The Gallery has acquired five rare prints by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). The five new works are from a group of 15 etchings and drypoints known as ‘La Suite des Saltimbanques’ and were created on the cusp between the artist’s ‘blue’ (1901–04) and ‘rose’ (1904–06) periods. The new prints are integrally connected to Picasso’s paintings and drawings of the same period, which significantly includes La Belle Hollandaise 1905, held in our Collection.
The Gallery is extraordinarily fortunate to hold one of Picasso’s most celebrated early paintings, La Belle Hollandaise 1905. This group of five of Picasso’s most important prints, acquired through the generous support of private benefactors, now brings our total Picasso holdings to 13 works.
Comprising some of the best known works in the ‘Saltimbanques’ suite, what is remarkable about these prints is the common humanity and humility of their subjects – representing the downcast social milieu of actors and acrobats in which Picasso was moving at the time – and the economy, sensitivity and brilliance with which it is captured. They provide an entirely new context for La Belle Hollandaise.
Le Repas frugal (The frugal meal), the most valuable of the newly acquired works, and a rare impression of Salomé were purchased with funds donated by the Margaret Olley Art Trust.
Through extensive research and an international, 13-month search, we have been able to secure these works with the generosity of the late Margaret Olley and other Gallery Foundation supporters.
The works were made immediately following the artist’s move from Spain to France in 1904, when he was only 22 years old. The etchings are his first serious attempt at printmaking, when Picasso looked to translate his painterly style to the printmaking process, and mark an important period of personal and artistic transition in the artist’s life.
Established by the artist in 1990 to acquire works of art for public collections, the Trust continues to pursue the late Margaret Olley’s project of philanthropic support for the arts. It has made significant gifts to both state and regional galleries across Australia, including to QAGOMA, since 1992. Margaret Olley also held works by renowned artists including Picasso and Matisse in her private collection, which she later gifted to state galleries, QAGOMA among them.
The Trust’s leading support enabled QAGOMA to acquire two works from ‘La Suite de Saltimbanques’, and attract other benefactors who helped secure three additional prints: La Toilette de la Mère (The Mother dressing), Tête de femme, de profil (Head of a woman in profile) and Les deux Saltimbanques (The two acrobats) 1905.
The moving in Pursuit of Venus [infected] 2015 by Māori artist Lisa Reihana is the focus of the QAGOMA Foundation 2015 Annual Appeal / 4 channel HD video, 32 minutes (loped), 5:1 Sound, colour, ed 2/5
A striking and immersive moving image work by renowned Māori artist Lisa Reihana has been revealed as the focus of the 2015 Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) Foundation Appeal.
QAGOMA Foundation President, Tim Fairfax AC said that the 2015 Appeal is aimed at complementing the Gallery’s existing holdings of contemporary Pacific art by raising funds to acquire the ambitious four channel video.
‘For the 2015 Appeal, we turn our attention towards the Pacific and the captivating video, in Pursuit of Venus [infected] 2015 – Lisa Reihana’s most ambitious work to date. Six years in the making, this contemporary masterwork transforms static historical images into a deeply moving retelling of history, giving a fascinating insight into Māori and Pacific culture in the 1800s,’ Mr Fairfax said.
QAGOMA Director Chris Saines CNZM said the important work was inspired by a nineteenth-century wallpaper produced c.1804 by popular French wallpaper and fabric manufacturer Joseph Dufour & Cie. The wallpaper pattern called Les Sauvages de la mer Pacifique drew on various sources, including the exploratory journeys of Captain Cook, to depict actual and invented scenes drawn from everyday life in early-1800s South Pacific. These are rendered in an extraordinarily complex 1,000-block relief print, stencil and hand-painted process across 20 individual ‘drops’ totalling 2.5 metres high by 10.5 metres across.
‘Two hundred years after these scenes were first depicted on the Dufour wallpaper, Reihana’s contemporary reimagining takes the form of a mesmerising and immersive multi-channel panoramic video spanning four screens.’
‘By bringing to life the characters in the original wallpaper through this contemporary performance, Reihana’s video restages and reclaims these historical stories with an informed critique of colonial representations of the time.’
