Karen Woodbury Gallery @ The India Art Fair, New Delhi

Karen Woodbury Gallery is presenting an exhibition of four major works by our sculptor, Sam Jinks, at the India Art Fair, New Delhi from 26 - 29 January.

For further information, click here.

Call out for portrait participants

Call-out!

Simon Obarzanek is looking for participants to have their portraits taken in his latest video project The 'Movement'.

The 'Movement' is a close-up portrait of subjects who will be shot exercising on a cross-training machine located at West Space gallery, Melbourne.

He is looking for people who:

Are willing to exercise to a state of complete exhaustion for between 10 and 20 minutes and are aged between 18 and 60 years old.

Subjects do not need to be fit to participate in this project. All you need is a black T-shirt.

If you are interested please email Simon Obarzanek to arrange a time for filming: videoportraits2012@hotmail.com

Locust Jones @ Bathurst Regional Art Gallery

Locust Jones is holding a solo exhibition at Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, that runs from 20 January and continues until 11 March.

The exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive exhibition catalogue with an interview style essay by our very own Gallery Manager, Rachael Watts.

For further information, click here

Pipilotti Rist & The Mad Square + more

Looking for some great exhibitions to visit over the Summer break?

We suggest visiting Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist's solo exhibition 'I packed the Postcard in My Suitcase' at Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, that runs until 4 March.

Then you can take a short stroll to the National Gallery of Victoria on St Kilda Road and see the landmark exhibition, 'Mad Square: Modernity in German Art 1910-37', that runs until 4 March.


If you are in Sydney make sure you visit Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) and see Mexican-Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer's exhibition 'Recorders'. This interactive exhibition will comprise of twelve installation pieces and runs until 12 February.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales is holding a Picasso exhibition of works sourced from Musee National Picasso, Paris, on display until 25 March.

John Pule survey exhibition

John Pule is holding a survey exhibition of works from 1990-2011 at Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland. This exhibition continues until January 2012.

For further details click here.

John Pule also has a major publication 'Hauaga: The Art of John Pule' available for purchase through Otago University Press.

For further information, click here.

Season's Greetings

Season's Greetings from the team at Karen Woodbury Gallery.

Karen Woodbury Gallery will close for Summer from 22nd December 2011 - 18th January 2012.

A few of our favourite things

We have posted an album on our Facebook page with a selection of some of our favourite things from the stock room to provide you with some inspiration for that perfect gift for that special person and/or yourself.

Click here to be redirected

Happy Christmas shopping!

Sam Jinks @ McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park

Need a break from Christmas shopping mayhem?

Pack a picnic and take a leisurely drive to McCLelland Sculpture Park + Gallery, Langwarrin to see Sam Jinks' two awe inspiring sculptures 'Hanging Man' and 'Calcium Divide' on display until 18 March.

These works are included in a group exhibition 'Double Vision' alongside works by: Stephen Birch, Lyndell Brown & Charles Green, Juan Ford, Petrina Hicks, Cherry Hood, Justine Khamara, Rosemary Laing, Ron Muek, Jan Nelson, Evan Penny, Patricia Piccinini, Caroline Rothwell, Julie Rrap, Alexander Seton, Ricky Swallow, Colin Suggett, Chritian Thompson & Ronnie van Hout.

Check out a review of the exhibition by Raymond Gill here

Heather B. Swann in Rome

Heather B. Swann is currently undertaking an Australia Council residency in Rome. While away, Heather is included in a group exhibition 'Seven things to do in an emergency', that runs from 13 - 21 December, at the British School, Rome.

For further information, click here.

We hope you are having a wonderful time Heather!

Port Philip City Collection Acquisition: Lisa Roet

Congratulations to Lisa Roet whose work has been recently acquired by the Port Phillip City Art Collection.

Her work, 'The Mark of No Human Hand I' 2011, is on display in the group exhibition 'Recent Acquisitions' at the St.Kilda Town Hall Gallery until 29 December.

For further information, click here.

Chapman & Bailey Belle Arti Award

Congratulations to Marie Hagerty who was recently awarded the 2011 Chapman & Bailey Belle Arti Award.

This award is a $5,000 national 35.0 cm x 35.0 cm acquisitive prize.

Congratulations Marie! For further information, click here

Lionel Bawden featured in the current issue of Artist Profile

The current issue 17 of Artist Profile features an article on our gallery artist Lionel Bawden. Lionel is currently showing a solo show at Karen Woodbury Gallery.

For an exhibition preview click here.

The opening will be held on Thursday November 24th from 6pm until 8pm.

Open Studio @ Artspace

Lara Merrett is holding an Open Studio 2nd-3rd December from 11am-5pm at Art Space Sydney (43 - 51 Cowper Wharf Road Woolloomooloo).

The official opening and drinks with the artist will be held on Friday 2nd from 6-8pm.

