actually handle and experience the works close up. I think I left with a box of works to bring back to LA! - Tell us about the artworks you've collected from Arts Project. Is there a pride of place where they sit or hang? On our fireplace mantle we have a pair of smaller cameras by Alan Constable, a group of really precious ceramics by Terry Williams and a series of small ceramic stacks by Ruth Howard. So it's specific in that it's one row of objects entirely from Arts Project. There was a ceramic by Alice Mackler with them, but that's recently been moved. The stacks by Ruth are of specific personal appeal because they were something that Lesley really responded to when we visited again in 2014. I'm more of the accumulator in general, so when Les takes the lead it's always exciting and very specific, and I think from a painterly perspective she thought they were great—kind of perfectly resolved still-life-type objects. When you look at them you can kind of participate in their making in your mind, or understand some kind of necessity to their building gesture. - "When you look at them you can kind of participate in their making in your mind, or understand some kind of necessity to their building gesture." Ruth Howard, Not titled, 2013, ceramic, 10 x 12 x 10 cm. - - If you were to purchase another Arts Project artwork right now, which artist would you look at and why? A good question because I literally just purchased a work in the recent week! It was a drawing of Samraing Chea from the show at ReadingRoom, curated by Matlok Griffiths and Rob McHaffie. I had a group of Samraing’s pieces after finding the work via Matlok a couple of years back, as he had collected a couple of drawings. But to see the new ones was kind of amazing as I feel like some of the narratives had become less like isolated worlds and more of a mirror or visual response to current political turmoils. So the drawing I chose of Samraing's adds a very different element to the small collection I now have. There's something very aggressive and also very generous to the images and language he's building. It's asking a bunch of interesting questions about the very nature of picture making. - And finally, what pearls of wisdom would you give a first-time collector? If an artist tells you you should check out another artists work, it normally means you really should check it out. Think about collecting not just as attaining or owning something great, but also (in most cases) putting resources back into the hands of the artist that created the thing. Try to hold out for the thing that really resonates with you. Main meal stuff, and less snacking. - This is Arts Project Australia’s fourth edition of Collector’s Corner. Have a read of Collector’s Corner #1 with Clive Scott, Manager of Sofitel Melbourne; Collector’s Corner #2 with Abi Crompton, founder and director of Third Drawer Down; and Collector's Corner #3 with Kim Butterworth and Graham Meadowcroft, publishers of Art Guide Australia. Stay tuned for further editions and feel free to gander through our art collections, as well as find out more about Arts Project Australia’s artists and art.
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Artist Spotlight: Bronwyn Hack
Artist Bronwyn Hack in the Arts Project studio. Bronwyn Hack’s artwork hints toward melodrama, fictionalised scenes, tactile creations and bodily formations. In recent years her work has been characterised by an interest in animals (particularly wild and domestic dogs) and an avid preoccupation with bones, as well as the observable and hidden parts of the human body. Having worked from the Arts Project studio since 2011, Hack is becoming known for her multi-faceted practice which spans sculpture, painting, printmaking, ceramics and 3D art. At the centre of this practice sits her recent soft sculpture works that reinterpret singular elements of the body. “I’ve always been interested in the body,” explains Hack. “I’m interested in the different shapes and all the body parts and where they go.” Hack has been regularly exhibiting her soft sculpture, with her two-part work The Body Piece currently showing at Bundoora Homestead Art Centre. Shortlisted for the Darebin Art Prize, the sculpture faithfully depicts reinterpretations of male and female private parts. Bronwyn Hack, 2017, The Body Piece, soft sculpture. Image courtesy of Darebin Art Award and Bundoora Homestead Art Centre. Hack was also one of five Arts Project artists curated by Anthony Fitzpatrick, curator at Tarrawarra Museum of Art, into the group exhibition Faraway, so close. During the show, which took place towards the end of last year, Hack worked in close collaboration with Gosia Wlodarczak and Terry Williams to create A Room of Haptic Knowledge. Hack’s contribution was a series of body parts including eyes, lips, intestines and a brain. Faraway, so close - installation image. Bronwyn Hack soft sculpture along Gosia Wlodarczak drawings. Photo by Kate Longley. Now 2018 is promising to be an even more fruitful year for the artist. Her printmaking work is appearing in group exhibition Under Pressure (opening this Saturday 3 February) and her artist zines will be on display, and available for purchase, at the upcoming Festival of the Photocopier Zine Fair on Sunday 11 February. Not to mention in June this year Hack will commence a residency at the Australian Tapestry Workshop, where she’ll continue work on her soft sculpture body pieces. This transformation marks an acute development from Hack’s earlier work, which often focused on scenes of attraction featuring fictionalised characters and personas drawn from her imagination. When asked about her process and her move towards soft sculpture and body-based works, Hack explains how she often decides every Monday what she will create for the rest of the week. “I get ideas from the internet, books and what I see and I’m looking at body photos” she says. “I just know what to do when I’m doing it, and what colour and shape to use.” Our Artist Spotlight series highlights the practice and ideas of Arts Project studio artists - stay tuned for more spotlights! Bronwyn Hack working alongside Gosia Wlodarczak and Terry Williams for 'A Room of Haptic Knowledge' as part of 2017 exhibition 'Faraway, so close'. Photo by Kate Longley.
