With great sadness, we acknowledge the recent passing of Kumantye (Michael Nelson) Jagamara OAM (b.c.1946-2020). One of the foremost champions of the Western Desert painting movement, Kumantye was a dynamic innovator of Papunya’s second wave of painters, known for creating evocative newforms to portray his ancestral inheritance, He was also a deeply respected Warlpiri/Luritja Elder…
The Gallery pays tribute to the life and work of Australian artist John Nixon (1949-2020), who passed away in August in Melbourne. Renowned for his non-objective paintings and constructions, Nixon’s extensive output included music, photography, film, collage, print-making and publishing. In his paintings, he brought abstract and conceptual art together by combining the monochrome and…
James Mollison AO (1931–2020), founding director of the National Gallery of Australia, later director of the National Gallery of Victoria, and a major donor to art institutions around Australia, including QAGOMA, passed away in January. He leaves a singular legacy as a professional art museum director who, over the course of the modern era, shaped…
QAGOMA acknowledges the loss of greatly respected Brisbane artist, Madonna Staunton. Known principally for her delicate collages and small contemplative of works on paper, Madonna established her reputation during the 1970s and worked right up to late 2019 even in ailing health. Staunton’s indomitable and generous spirit had a remarkable capacity to change and…
Renowned Australian potter and educator Milton Moon AM (1926-2019) passed away in September. Born in Melbourne, Moon was introduced to clay in Brisbane through his friends Mervyn Feeney and Harry Memmott at the Sandison’s Pottery in Annerley, and began his 60-year career as a professional ceramicist. In 1959, he held his first solo exhibition of…
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…