Vale: Gordon Shepherdson

QAGOMA pays tribute to Brisbane painter Gordon Shepherdson (1934–2019) who passed away in July – an enduring presence in the local art community over many decades, Shepherdson was known for his unique approach to expressionist figuration. People, flowers, animals, the night sky and his favourite fishing spots – he painted them from memory with both…

A place where eyes once averted

Two remarkable paintings by Australian artist Anne Wallace draw attention to a dark chapter in Brisbane’s history. With compassion and respect, these works tell the stories of women who suffered institutional abuse at Goodna’s Wolston Park psychiatric facility, and Wallace focuses on their hard-won resilience while demanding that we not look away. Anne Wallace Contemporary…

Judy Watson: Collecting Australia

The Indigenous voice of Australia is over 65 000 years old. During NAIDOC Week 2019, with the theme of ‘voice, treaty and truth’, we invited award-winning author and Mununjali woman Ellen Van Neerven to develop a series of written responses entitled ‘Collecting Australia‘, which draw inspiration from works featured in our Australian Art Collection. This…

Ben Quilty’s ‘Captain Kate Porter, after Afghanistan’ is a picture of strength

Ben Quilty is one of Australia’s most visible and most recognisable contemporary artists — known equally as well for his numerous humanitarian activities as for his ambitious impasto paintings. Quilty first came to attention for his images dealing with the risk-taking behaviour that he and his young male cohort would engage in — excessive drinking,…

Margaret Olley paints a room filled with her personality

Australian artist Margaret Olley (1923-2011) worked extensively within the tradition of still life and interior subjects during the second half of the twentieth century, and made them uniquely her own. She established her reputation both locally and nationally with her colourful and vibrant paintings. In 1942 Olley moved from Brisbane to Sydney and enrolled at…

Jonathan Jones creates spectacular installations

Jonathan Jones’s untitled (giran) 2018 is reminiscent of a map of intersecting wind currents, evoking birds in flight; and knowledge, change and new ideas circling above our heads. Understanding wind is an important part of understanding country. Winds bring change, knowledge and new ideas to those prepared to listen. Jonathan Jones Jones works across a…