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Collector’s Corner #2 – Abi Crompton
AA Collector’s Corner presents a series of conversations with avid art collectors, searching for the rich stories and ideas that are woven into their incredible (and enviable!) collections. The collectors we chat with show a boundless support of contemporary art, with their ever-growing enthusiasm entwined with the story and artists of Arts Project Australia. For our second edition of Collector's Corner we caught up with Abi Crompton, founder and Director of Third Drawer Down. Established in 2003, Third Drawer Down is an innovative company that specialises in creating limited edition art products, featuring the works of Australian and international artists and designers (think Ai Wei Wei, David Shrigley, Jon Campbell and Frances Cannon among many others). We recently had the great fortune of collaborating with Third Drawer Down (alongside the National Gallery of Victoria) to produce Australiana: a series of merchandise featuring the work of Arts Project artists, creating everything from Sidney Nolan-inspired hip flasks to Hey Hey It's Saturday! cooler bags. Read below as Abi tells us about her current "art crushes", collaborating with Louise Bourgeois and how collecting is about the personal connections she makes with artists and art... Abi Crompton posing as a banana for Arts Project's 2014 exhibition 6 Degrees of Separation. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Can you tell us about how you first met Arts Project Australia? I was introduced to Arts Project when Bronwyn Johnson was the Director of Melbourne Art Fair, and she told me I should buy an Alan Constable camera. I went to the Arts Project stand and fell in love. Later, while eating sushi on the stairs at the Melbourne Art Fair and pining over how I could collaborate with Arts Project, I somehow happened to be sitting next to Sue Roff who was stuffing envelopes. We started to chat and an art-love affair began! We're curious as to how you first became interested in art? And how did this interest link with founding Third Drawer Down? I become interested in art while studying psychology in my early twenties. I completed this degree and then put together a portfolio and studied fine art for five years, as I realised I was more 'left brain' than 'right brain'. I do feel like I use all parts of my brain now though, especially as working with artists to develop objects requires empathy, understanding and creative processes. How would you describe your approach to collecting art? Or, even better, what kind of collector are you? I collect art the same way I work with artists: visual impulse and appreciation of an artist's values. My collection is mainly based upon the artists I have a relationship with, as their story is apart of my story, and the story of Third Drawer Down. Generally speaking, which contemporary artists do you most admire and why? Is there someone in particular who’d be your dream to collaborate with one day? I have so many artists I admire. If I had to pick them today, I'd say David Shrigley, Yayoi Kusama and Guerrilla Girls. All of them have their own unique way of communicating the currency of our current times. It's the 'right now', either through politics, humour or beauty. My dream collaborations include Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger and Kerry James-Marshall. Can you describe your best art experience for us? Or perhaps a great Third Drawer Down moment? My favourite collaborations... hmm. Well, there are a few and they all carry amazing stories as I've met such remarkable people through collaborating with them. While I have told this following story a few times, it still remains vividly in my mind: I have always had a major “art crush” on Louise Bourgeois and a few years ago Tate in London invited me to meet and discuss working together on projects. The day before the meeting, I walked around Tate with my notebook listing all the artists I have dreamed of working with: quite a list if I don’t say so myself! So there I was, sitting in the meeting the following day and the Tate opened the dialogue with the forthcoming Louise Bourgeois project, and I jumped in head first, telling them about my list of artists and my personal list being headed by Louise Bourgeois. My meeting folk looked at each other and slid a folder across the table, saying, ‘”Well Abi, it is Louise Bourgeois we want you to work with!” How is that! I was so buzzed out, she so rocks my world and I couldn’t believe my fate in this scenario. This was the first major project with a museum and the beginning of the Third Drawer Down Studio. During the fantastic project, I met Louise while in New York and she signed the prototype handkerchief we were developing. It reads: “I HAVE BEEN TO HELL AND BACK. AND LET ME TELL YOU IT WAS WONDERFUL”. Describe the artworks you have collected from Arts Project. Is there a pride of place where they sit or hang? I have collected works by Paul Hodges, Lisa Reid, Terry Williams, Alan Constable, Patrick Francis and Peter Cave. They are the proudest artworks I have in our home and they take over the entrance hall and lounge room. My most cherished is the painting Peter Cave created of me dancing in a banana suit! In 140 characters or less, distil for us what it is you like about being a collector and friend of Arts Project? I love everything Arts Project stands for – the artists and the team that make the magic happen, and the community that supports this. It's more family than organisation. If you were to purchase another Arts Project artwork right now, which artist would you look at and why? I would buy more Laura Sheehan. Her recent solo exhibition at Arts Project was so wonderful. Her lively, colourful and whimsical paintings of soft-toys-pastiche rocked my world. We were fighting over them at work when the invite was sent! And finally, what pearls of wisdom would you give a first-time collector? Buy from the heart. Art should be about your experience to it, not what others tell you to feel. This is Arts Project Australia’s second edition of Collector’s Corner. Have a read of our first edition with Sofitel Melbourne Manager Clive Scott. Stay tuned for further editions (coming very soon!) and feel free to gander through our art collections, as well as find out more about Arts Project Australia’s artists and art. "My most cherished is the painting peter cave created of me dancing in a banana suit." Peter Cave, Abi in a banana suit, 2013, work on paper, 76 x 56 cm. Artist Peter CAVE creating his Abi-Crompton-Banana masterpiece. "Her recent solo exhibition at arts project was so wonderful. her lively, colourful and whimsical paintings of soft-toys-pastiche rocked my world." Laura Sheehan, The song til the end, 2015, work on paper, 39.5 x 54 cm. AA Another one from Abi's collection: Lisa Reid, The Kylie collection, 2003, work on paper, 34 x 28.5 cm.
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Artist Spotlight: Bobby Kyriakopoulos
Bobby Kyriakopoulos is both a painter and digital artist whose work traverses the scenes of carnivals and public events, underwater and above-water landscapes, cultural appropriation and an interest in film scenes, particularly the blockbuster-heroic-male - which often contains anxious undertones. Figures such as Wonderwoman, historical persons and characters of action and thriller films (think Men In Black and Star Wars) often feature in Kyriakopoulos' paintings, while at other moment Kyriakopoulos portrays the frenzy of the crowd amid a rollercoaster or car race; scenes which are near-claustrophobic in their over-population and energy. Many of Kyriakopoulos' works contain a feel of impending action, of the event-still-to-come, which is accentuated by his tendency to highlight the positive and negative spaces between image and ground. In his art practice, Kyriakopoulos often favours watercolour or gouache which are meticulously applied. Yet despite the deliberateness of Kyriakopoulos' paintings, the also retain a gestural quality and a sense of movement. Born in 1990, Kyriakopoulos has worked in the Arts Project Australia studio since 2011 and has been included in numerous group exhibitions including ‘Well Red’, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney; ‘Melbourne Now’, NGV International, Melbourne; and ‘SMALLWORKS 2014 Art Prize’, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy. His work is held in the National Gallery of Victoria’s collection. You can see Kyriakopoulos work below, or else head to our shop to pick up an original Kyriakopoulos.
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The Natural Way Interview #3 – Daniel Richardson
For the exhibition The Natural Way — a show which focuses on the individual practices and thoughts of art creation — curator Elyss McCleary spoke with each artist about their process and practice. The following interview is with Daniel Richardson who creates collage works, replicating various images as well as his own image. Elyss and Daniel talked together during the installation of The Natural Way. - Elyss McCleary: I'd like to ask you about some of the selected works from your practice in this show. We are currently installing it still, what do you think? - Daniel Richardson: I like it cause I'm going forward in the future. -- EM: Can we talk about these framed works on the back wall, featuring a variety of different personalities, overlaid with your drawings? -- DR: That's showing before the 1950s. Victoria Allen Richardson fell in love with Dr. David Thomas Richardson. She is a timelord. This is other one is Matt Smith's wife. -- EM: How about this one here? -- DR: That's Dr. Daniel Johnno Richardson - he' s really me in 2049, it's the new future! -- EM: What materials do you like using in the studio? = DR: The paint texta is my favourite. I like collage and I start early in the day. = EM: I noticed in the studio you like to set up your work space in a certain way with research materials, do you enjoy starting like that? = DR: I like images a lot. I like a lot of new piles of work - it is good for some reason for me. I do everything, that's right. = The Natural Way ends 23 November.