The 2015 Foundation Annual Appeal was launched at the Queensland Art Gallery on Saturday 9 May. Over 80 guests came together to hear the artist in conversation with QAGOMA Director Chris Saines and Maud Page, Deputy Director, Collection and Exhibitions, and to experience the moving tableau as it premiered at the Gallery.
Lisa Reihana was awarded the 2014 Laureate Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand with in Pursuit of Venus [infected] hailed as a major departure. A version of the work was recently nominated for the prestigious Signature Art Prize. Reihana regularly exhibits in group and solo exhibitions, most recently at Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand (2011), and the Plug Inn Institute of Contemporary Art, Winnipeg, Canada (2011). Works by the artist are held in private and public collections including Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Australia National Gallery, Canberra, and the Staatliche Museum, Berlin.
The inaugural recipient of the $40,000 Vida Lahey Memorial Travelling Scholarship has been announced as Melbourne-based curator, artist and writer Matthew Perkins.
The scholarship, established by QAGOMA late last year in honour of pre-eminent Australian painter Vida Lahey (1882-1968), was made possible through the generous bequest of Shirley Lahey, the artist’s niece.
The 2015 scholarship will see Perkins undertake extensive travel throughout the country, visiting important archives and collections to research the history of video art in Australia. Perkins’ research would document this important history through interviews with artists, curators and collectors of moving image works, and would fill an evident gap in knowledge of the medium.
QAGOMA Director Chris Saines CNZM (left) with Matthew Perkins (right), recipient of the inaugural $40,000 Vida Lahey Memorial Travelling Scholarship, pictured with Vida Lahey’s Monday Morning 1912, Gift of Madame Emily Coungeau through the Queensland Art Society 1912 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art
Generously funded through the Estate of Shirley Lahey, the scholarship awards $40,000 for Perkins to travel within Australia to complete his valuable research project exploring the history of video art in this country, and also overseas to share this research internationally. A recent surge of interest in video as a medium has led to the urgent need to research and understand this area of art history, specifically the history of the practice in Australia over the last 50 years.
In its inaugural year, the scholarship attracted a strong field of applicants including both artists and researchers. The scholarship offers an emerging Australian artist or art history student the extraordinary opportunity to develop their practice or research through an itinerary of national or overseas travel.
‘This scholarship will have an amazing effect on my research. It will allow me to interview pioneering video artists while excavating archives around Australia. The scholarship, in fact, provides the foundation from which my research can grow into a new book and exhibition on Australian video art. This is of vital importance because most people know very little about the history of Australian video art,’ said Perkins.
Melbourne-based Perkins has worked as an independent curator in Melbourne, Brisbane and Tasmania since 2006. He has authored numerous scholarly publications including Video Void: Australian Video Art 1970–2010, and multiple catalogue essays. He holds a Master of Fine Arts from Monash University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours), University of Tasmania and is currently completing his PhD at Swinburne University.
The Scholarship is funded through the Estate of Shirley Lahey (1925 – 2011), the niece of Vida Lahey, whose specific bequest made this scholarship possible. A great admirer of Vida Lahey’s artistic and social work, she honours not only the woman and her achievements but also the significance of travel in her life and art.
The Vida Lahey Memorial Travelling Scholarship gives one emerging Australian artist or Australian art history student the extraordinary opportunity to develop their practice or research through an itinerary of national or overseas travel.
The scholarship offers a generous $40 000 towards a travel budget that ensures the further development of art practice or research that will make a contribution to an understanding of Australian art.
In the lead up to ‘The 8th Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT8), the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) today announced ‘Indo Pop: Indonesian Art from APT7’ would be the next Gallery-curated exhibition to tour the state.
QAGOMA Director Chris Saines said ‘Indo Pop’ would visit 12 regional venues in advance of and concurrently with APT8, which opens at the Gallery in November 2015.
‘APT7 featured the Triennial’s largest representation to date of artists from Indonesia, and some of the outstanding pieces acquired for the Gallery’s world-leading contemporary Asian art collection will now tour as part of our commitment to regional Queensland,’ Mr Saines said.