This is a great opportunity to see some of Lara's new work on display.

Lara will be holding a solo exhibition with Karen Woodbury Gallery in 2012.

For more information click here

Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition

The 2011 Sculpture Exhibition & Awards at Yering Station, Yarra Glen continues to run until 4 December. The 2011 exhibition showcases the work of 29 artists, including Karen Woodbury Gallery artist, Titania Henderson. For more information click here

Kate Rohde & Pieces of Eight

Pieces of Eight who sell contemporary jewellery and artist made objects, have been working with a range of contemporary artists including Kate Rohde to create a range of limited edition range of jewellery, 'Edition X'.

Edition X will be launched at Pieces of Eight showroom (635 Brunswick St Fitzroy North) on Thursday 10 November from 6-8pm. The store will open to the public on Friday 11 November.

Karen Woodbury Gallery also sells a range of jewellery by Kate Rohde.

The Edition X range will be on sale at 'Markit @ Federation Square' on Sunday 27 November from 10am - 5pm.

New Romantics

Simon Gregg (Curator of the Gippsland Art Gallery, Sale) has recently published the book 'New Romantics: Darkness and Light in Australian Art' that features the work of our gallery artists Jane Burton & Philip Wolfhagen, in addition to 34 other contemporary Australian artists.

Set against the dazzling backdrop of the Australian sublime, 'New Romantics' charts the dynasties of Romantic art. From its nascent beginnings in European philosophy to a cause championed by Australian colonialists, this compelling survey seeks to understand how it has landed in the hands of a new generation of Australian artists.

To order a copy, please contact Australian Scholarly Publishing.

Lionel Bawden, Vogue Living

The November/December Issue of Vogue Living features the new work 'Pattern Spill' (2011) by our artist Lionel Bawden who is holding an exhibition with us from 23 November - 17 December.

Small Sculpture Award

Congratulations to Michael Doolan, Titania Henderson and Heather B. Swann who are finalists in the Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award!

The exhibition opens on 2 November and runs until 10 December.

For more information click here.

Locust Jones exhibits in Dusseldorf, Germany

Locust Jones will exhibit new work in Germany at Kunstraum Dusseldorf.

The exhibition 'Top Dead, 2010' opens on 4 November and continues until 13 November.

For further information click here.

In Great Trouble

Fiona Lowry has curated an exhibition entitled 'In Great Trouble', held at Bondi Pavilion Gallery, Bondi Beach, as part of the Waverley artists in residence program.

Artists include: Angelica Mesiti, Jamie North, Tim Silver, Craig Bender, Julie Fragar, Ben Quilty, Jonathan Jones, Nigel Milsom, Simryn Gill, Fiona Lowry & Shaun Gladwell.

Exhibition opens 28 October 6-9pm and continues until 20 November.

Alex Spremberg: PICA & Toyota

To celebrate the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) and Toyota's new partnership, Alex Spremberg has created a specially commissioned artwork to wrap PICA's new Toyota 'Rukus'. Alex has contributed in creating a stunning, moveable artwork in the streets of Perth!

Alex is currently holding a solo exhibition 'Wrong Angles' at PICA until 30 October. For more information, click here

Coming Soon | Jane Burton

Karen Woodbury Gallery is pleased to announce Jane Burton’s solo exhibition White Stain, a series of photographic works on display from 26 October – 19 November.

Burton’s new works deal with images and ideas surrounding light, shadow, fragility, decay and the female form. The audience is presented with a series of images of anonymous naked female bodies that inhabit mysterious dark interiors. The singular female form is a central theme in Burton’s work. In ‘White Stain’ the figures appear, ‘isolated in light fall, at once revealed but also self-contained and protected.’

Lisa Roet | Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award 2011

Congratulations to Lisa Roet who has been awarded the Winner of the non-acquisitive prize for the Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award 2011.

Lisa submitted two new etchings that were recently produced at the Australian Print Workshop for her Collie Print Trust Printmaking Fellowship earlier this year, 'The mark of no human hand'.

We have a range of Lisa's etchings from this series currently available in the stockroom.

Pagan Pop | Kate Rohde

Kate Rohde has been included in a group exhibition 'Pagan Pop' that opens 14 October 2011 at Canberra Contemporary Art Space. Other artist include: Celeste Aldahn, Tamara Dean, Julia deVille, Jessica Herrington, Robbie Karmel, Owen Lewis, Helen Shelley and Marian Tubbs.

Curated by Yolande Norris, 'Pagan Pop' invokes a collective nostalgia for a time beyond memory and a fascination with the unknown possibilities of the universe; A desire for all things natural, mystical and primitive, for crystals, gold and glitter, feathers, fur and bones. Triggered by technological saturation, this shared longing influences the output of the masses, infiltrating art and culture before manifesting as pre-packaged pop-culture trend.