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The Natural Way Interview #1 and #2 – Robin Warren & Danny Lyons
For the exhibition The Natural Way — a show which focusses on the individual practices and thoughts of art creation — curator Elyss McCleary spoke with each artist about their process and practice. The following interviews are with Robin Warren – whose gentle yet assured abstract works conjure explorations into colour and layered compositions — and Danny Lyons, who continuously inserts himself into various pop culture scenes in digital works that draw upon internet culture. Interview #1 - Robin Warren - Elyss McCleary: Im going to start of the interview as I have with all the artists involved in this exhibition with a question about you and an action. Was there a time you remember that you first thought I want to make an image of what I see? Robin Warren: I've done representational things, but have sometimes explored an idea just to see what happens. I was pretty good at art in high school, and have been layering things recently. EM: What was it like in the studio in Perth where you made your formative body of work? RW: I went to TAFE and made a lot of work. I heard about Arts project in Melbourne and moved here, first to Preston to be near the studio, then house sitting Hampton, and then finally back near Arts Project. EM: Did you always have a close understanding of colour? RW: My favourite colours are blue and orange, but I use all the colours. EM: How do you like to begin a work? RW: I start in the centre and then work outwards. EM: Has moving to Melbourne and being part of a large collective of artists here at Arts Project influenced or changed the way you work? RW: The textas and materials have made a change in my work — it's where the blending happens. EM: Is there anyone or a few artists that you admire or have had a strong positive impact on your practice? RW: I've always thought music had an influence more than visual arts, in particular the band CREAM. But if I did have to choose an artist of influence it would be Salvador Dali. Interview #2 - Danny Lyons - Elyss McCleary: The works featured in The Natural Way are photos you have made with collage that have yourself pictured performing in them. When did you start making this series? Danny Lyons: I started in 2017. James got me interested in the idea through my I love music. I love music, I love movies and the idea of doing photography has given me the opportunity to express my ideas and about how I feel about it. EM: I'm interested in how you set up these scenarios for the photoshoot? DL: I come to Penny with the ideas in my head, I tell her what the ideas is, and we find ways to transfer it into an image. We put it up and we show everyone. I'm still in the process of evening things out. EM: Do you prepare your set and outfits? DL: Some costumes I've got at home, and some I had to photoshop off the computer with the help of Eden Menta — one of the artists that works here. She helped me paint my face like Robbie Williams from the Let Me Entertain you clips, which was one one of the first ones I did two years ago. EM: Great! Is it fun to do that? DL: I get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Some of the things are funny and happy, like pretending to be Rocky Balboa boxing and Rambo cause I'm a fan of Sylvester Stallone. I find a picture I really like and interests me, and I try to do the poses to match the picture. EM: Tell me about these footy photographs. DL: I'm a big fan of Essendon. I have been since I was little. I always want to see them playing well either in person or on TV. And we came close to the season just gone. It's been almost 20 years since we won a premiership and I'd love to see that happen one day. The picture of Joe Danahoe and me in the coaches box and the press conference — it captures where they go and talk about the game, their thoughts on how well they played what they did right and what they did wrong, and what they hope to improve and make it better, and the steps it takes to win the grand final. EM: How about the image of you and ET, what brought you to create this? DL: Well, I just love the ET movie and I've loved it for so many years. It was the first movie I ever saw growing up and I reckon it's the best work Steven Spielberg has ever done. It was a beautiful friendship, and there were so many people that wanted to be in the picture with ET. I put myself in the picture so now I can be part of the picture too with ET. I really enjoyed doing that.
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Collector’s Corner #6 – Charlotte Day and Kirrily Hammond
- Collector’s Corner presents a series of conversations with avid art collectors, searching for the rich stories and ideas that are woven into their incredible (and enviable!) collections. The collectors we chat with show a boundless support of contemporary art, with their ever-growing enthusiasm entwined with the story and artists of Arts Project Australia. For Collector's Corner #6 we caught up Charlotte Day, Director of Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA). Charlotte was previously an Associate Curator at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art and part of the curatorium who worked on the Michael Buxton Collection of Australian Art. She's a passionate supporter of the speculative and experimental in art and sees her role as being to bring people, art and ideas together. Charlotte interested in ways art collections can be activated and shared and how we can work with art in the public realm. Not to mention she also curated the group exhibition Let's Dance at Arts Project in 2017. We also talk with Kirrily Hammond who works alongside Charlotte as the Collection Manager at MUMA, as well as being a practicing artist. She was previously employed at Canberra Museum and Gallery, Megalo Print Workshop, Canberra, and the National Gallery of Victoria. She has a Curatorial Masters Degree at the University of Melbourne and a Diploma of Law through the Institute of Art & Law, UK. As Collection Manager at MUMA, Kirrily oversees the installation of art across the various Monash University campuses. Together, the pair have an incredible amount of collecting and artistic wisdom, both from their professional perspectives, as well as acute personal insights. Have a read as they discuss their art epiphanies, working with artists from Callum Morton to Bianca Hester, and the importance of story-telling and personality when collecting artwork. "I WAS VERY EXCITED THAT WORKS BY FULLI ANDRINOPOULOS WERE RECENTLY ACQUIRED FOR THE MONASH UNIVERSITY COLLECTION. I’VE BEEN A FAN OF HER RICHLY COLOURFUL DRAWINGS FOR QUITE A FEW YEARS..." FULLI ANDRINOPOULOS, NOT TITLED, 2015, INK ON PAPER, 11 X 14 CM. - We're curious as to how you first became interested in art? Did you have an art epiphany for instance? Charlotte: I grew up going to galleries but my first love was the old Melbourne Museum’s dioramas which I thought were absolutely magical. When I was ten my family went on a whirlwind tour of Europe and we visited a lot of museums. After university, I went again and I think it was these trips that really cemented my love of museums. I came back and enrolled in the Post Graduate Diploma in Art Curating, as it was then called at the University of Melbourne. This was a new course, and at the time I was unaware that it was actually one of the first of its kind in the world. It provided a broad overview of the museum profession but through it I interned at 200 Gertrude Street where I got to meet artists and get closer to contemporary practice. It wasn’t until I worked on the Michael Buxton Collection, in the late 2000s, that I became involved in an art collection. Kirrily: I guess it’s apt that a very early art epiphany happened while I attended a catholic primary school in New South Wales, where the other kids always asked me to draw Jesus for them! It made me realise not everyone had a natural predilection for drawing. Throughout my career working in museums and galleries, I’ve always gravitated towards caring for collections – I love