‘The tour will start at Noosa Regional Gallery on 11 June and will visit venues across the state before concluding in Toowoomba in mid-2017.’
QAGOMA Associate Curator, Asian Art, Tarun Nagesh, said the nine works on the tour captured the vibrancy and humour of an emerging generation of contemporary Indonesian artists.
‘Drawing on one of the focus areas of APT7 (2012-13), ‘Indo Pop’ showcases a diverse group of works including the explosively coloured painting The Journey 2011 by Uji Handoko Eko Saputro (aka Hahan). These works in a variety of styles and media represent the exciting approaches that are earning these artists widespread international attention,’ he said.
Mr Nagesh said the works from Southeast Asia’s largest emerging art market discuss the artistic, political and social issues faced in Indonesia, one of Australia’s closest neighbours.
‘Edwin Roseno’s photographs of aluminium cans-cum-flower pots and Wedhar Riyadi’s fusing of historical portraits with pop-style imagery use humour and parody to question socio-political history and globalisation,’ Mr Nagesh said.
The regional tour of ‘Indo Pop: Indonesian Art from APT7’ also includes video and digital works from artist collective Tromarama, and Tintin Wulia, who now resides in Queensland. Tromarama’s stop-motion animation in Wattt?! 2010, a favourite with young visitors when shown in APT7, brings lights and lamps to life in a humorous response to an unexpectedly-high electricity bill.
‘Indo Pop: Indonesian Art from APT7’ tours Queensland from mid-2015 to 2017.
Noosa Regional Gallery | 11 June – 26 July 2015
Logan Art Gallery | 31 July – 13 September 2015
Redcliffe Art Gallery | 10 December 2015 – 23 January 2016
Gold Coast City Art Gallery | 6 February – 27 March 2016
Gympie Regional Art Gallery | 7 April – 28 May 2016
Rockhampton Art Gallery | 4 June – 17 July 2016
Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery | 24 August – 16 October 2016
Artspace Mackay | 21 October – 4 December 2016
Perc Tucker Regional Art Gallery | 27 January – 19 March 2017
Join us for a series of screenings which engage with the Ni Vanuatu dancers, villages and people that the Gallery have been working with over the past 18 months. Funds raised via the screenings will be directed through Further Arts. Further Arts is a community-based organisation that seeks to use art and culture for social transformation. The Gallery has been actively engaged with the organisation in the lead up to The 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT8), opening in November 2015.
‘The films we have chosen to show for this special event tell the story of the Ni Vanuatu dancers, villages and people that the Gallery has engaged with. Donations will be collected on the day and all monies raised will be used to assist Further Arts rebuild their Port Vila offices and the Emyotungan village, located on the remote island of Ambrym in central Vanuatu. The humble Further Arts headquarters were destroyed by Cyclone Pam earlier this month and this event is a simple gesture of support for an organisation that has inspired me,’ said Ruth McDougall, Curator, Pacific Art.
Emyo Tinyo, Ambrym
Ambrym, known for its active volcanoes and rich customs, is a remote island situated in central Vanuatu. Emyotungan village is located about 45 minutes walk inland and uphill from the West Ambrym coastline. The 50 or so inhabitants rely mainly on rainwater, local vegetation and agriculture to sustain their lives. In November 2014, this village, led by Chief Filip Talevu, hosted 11 dancers and musicians from across Melanesia as they engaged in a series of music and dance workshops to exchange contemporary and traditional beats and movements. This short film documents these workshops which form part of the APT8 project Yumi Danis (We Dance).
Lon Marum
Clips from Lon Marum – a documentary film depicting the relationship between language, culture, place, music, tradition and magic – in the context of life of an active volcano. Lon Marum was preselected for the 2014 Universite de Lorraine Festival du Film de Chercheur
Vanuatu Women’s Water Music
Selected clips from music video of the Vanuatu Women’s Water Music. This group hails from the remote northern tropical islands of Vanuatu. The beautiful video chronicles the activities of the Leweton women, their music and their community. The Vanuatu Women’s Water Music DVD was recently awarded 5 stars by leading World Music magazine Songlines.
