Human human

Ah Xian began creating busts from live casting in the early 1990s. In his early series, such as ‘China China’, hand-painted cobalt motifs float freely across milky porcelain figures. Gradually, he felt drawn to other ancient materials — bronze, lacquer and jade — and, notably, worked on an ambitious scale in the delicate and painstaking…

Meet our canine friends

In an array of breeds, shapes and sizes, from wild dogs, to the valuable working dog, and the unconditional love of the house dog, QAGOMA has it all — we’re overrun by our four-legged furry friends — so we’ve selected just a few artworks on display — we’ll let you find even more when you…

I can spin skies

Textiles have defined nationalities, facilitated cultural exchanges, and played a role in the rise and fall of empires, drawn from the QAGOMA Collection, the exhibition ‘I can spin skies’ at the Queensland Art Gallery focuses on a breadth of textile practices — and art influenced by textile production — from across the broader geography and…

Canine Construction

South Korean artist Gimhongsok’s Canine Construction 2009 brings me a lot of joy. This is one of Gimhongsok’s proposals for public monuments, recognising that no-one ever seems to agree on public art. It’s cast from resin but looks like it’s made out of garbage bags. Sure, there’s an art world in-joke here, looking like a…

Commissioning ‘Heritage’: An installation by Cai Guo-Qiang

Over a period of six years from 2008, QAGOMA and New York-based Chinese artist Cai Guo- Qiang developed and realised the spectacular and meditative art installation Heritage 2013 — a beautiful, thought-provoking vision of our relationship with the earth and with each other. A highly collaborative undertaking, the artwork comprises 99 life-sized imitation animals from…

Ah Xian: Accomplished artist & generous donor

Australian artist Ah Xian has been awarded the 2019 Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Medal in recognition of his enduring and impassioned contribution to the Gallery. We honour and celebrate the highly acclaimed artist and benefactor for his outstanding contribution to the QAGOMA Collection. His sustained and exceptional patronage places him among…