working with objects and I feel pretty lucky to see how a wide range of artists approach their practice. Monash University Museum of Art Collection contains an incredible selection of works. How would you describe your approach to collecting art for MUMA? What decisions and processes come into play when selecting work on behalf of an institution? Charlotte: When I first came to MUMA I undertook a review of the collection to test the assumptions made about it. We looked at the collection from many different angles: gender, generational, media, subject, topicality etc, and made decisions on what to prioritise accordingly to build up representations and fill certain gaps. This makes the process sound scientific and I do like to have a collecting plan! That being said it is also important to allow for spontaneity and to be able to be responsive to what artists make and in doing that you may not be able to predict. Kirrily: First and foremost, I think the work has to be compelling, and it should be an excellent example of the artist’s practice. In terms of the Monash University Collection, the focus is on Australian contemporary art, so it’s important to be aware of what artists are doing – from studios, artist run spaces, commercial spaces to larger institutions and everything in between! CATHY STAUGHTON, LADY ARTS PAINT PAGE, 2017, WORK ON PAPER, 50 X 49.5 CM. - You both collect art in your personal lives, as well as in your roles at MUMA. What do you love about collecting art and what compels you to collect and keep collecting? Charlotte: I think Kirrily might be more of a collector than I am! The artworks I do have are mostly connected to exhibitions or projects that I have been involved in. When I was an undergraduate student I did acquire two postcard sized artworks by Tony Clark that I am still very fond of. Most recently I acquired a 2D work by Alex Martinis Roe for my daughter. Kirrily: The works that I own were mostly collected due to a personal connection to the artist - whether it’s a swap, or I’ve purchased a friend’s work, or the artist is pursuing similar interests to my own through their practice. Surrounding myself with these works is rejuvenating and inspiring. Is there a particular artwork or artist that you’ve been most excited to collect? Whether in your roles at MUMA or personally? Kirrily: Late last year I oversaw the installation of Kulata Tjuta (2012-14), a significant installation of 277 spears suspended from the ceiling in the university’s main library at the Clayton campus. This is a compelling work that was created by artists from the Tjala Arts centre in the community of Amata in South Australia. Charlotte: A number of years ago I was involved in the collecting of Simryn Gill’s Throwback - Remade internal systems from a model 1313 Tata truck, circa 1985. (2007) for the Michael Buxton Collection. It's an ambitious work that is also rife with inherent vice. So when it was acquired, it was a real sign of the Collections' support for challenging work. At MUMA, in recent years we have focused on work by Indigenous artists with the Kulata - that Kirrily has mentioned - as being one of our most significant acquisitions. We are currently working on a public art project with artist Megan Cope that incorporates languages and sharing of knowledge that we are excited about. A few years back we acquired an instructional performative work by George Egerton Warburton that heralded a new collecting direction for the Monash University Collection. Do you have a memorable art-related experience or moment? Either as a curator, artist or collector? Charlotte: I have so many! Setting up Callum Morton’s three-quarter scale version of his family home as a ruin at the Venice Biennale was thrilling. Working with Bianca Hester on her installation at ACCA, which changed every day across the course of the exhibition, was challenging and liberating. When I first came to MUMA I invited Fiona Connor to make a responsive work to the university context and she made a great project that connected the museum to the collection, the architecture of Monash and the history of display. I have to mention too, Stuart Ringholt’s nude disco which had a profound effect on the museum and its audiences. These are just a few…What I like about MUMA is that it's a museum space with climate control etc, so we are able to loan really significant works to exhibit but it also has the quality of a project space in which we can commission new work and build in situ – hopefully we can maintain a useful tension between these two approaches. Kirrily: In 2005 I undertook an extended period of research in the British Museum’s prints and drawings study room, with open access to a mind-boggling collection, there were many amazing things to study. Leafing through Bellini’s sketch book from the mid-1400s was one highlight. At MUMA we have many school groups visit behind-the-scenes: to be able to facilitate viewing works from the collection and see the looks of wonder on students’ faces is pretty special. What was your first encounter with Arts Project and when did you first start to become interested in artwork by our artists? Charlotte: I think it was Ricky Swallow's involvement with Arts Project, as well as my own interest in a number of the artists that drew me to visit the first time. Arts Project does such a great job of promoting artists and creating opportunities for them to connect with other artists. Kirrily: I was very aware of Arts Project for some time before I had the opportunity to delve deeper into the archive whilst curating an exhibition for them in 2013. It was such an inspiring experience to be surrounded by such a rich collection of work and be in the vicinity of some truly prolific artists. "CHRIS MASON’S NUDE YOGA CERAMICS ARE PRETTY SPECIAL..." CHRIS MASON, RECLINING NUDE, 2015, CERAMIC, 19.5 X 35.5 X 42 CM. - Can you talk about the artworks you have collected from Arts Project? We know you’ve collected works personally, but there was also an exciting recent addition to MUMA’s collection… Kirrily: I was very excited that works by Fulli Andrinopoulos were recently acquired for the Monash University Collection. I’ve been a fan of her richly colourful drawings for quite a few years and being able to acquire a significant group and then immediately put them on display at the university was immensely satisfying. If you were to purchase another Arts Project artwork right now, which artist would you look at and why? Charlotte: A number of Art Project artists’ work is inspired by science fiction and outer space – I’m drawn to those subjects and imaginative spaces! I really like Cathy Staughton’s work, also Chris Mason’s nude yoga ceramics are pretty special too. Kirrily: The drawings and paintings of Warren O’Brien and Rebecca Scibilia are wonderful. WARREN O’BRIEN, NOT TITLED, 2018, WORK ON PAPER, 38 X 56 CM. - And finally, what pearls of wisdom have you learnt about collecting – both from a gallery perspective and as a personal collector? Charlotte: The collections I like the best have personality and stories that connect to them. They follow particular passions or threads and go deep into practice. Kirrily: Avoid collector’s regret – if it’s possible to acquire a work that you are particularly drawn to, go for it - the opportunity doesn’t usually happen twice! This is Arts Project Australia’s fifth edition of Collector’s Corner. Have a read of Collector’s Corner #1 with Clive Scott, Manager of Sofitel Melbourne; Collector’s Corner #2 with Abi Crompton, founder and director of Third Drawer Down; Collector's Corner #3 with Kim Butterworth and Graham Meadowcroft, publishers of Art Guide Australia; Collector's Corner #4 with artist Ricky Swallow; and Collector's Corner #5 with artist Sassy Park. Stay tuned for further editions and feel free to gander through our art collections, as well as find out more about Arts Project Australia’s artists and art. "THE DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS OF WARREN O’BRIEN AND REBECCA SCIBILIA ARE WONDERFUL." REBECCA SCIBILIA, THE ROYAL WEDDING, 2018, TEXTA ON PAPER, 35 X 50 CM.