Below, Ruth McDougall from QAGOMA and Roselyn Tari from Further Arts, write about their recent experience in the region.
Simane Wénethem, Emyo Tinyo Dance and Music Festival, Ambrym, 2014
Yumi Danis (We Dance) | Ruth McDougall
Yumi Danis (We Dance) is a multi-art project incorporating visual arts, performance and dance from Melanesia developed especially as part of the Pacific representation for the upcoming The 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT8).
The project emerges out of stories about Melanesia told by ni-Vanuatu musician and author Marcel Meltherorong. Speaking of this region Meltherorong poetically describes mythical and historical connections between islands and the ways in which these connections have for centuries been communicated via dance and song. He also asserts the importance of the continued exchange of dance and other art forms, for the contemporary peoples of the Torres Strait, West Papua, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia/ Kanaky.
Yumi Danis participants arriving Craigs Cove, Ambrym, 2014 / Photograph courtesy Sarah Doyle, Further Arts, Port Vila
Inspired by this, a key component of Yumi Danis (We Dance) involved the Gallery selecting 11 dancers from across the region to participate in a workshop/ exchange hosted by the NGO Further Arts as part of the Emyo Tinyo festival in Ambrym, Vanuatu in November 2014. Further Arts is a charitable association based in Port Vila which seeks to further Vanuatu music, media, dance and culture. The organisation plays a vital role in providing opportunities to young men and women as well as remote communities seeking to develop cultural opportunities and festivals. The Yumi Danis (We Dance) participants travelled to Ambrym for ten days as part of the Ambrym festival to share dances from West Papua, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.
Yumi Danis participants dancing Solomon Islands dance, Emyotungan, Ambrym, 2014Interviews of Yumi Danis participants, Nicky, Ben and Marcel, Emyotungan, Ambrym, 2014
The workshop was also attended by Kanaky visual artist Nicolas Molé. Performances, interviews and exchanges occurring during the workshop were documented by QAGOMA and young Further Arts photographers and filmakers, and this material will form part of a multi-media installation created by Molé, in collaboration with Meltherorong, for APT8.
Ruth McDougall | Curator, Pacific Art
Dancing on black ash ground of Emyotungan village, Ambrym, 2014 / Photograph courtesy of Sarah Doyle, Further Arts, Port Vila
Exchanging kastom and culture through filmmaking at Emyo Tinyo Dance & Music Festival in Vanuatu | Roselyn Tari
What an incredible experience we all had in the island village of Emyotungan for the Emyo Tinyo Dance & Music Festival in November last year! I am especially grateful to have participated in this event through Further Arts TEKS (Traditional Entertainment & Kastom Support) Program as leader of the local film crew. It was a great opportunity for us to put our filming skills to work, and we were lucky to have the presence of a professional cameraman there too, Ben Wickes, from the Queensland Art Gallery.
Each day we worked together to film and photograph the intensive dance and music workshops. We used different filming techniques such as wide views, close ups, filming from above and below, and panning to create interesting shots that would be able to give the viewer a feeling of being there and experiencing the energy of the moment.
Musicians and dancers during the workshops / Photograph courtesy of Sarah Doyle, Further Arts, Port VilaA mix of talented Melanesian musicians and dancers performing at the festival / Photograph courtesy of Sarah Doyle, Further Arts, Port VilaMarcel Meltherorong, Yumi Danis participants as part of Emyo Tinyo Music and Dance Festival, Emyotungan, Ambrym, 2014 / Photograph courtesy of Sarah Doyle, Further Arts
Additionally, the event was, for me, a chance to learn about and encounter different customs and cultures from my brothers and sisters that came from the Melanesian countries, Solomon islands, West Papua, Kanaky, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and of course, Vanuatu. I discovered the unique creativity of our region through the songs, sounds and movements exchanged, and I also learnt about the meanings and stories behind them. This cross-cultural experience helped me to remember to be humble, finding a way to work with and alongside the local community. I also saw how we, as Melanesians, connect – this connection is why we can easily socialize when we come together, through a genuine feeling of family and solidarity.