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Collector’s Corner #5 – Sassy Park
SASSY PARK IN HER SYDNEY HOME. PHOTO BY OTTO SCHWERDTFEGER. -- Collector’s Corner presents a series of conversations with avid art collectors, searching for the rich stories and ideas that are woven into their incredible (and enviable!) collections. The collectors we chat with show a boundless support of contemporary art, with their ever-growing enthusiasm entwined with the story and artists of Arts Project Australia. For Collector's Corner #5 we caught up with artist Sassy Park. Based in Sydney, Park is currently completing a Masters in ceramics at the National Art School, having previously studied painting at Sydney College of the Arts. Between working at various galleries in Australia and overseas before starting her Masters, she eventually found herself at Darren Knight Gallery in Sydney, where she first became acquainted with Arts Project Australia. Through Darren Knight's philosophy and approach to art and artists, Park found a great match to her own ideas. Her time at the gallery allowed her to meet and find out about a wide range of art practices and practitioners. Arts Project became one of these areas of interest, with new artists to follow and new artwork to engage with. Nowadays, When she's not creating or studying, Sassy spends time with her partner Karl and their three children (not to mention the chickens and cats!). Have a read of our interview with Sassy, where she delves into the intuition behind collecting, how her daughter inspires her practice and why "looking at art is like falling in love." "A life-size ceramic typewriter and script describing a ‘harrowing disaster at Summer Bay’ from the TV soap. It is a masterpiece..." Lisa Reid, TA Adler Contessa 2, 2016, ceramic, 14 x 33 x 33 cm. - We're curious as to how you first became interested in art? Did you have an art epiphany for instance? I grew up in a regional town in Queensland, a bit bereft of cultural pursuits, but perhaps that made it all the more exciting to seek out and buy my first artwork at about 16 years of age from the only commercial gallery in town. My parents, unconventionally for the times, encouraged me to go on to art school, although my father warned me about the boys, having briefly been an art student himself in London. From this background I’ve always loved all aspects of art; the making, thinking, looking, curating, collecting, caring for art and advocating for artists. How would you describe your approach to collecting art? Do you think being an artist yourself influences the pieces you collect? Collecting art is a compulsive pursuit, like any other form of collecting. However, I have always thought that it is far more enriching buying an artwork than say, a pair of shoes. I still use this judgement when I think of spending on something—what would I rather have? This is much easier now as I've taken to wearing Birkenstocks, which leaves even more in the art budget. I am constantly amazed when I walk into people’s houses with barren walls lacking any form of visual stimulus. I suppose I have a need to be surrounded by all the things I love, which includes art. Being an artist maybe makes me more confident about what I think is great and rewarding. I’m also interested in what other artists buy and collect as a reflection and insight into their own work. What do you love about collecting art and what compels you to collect and keep collecting? Being surrounded by and living with art keeps me collecting. Obviously this can become problematic with diminishing wall and shelf space. I do rehang and rearrange occasionally, which is like having a mini curatorial project in your own home. Looking at art is like falling in love. When an artwork hits you, there is a rush of excitement and an impulse to keep it near to you. You keep them in your heart and head as well as on the wall. It’s a continuous dialogue. You think about the beauty and the ideas that arise out of the work, the ideas of the artist, what were they thinking about, how did they go about making it. "More pieces by Ruth Howard would be a goal..." Ruth Howard, Not titled, 2011. ceramic, 14.5 x 9.5 x 9.5 cm. - Generally speaking, which contemporary artist do you most admire and why? Visiting museums and galleries wherever I go has excited and inspired me, but then I am equally in awe of my own children’s artwork: seeing what comes from their imaginations. I was profoundly impressed when my daughter, Lotte, first started making ceramics at the age of eight; how had she combined the two-dimensional painting with the three-dimensional form? She really started me on my pathway in ceramics. Also, artists that show some vulnerability in their work, or come from a personal place, further interest me. Noel McKenna is one such artist, as well as a friend. I continue to admire and fall for his work: the artist and the work are mutually exclusive but also bound up in one another. Do you have a memorable art-related experience or moment? Either as an artist or a collector? After working in galleries, I now really enjoy putting people in touch with pieces that they end up loving and buying. This reinforces my convictions about the meaning and purpose of art as an integral part of life. In recent years, I have had the experience of people responding to my own work. It feels like the tables have turned when I am on the receiving end. It’s a wonderful feeling to receive feedback because as an artist you are embedded in the relationship with the art object. To see them out in the world and having a life of their own is quite strange. Maybe they take a little part of me with them. What was your first encounter with Arts Project and when did you first start to become interested in artwork by our artists? I think I first saw Arts Project artists at Peter Fay’s travelling exhibition Home Sweet Home in 2007, as well as encountering the ceramics of Alan Constable. The work was immediately intriguing and compelling to me. Then it was exciting to following up the artists, visiting Melbourne, and seeing Arts Project exhibitions, as well as representation at art fairs and wider group shows. I try and visit when I come to Melbourne and have curated a show in Sydney with Arts Project artists, Lisa Reid and Alan Constable. I’ve always come away from my contact with Arts Project deeply impressed with their philosophy and passion. "Alan Constable’s cameras work grouped or solo, and I like the connection to ceramics and photography, reflecting my and Karl’s careers." Alan Constable, Not titled, 2016, ceramic, 13 x 18 x 13 cm. - Can you talk about the artworks you have collected from Arts Project? Is there a pride of place where they sit or hang? I like the idea of the mantlepiece as a central focus for the display of objects in the home. This is an area I often arrange with pieces such as Ruth Howard’s Pile or Alan Constable’s cameras. Alan Constable’s cameras work grouped or solo, and I like the connection to ceramics and photography, reflecting my and Karl’s careers. I was thrilled when Karl became enamoured with one of Chris Mason’s ladies, which now sits pride of place on the bookshelf next to the mantlepiece. I also have Lisa Reid’s work TA Adler Contessa 2, a life-size ceramic typewriter and script describing a ‘harrowing disaster at Summer Bay’ from the TV soap. It is a masterpiece but I need a larger area to display it! If you were to purchase another Arts Project artwork right now, which artist would you look at and why? I just realised I have collected solely ceramic sculptures from Arts Project artists, which I suppose is unsurprising. I am always interested in what clay can do. More pieces by Lisa Reid and Ruth Howard would be a goal, and I've seen some shoes Lisa made which I think are great. I like Ruth Howard’s paintings and Alan Constable’s drawings too. I’ve always enjoyed the strong graphic colours of Julian Martin’s pastel drawings and the immediacy of Boris Cipusev’s pen drawings. I am also drawn to works based on contemporary pop culture, which several of the artists make their subject matter. And finally, what pearls of wisdom would you give a first-time collector? Don’t be afraid to go with a gut instinct. It’s worth recognising when something has connected with you, maybe deeply or even superficially, that it is something special. Also buy what you like and what you can afford as this provides the longest enjoyment of an art collection. This is Arts Project Australia’s fifth edition of Collector’s Corner. Have a read of Collector’s Corner #1 with Clive Scott, Manager of Sofitel Melbourne; Collector’s Corner #2 with Abi Crompton, founder and director of Third Drawer Down; Collector's Corner #3 with Kim Butterworth and Graham Meadowcroft, publishers of Art Guide Australia; and Collector's Corner #4 with artist Ricky Swallow. Stay tuned for further editions and feel free to gander through our art collections, as well as find out more about Arts Project Australia’s artists and art.
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Collector’s Corner #4 – Ricky Swallow
Ricky Swallow. Photo by Aya Muto. - Collector’s Corner presents a series of conversations with avid art collectors, searching for the rich stories and ideas that are woven into their incredible (and enviable!) collections. The collectors we chat with show a boundless support of contemporary art, with their ever-growing enthusiasm entwined with the story and artists of Arts Project Australia. For Collector's Corner #4 we caught up with Ricky Swallow, a renowned artist who works primarily in sculpture. Raised in San Remo, and now living and working in Los Angeles for the past 15 years, Swallow initially studied at the Victorian College of the Arts, living and working as an exhibiting artist in Melbourne in the late 90s and early 2000s (during this time he was associated with artist-run initiatives Grey Area Art Space and Rubik, and had a very productive two-year residency at Gertrude Contemporary). These days he shares home-life, and a studio, with his wife Lesley Vance and their young son. As Ricky says, "Lesley is a amazing painter and it’s great to be around such unwavering dedication like that. I think together we’ve made sense of our roles as artists." Ricky has long been a great supporter and friend of Arts Project's and in 2016 he curated a sell-out show of Terry William's soft sculptures at New York's White Columns. Read below as Ricky tells us about how he encountered Arts Project, how collecting art can tell us things about ourselves and how being an artist is somewhat akin to the act of a cat pooping! "Really precious ceramics..." Terry Williams, Not titled, 2009, ceramic, 8 x 6 x 3 cm. - - Could you tell us about when you first met Arts Project Australia? That’s tricky because I was aware of Arts Projects when I lived in Melbourne—via a guest lecturer at Victorian College of the Arts—but it wasn’t something I was really looking into at that stage. When Alex Baker was a curator at the National Gallery of Victoria we became friends through a show I did in 2009, and he started putting certain artists from Arts Project onto my radar, via his enthusiasm and the projects he was planning with you guys. Alex eventually went to Fleisher/Ollman in Philly (John Ollman, the owner of Fleisher/Ollman, is obviously legendary in the field of self taught art and a lightning rod in putting so much of it into the culture here in the states), and perhaps since Alex has been there I’ve been able to see certain things that made me realise I needed to take a closer look. I visited Arts Project in 2013 and again in 2014 and at that point I was starting to talk to Sim (Arts Project Manager and Curator) about projects I wanted to curate and also collecting a few artists... And then somewhere in the middle was the small show I organised for South Willard of Alan Constable’s camera sculptures! _ We're curious as to how you first became interested in art? Did you have an art epiphany for instance? I’m not sure if you mean collecting art or making art? My grandfather on my mothers side was a huge factor—a real Bricoleur and Sunday painter—along with my grandparents who collected small things (more like crafts and small sculptural souvenirs from travel), and that was actually the first instance of being exposed to collecting, curating and also displaying I think... My grandfather posed this question, "What is the artists role? What do they do?” As a kid I answered I wasn’t sure. So he said, “What does the cat do when he climbs my fence at night and shits in my garden? What is he doing?" My grandfather answered, “He’s leaving his mark, and that’s what artists do. Leave their mark.” It's still the best explanation anyone has offered me perhaps! "There's something very aggressive and also very generous to the images and language he's building. It's asking a bunch of interesting questions about the very nature of picture making, I think." Samraing Chea, Universal vision of the Entire Space, 2015, pencil on paper, 18 x 19 cm. _ _ How would you describe your approach to collecting art? Do you think being an artist influences the pieces you collect? I think my approach is basically to try and be true and trusted in your attraction to an artwork. It’s hard to turn off outside influence or a kind of ambient buzz toward certain things, but that’s collecting for the wrong reasons. Being an artist and being married to an artist obviously effects things. What I’ve learnt is that living with a great or mysterious artwork can be very generative—certain artworks can literally cause the creation of a certain work in one's own practice, or present a problem-solving mechanism—a freedom, or perhaps a dose of colors that you yourself would not normally permit into your practice. So collecting is not just about amplifying an interior or seeming to have a certain taste. It’s part of a bigger creative process. - What do you love about collecting art and what compels you to collect and keep collecting? At a really basic level I love waking up and looking at this stuff, or coming home from the studio to artworks which now seem like permanent fixtures in our house (we hang very little, if any, of our own artworks at home). There’s also an addiction or habit to it—to try and collect a perfect grouping of one artist in which each piece is either in synchronicity, or tells you one specific thing about the artist, or how it can be a diverse group which signals different worlds of interest for the artist. There’s always an artist you haven’t been exposed to and sometimes I like how the juxtaposition of different works creates an unexpected connection. This is something that’s obviously not accidental, but it’s interesting how it occurs. What we collect can tell us a lot about ourselves, I think—I’m always shocked and a little suspicious of those with no collecting habits! - Generally speaking, which contemporary artist do you most admire and why? That's really impossible to pin down! What has been nice through a few curatorial projects I've done is getting to know artists with multiple decades of working under their belt—there's something deep there to admire in just persisting as an artist and walking into a room for 40-50 years every day and setting to work with materials and contributing to the world of objects in such a specific way—finding your own way of doing things and not compromising and getting through some sleepy decades without losing faith. Ron Nagle is an artist I really admire in this regard and also Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, both of whom I'm happy to count as friends too. From these artists I've learnt a great deal about stubbornness and the importance of humour as necessities to always keep moving things forward—and the powerful authority of the domestically scaled object! - Part of Ricky's Arts Project Collection. Alan Constable, Not titled, 2010, ceramic, 14.5 x 29 x 12.5 cm. - Can you describe your best art experience for us? I can describe a recent one that's really fascinating to witness, and that's our son's recent awakening, or daily commitment, to drawing and mark making. He's four now and I feel like it's been important for me to always put materials in front of him—things like sculptural-drawing and painting tools. It's really been in the last