Roselyn Tari | Further Arts Nesar Studio, writes about the experience of this event from the perspective of a young ni-Vanuatu photographer and filmmaker / Translation | Sarah Doyle
After months of anticipation, ‘David Lynch: Between Two Worlds’, the first exhibition in Australia to explore the 50 year career of the acclaimed American artist and filmmaker, opens exclusively at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art on Saturday 14 March.
‘Between Two Worlds’ is the largest survey to date of works by the Los Angeles-based artist who will visit Australia for the first time in conjunction with the opening weekend.
QAGOMA Director Chris Saines said it was a major coup for Brisbane to host the artist during his first ever visit to Australia.
“Between Two Worlds’ explores David Lynch’s entire practice as an artist and filmmaker, spanning painting, photography, printmaking, industrial design, music and the moving image. Featuring over 200 works across all media, the exhibition is sure to surprise Australian audiences not yet familiar with Lynch’s broader artist practice and is an exciting opportunity to see works never before shown in Australia,’ said Mr Saines.
QAGOMA Senior Curator José Da Silva, curator of ‘David Lynch: Between Two Worlds’, said visitors can expect to discover Lynch’s deep love of mysteries.
‘This is an exhibition about the transcendent power of the imagination and about an artist who loves a mystery, particularly one that leaves room to dream. Three ideas underpin the arrangement of works across seven galleries – ‘Man and machine’; ‘The extra-ordinary’; and ‘Psychic aches’ – and demonstrate the possibility of finding a deeper reality in our everyday existence,’ said Da Silva.
The exhibition, showing exclusively at GOMA until 7 June, also includes film screenings held onsite at the Gallery’s Australian Cinémathèque, including Lynch’s 10 feature films and nine programs of shorts and experimental works, alongside selected documentaries and works for television. The short film Scissors 2007 also screens continuously in Cinema B as part of the exhibition.
‘Between Two Worlds’ is supported by Principal Partner Tourism and Events Queensland, Official Airline Partner Virgin Australia, and Media Partner Triple M. Mr Lynch’s travel to Australia was supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.
The opening weekend includes two sold out events – a performance by David Lynch’s collaborator, US songstress Chrysta Bell, on Friday night, and an In Conversation with beloved Australian film critic David Stratton held in association with the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) on Saturday afternoon.
As part of his first ever visit to Australia, Lynch will host a Master Class for local students which will be broadcast to 11 regional and remote venues.
Two special musical projects have been commissioned for the exhibition and will premiere at GOMA in April. Reflecting the enduring influence of Lynch’s work, the performances include two concerts by USA experimental band Xiu Xiu, who will reimagine the music of Twin Peaks, and a collaborative project called HEXA, who will create a new soundscape responding to Lynch’s extensive archive of factory photographs shown in the exhibition.
A series of after-hours illustrated talks from expert academics held monthly during the exhibition will consider the broad scope of Lynch’s practice, from his experimentation with sound and narrative devices to his long-term dialogue with art history. On Saturday 11 April the Gallery will play host to a Twin Peaks trivia night, followed by a special 25th Anniversary screening of the TV show’s pilot episode.
Held on the final three Fridays of the exhibition, Lynch by Night will give visitors after-hours access to ‘David Lynch: Between Two Worlds’, with talks, tours, dining, bars and an ambient backdrop of sounds from Australian performers. The award winning GOMA Restaurant is also open on Friday nights from 5.30pm – late.
A full-colour 176 page exhibition catalogue accompanies the exhibition and features over 200 images illustrating Lynch’s wide-ranging oeuvre, new portraits by Los Angeles-based photographer Just Loomis, and an interview with the artist.
‘David Lynch: Between Two Worlds’ is exclusive to Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art 14 March – 7 June 2015. Tickets to the exhibition, film screenings and special music events are on sale now. Booking fees apply to all tickets purchased in advance.
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art stands and recognise the creative contribution First Australians make to the art and culture of this country.