couple of months that he's started making drawings which follow some strange internal logic—a world I just could never access. And when he's making them he's really in the zone and I like to just step back and watch it happen. It's not even as simple as this, as if it's just a middle earth between abstraction and figurative logic creeping in. It's a weirder place than that and I have this feeling it's a small window of image making that is momentary and important. - When did you first hear about Arts Project and first encounter artwork by our artists? It's hard to pin point the actual time of the encounter. I want to say in my early 20's when the collector Peter Fay from Sydney was showing me his collection—he had been collecting works from Arts Project that he was excited about. And I mentioned Alex baker already, who connected me more specifically to some of your artists. But perhaps the most meaningful encounter was visiting in 2013 because that was a full tour with time to really see the facilities, meet some of the artists and actually handle and experience the works close up. I think I left with a box of works to bring back to LA! - Tell us about the artworks you've collected from Arts Project. Is there a pride of place where they sit or hang? On our fireplace mantle we have a pair of smaller cameras by Alan Constable, a group of really precious ceramics by Terry Williams and a series of small ceramic stacks by Ruth Howard. So it's specific in that it's one row of objects entirely from Arts Project. There was a ceramic by Alice Mackler with them, but that's recently been moved. The stacks by Ruth are of specific personal appeal because they were something that Lesley really responded to when we visited again in 2014. I'm more of the accumulator in general, so when Les takes the lead it's always exciting and very specific, and I think from a painterly perspective she thought they were great—kind of perfectly resolved still-life-type objects. When you look at them you can kind of participate in their making in your mind, or understand some kind of necessity to their building gesture. - "When you look at them you can kind of participate in their making in your mind, or understand some kind of necessity to their building gesture." Ruth Howard, Not titled, 2013, ceramic, 10 x 12 x 10 cm. - - If you were to purchase another Arts Project artwork right now, which artist would you look at and why? A good question because I literally just purchased a work in the recent week! It was a drawing of Samraing Chea from the show at ReadingRoom, curated by Matlok Griffiths and Rob McHaffie. I had a group of Samraing’s pieces after finding the work via Matlok a couple of years back, as he had collected a couple of drawings. But to see the new ones was kind of amazing as I feel like some of the narratives had become less like isolated worlds and more of a mirror or visual response to current political turmoils. So the drawing I chose of Samraing's adds a very different element to the small collection I now have. There's something very aggressive and also very generous to the images and language he's building. It's asking a bunch of interesting questions about the very nature of picture making. - And finally, what pearls of wisdom would you give a first-time collector? If an artist tells you you should check out another artists work, it normally means you really should check it out. Think about collecting not just as attaining or owning something great, but also (in most cases) putting resources back into the hands of the artist that created the thing. Try to hold out for the thing that really resonates with you. Main meal stuff, and less snacking. - This is Arts Project Australia’s fourth edition of Collector’s Corner. Have a read of Collector’s Corner #1 with Clive Scott, Manager of Sofitel Melbourne; Collector’s Corner #2 with Abi Crompton, founder and director of Third Drawer Down; and Collector's Corner #3 with Kim Butterworth and Graham Meadowcroft, publishers of Art Guide Australia. Stay tuned for further editions and feel free to gander through our art collections, as well as find out more about Arts Project Australia’s artists and art.
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Artist Spotlight: Bronwyn Hack
Artist Bronwyn Hack in the Arts Project studio. Bronwyn Hack’s artwork hints toward melodrama, fictionalised scenes, tactile creations and bodily formations. In recent years her work has been characterised by an interest in animals (particularly wild and domestic dogs) and an avid preoccupation with bones, as well as the observable and hidden parts of the human body. Having worked from the Arts Project studio since 2011, Hack is becoming known for her multi-faceted practice which spans sculpture, painting, printmaking, ceramics and 3D art. At the centre of this practice sits her recent soft sculpture works that reinterpret singular elements of the body. “I’ve always been interested in the body,” explains Hack. “I’m interested in the different shapes and all the body parts and where they go.” Hack has been regularly exhibiting her soft sculpture, with her two-part work The Body Piece currently showing at Bundoora Homestead Art Centre. Shortlisted for the Darebin Art Prize, the sculpture faithfully depicts reinterpretations of male and female private parts. Bronwyn Hack, 2017, The Body Piece, soft sculpture. Image courtesy of Darebin Art Award and Bundoora Homestead Art Centre. Hack was also one of five Arts Project artists curated by Anthony Fitzpatrick, curator at Tarrawarra Museum of Art, into the group exhibition Faraway, so close. During the show, which took place towards the end of last year, Hack worked in close collaboration with Gosia Wlodarczak and Terry Williams to create A Room of Haptic Knowledge. Hack’s contribution was a series of body parts including eyes, lips, intestines and a brain. Faraway, so close - installation image. Bronwyn Hack soft sculpture along Gosia Wlodarczak drawings. Photo by Kate Longley. Now 2018 is promising to be an even more fruitful year for the artist. Her printmaking work is appearing in group exhibition Under Pressure (opening this Saturday 3 February) and her artist zines will be on display, and available for purchase, at the upcoming Festival of the Photocopier Zine Fair on Sunday 11 February. Not to mention in June this year Hack will commence a residency at the Australian Tapestry Workshop, where she’ll continue work on her soft sculpture body pieces. This transformation marks an acute development from Hack’s earlier work, which often focused on scenes of attraction featuring fictionalised characters and personas drawn from her imagination. When asked about her process and her move towards soft sculpture and body-based works, Hack explains how she often decides every Monday what she will create for the rest of the week. “I get ideas from the internet, books and what I see and I’m looking at body photos” she says. “I just know what to do when I’m doing it, and what colour and shape to use.” Our Artist Spotlight series highlights the practice and ideas of Arts Project studio artists - stay tuned for more spotlights! Bronwyn Hack working alongside Gosia Wlodarczak and Terry Williams for 'A Room of Haptic Knowledge' as part of 2017 exhibition 'Faraway, so close'. Photo by Kate Longley.
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Collector’s Corner #2 – Abi Crompton
AA Collector’s Corner presents a series of conversations with avid art collectors, searching for the rich stories and ideas that are woven into their incredible (and enviable!) collections. The collectors we chat with show a boundless support of contemporary art, with their ever-growing enthusiasm entwined with the story and artists of Arts Project Australia. For our second edition of Collector's Corner we caught up with Abi Crompton, founder and Director of Third Drawer Down. Established in 2003, Third Drawer Down is an innovative company that specialises in creating limited edition art products, featuring the works of Australian and international artists and designers (think Ai Wei Wei, David Shrigley, Jon Campbell and Frances Cannon among many others). We recently had the great fortune of collaborating with Third Drawer Down (alongside the National Gallery of Victoria) to produce Australiana: a series of merchandise featuring the work of Arts Project artists, creating everything from Sidney Nolan-inspired hip flasks to Hey Hey It's Saturday! cooler bags. Read below as Abi tells us about her current "art crushes", collaborating with Louise Bourgeois and how collecting is about the personal connections she makes with artists and art... Abi Crompton posing as a banana for Arts Project's 2014 exhibition 6 Degrees of Separation. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Can you tell us about how you first met Arts Project Australia? I was introduced to Arts Project when Bronwyn Johnson was the Director of Melbourne Art Fair, and she told me I should buy an Alan Constable camera. I went to the Arts Project stand and fell in love. Later, while eating sushi on the stairs at the Melbourne Art Fair and pining over how I could collaborate with Arts Project, I somehow happened to be sitting next to Sue Roff who was stuffing envelopes. We started to chat and an art-love affair began! We're curious as to how you first became interested in art? And how did this interest link with founding Third Drawer Down? I become interested in art while studying psychology in my early twenties. I completed this degree and then put together a portfolio and studied fine art for five years, as I realised I was more 'left brain' than 'right brain'. I do feel like I use all parts of my brain now though, especially as working with artists to develop objects requires empathy, understanding and creative processes. How would you describe your approach to collecting art? Or, even better, what kind of collector are you? I collect art the same way I work with artists: visual impulse and appreciation of an artist's values. My collection is mainly based upon the artists I have a relationship with, as their story is apart of my story, and the story of Third Drawer Down. Generally speaking, which contemporary artists do you most admire and why? Is there someone in particular who’d be your dream to collaborate with one day? I have so many artists I admire. If I had to pick them today, I'd say David Shrigley, Yayoi Kusama and Guerrilla Girls. All of them have their own unique way of communicating the currency of our current times. It's the 'right now', either through politics, humour or beauty. My dream collaborations include Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger and Kerry James-Marshall. Can you describe your best art experience for us? Or perhaps a great Third Drawer Down moment? My favourite collaborations... hmm. Well, there are a few and they all carry amazing stories as I've met such remarkable people through collaborating with them. While I have told this following story a few times, it still remains vividly in my mind: I have always had a major “art crush” on Louise Bourgeois and a few years ago Tate in London invited me to meet and discuss working together on projects. The day before the meeting, I walked around Tate with my notebook listing all the artists I have dreamed of working with: quite a list if I don’t say so myself! So there I was, sitting in the meeting the following day and the Tate opened the dialogue with the forthcoming Louise Bourgeois project, and I jumped in head first, telling them about my list of artists and my personal list being headed by Louise Bourgeois. My meeting folk looked at each other and slid a folder across the table, saying, ‘”Well Abi, it is Louise Bourgeois we want you to work with!” How is that! I was so buzzed out, she so rocks my world and I couldn’t believe my fate in this scenario. This was the first major project with a museum and the beginning of the Third Drawer Down Studio. During the fantastic project, I met Louise while in New York and she signed the prototype handkerchief we were developing. It reads: “I HAVE BEEN TO HELL AND BACK. AND LET ME TELL YOU IT WAS WONDERFUL”. Describe the artworks you have collected from Arts Project. Is there a pride of place where they sit or hang? I have collected works by Paul Hodges, Lisa Reid, Terry Williams, Alan Constable, Patrick Francis and Peter Cave. They are the proudest artworks I have in our home and they take over the entrance hall and lounge room. My most cherished is the painting Peter Cave created of me dancing in a banana suit! In 140 characters or less, distil for us what it is you like about being a collector and friend of Arts Project? I love everything Arts Project stands for – the artists and the team that make the magic happen, and the community that supports this. It's more family than organisation. If you were to purchase another Arts Project artwork right now, which artist would you look at and why? I would buy more Laura Sheehan. Her recent solo exhibition at Arts Project was so wonderful. Her lively, colourful and whimsical paintings of soft-toys-pastiche rocked my world. We were fighting over them at work when the invite was sent! And finally, what pearls of wisdom would you give a first-time collector? Buy from the heart. Art should be about your experience to it, not what others tell you to feel. This is Arts Project Australia’s second edition of Collector’s Corner. Have a read of our first edition with Sofitel Melbourne Manager Clive Scott. Stay tuned for further editions (coming very soon!) and feel free to gander through our art collections, as well as find out more about Arts Project Australia’s artists and art. "My most cherished is the painting peter cave created of me dancing in a banana suit." Peter Cave, Abi in a banana suit, 2013, work on paper, 76 x 56 cm. Artist Peter CAVE creating his Abi-Crompton-Banana masterpiece. "Her recent solo exhibition at arts project was so wonderful. her lively, colourful and whimsical paintings of soft-toys-pastiche rocked my world." Laura Sheehan, The song til the end, 2015, work on paper, 39.5 x 54 cm. AA Another one from Abi's collection: Lisa Reid, The Kylie collection, 2003, work on paper, 34 x 28.5 cm.
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Artist Spotlight: Bobby Kyriakopoulos
Bobby Kyriakopoulos is both a painter and digital artist whose work traverses the scenes of carnivals and public events, underwater and above-water landscapes, cultural appropriation and an interest in film scenes, particularly the blockbuster-heroic-male - which often contains anxious undertones. Figures such as Wonderwoman, historical persons and characters of action and thriller films (think Men In Black and Star Wars) often feature in Kyriakopoulos' paintings, while at other moment Kyriakopoulos portrays the frenzy of the crowd amid a rollercoaster or car race; scenes which are near-claustrophobic in their over-population and energy. Many of Kyriakopoulos' works contain a feel of impending action, of the event-still-to-come, which is accentuated by his tendency to highlight the positive and negative spaces between image and ground. In his art practice, Kyriakopoulos often favours watercolour or gouache which are meticulously applied. Yet despite the deliberateness of Kyriakopoulos' paintings, the also retain a gestural quality and a sense of movement. Born in 1990, Kyriakopoulos has worked in the Arts Project Australia studio since 2011 and has been included in numerous group exhibitions including ‘Well Red’, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney; ‘Melbourne Now’, NGV International, Melbourne; and ‘SMALLWORKS 2014 Art Prize’, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy. His work is held in the National Gallery of Victoria’s collection. You can see Kyriakopoulos work below, or else head to our shop to pick up an original Kyriakopoulos.
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