INVIDEO 2011

Magda Matwiejew's new work "Wasp Waist" has been selected to participate in INVIDEO 2011 in November in Milan, Italy.

INVIDEO is an International Exhibition of Video Art and Cinema Beyond, organised since 1990 by A.I.A.C.E. in Milan, represents a reference point for non fictional video in Italy and has established itself as an international benchmark for the full range of audiovisual production connected to electronic art and new technologies.

For further information click here

Invitation | Michael Doolan

INVITATION



MICHAEL DOOLAN

CAUTIONARY TALES


29 September - 22 October 2011

opening drinks Thursday September 29 6-8pm

National Artists' Self-Portrait Prize 2011

We are pleased to announce that Michael Doolan has been selected to exhibit in the University of Queensland's 2011 National Artists' Self-Portrait Prize.

The exhibition runs from 19 September - 12 February 2012 at the UQ Art Museum, Brisbane.

For further information click here

Imitation of Life, Jane Burton & Fabrice Bigot

Jane Burton and Fabrice Bigot are currently exhibiting a dual channel video installation 'Imitation of Life' at Screenspace, 30 Guilford Lane, Melbourne. Exhibition continues until 8 October. For further information visit: www.screenspace.com

Coming Soon | Michael Doolan

We are pleased to announce, Cautionary Tales a new solo exhibition by Michael Doolan.

Doolan toys with the original ending of childhood stories and fairy tales by visually upsetting, changing and twisting their outcomes. Cautionary Tales will feature small-scale hand modeled ceramic sculptures this artist's exploration of childhood fantasy and fictional tales.

To arrange a preview please email: info@kwgallery.com

Cautionary Tales | September 29 - October 22

Simon Obarzanek | Ipswich Art Gallery

Simon Obarzanek's 80 faces (2006) body of work will feature in, Face in a crowd: new portraiture at Ipswich Art Gallery from today until 13 November.

The exhibition will present works by four contemporary artists, including Justine Khamara, David Rosetzky, Simon Obarzanek and Denis Beaubois examining the complex issue of individual identity within today's ever-changing, global and consumer focused culture.

Heather B. Swann | Text as Image

Heather B.Swann has been included in the group exhibition Text (as) Image
 at Level 17 Artspace, Victoria University, opening September 6 from 6-8pm.

The exhibition will also feature works by:
 Brook Andrew, Peter Burke, Angela Cavalieri, Sue Dodd, Christopher Hanrahan,
 Bridget Hillebrand, Danius Kesminas, Barbara Kruger, Richard Lewer, Mike Parr,
 Simon Pericich, Matt Shannon, and Imants Tillers.

McCulloch & McCulloch | Australian Art Diary 2012

Lisa Roet and Lionel Bawden have both been included in the McCulloch & McCulloch Australian Art Diary for 2012.

Purchase your copy here.

Titania Henderson | Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition & Awards 2011

Titania Henderson has been accepted into the Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition and Awards for 2011.

A winner will be announced on October 23. All the best Titania!

Deakin University contemporary small sculpture award 2011

Michael Doolan, Titania Henderson and Heather B. Swann have been selected as finalists in the Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award 2011. A winner will be announced on November 2. Stay tuned for news!




Michael Doolan then is not now (purple) 2010, enquire about this work.

Alex Spremberg | New Exhibition @ PICA

Alex Spremberg will feature in a major solo show of new works, Wrong Angles, at PICA from 3 September until 30 October 2011.

In this exhibition, Spremberg seeks to integrate everyday materials such as cardboard boxes and newspapers into his paintings. Five new series of works will explore ideas around the distribution of consumer goods and the flow of information through the media.

Opening Friday September 2, 6pm.

Marie Hagerty | Opening September 1

Marie Hagerty



31 August - 24 September 2011

Opening drinks
Thursday 1st September 6-8pm










Rider 2011, oil on canvas, 157.0 x 137.0 cm

Rhys Lee | [1.85M] Art Peripheries

Last week we told you about 1.85 Million: Art Peripheries the new exhibition at Campbelltown Arts Centre featuring the work of gallery artist Rhys Lee.

We didn't make it up to Campbelltown for the opening but Rhys has just sent through some images of the site specific wall painting he made for the show and some installation views of his work. We thought we would share these with you.

Nusra Latif Qureshi | National Portrait Gallery

Nusra Latif Qureshi who's work was included in our 2009 Figuration Now exhibition has been included in the Beyond Self exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.

This exhibition examines the representation of the self in current South and Southeast Asian art practice through the work of artists from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines and Thailand. Exploring the possibilities of portraiture, Beyond the Self includes painting, photography, sculpture, drawing and media works created from the early 2000s to the present.

Current until November 6 2011.

Rhys Lee | Campbelltown Arts Centre

Rhys Lee features in 1.85 Million: Art Peripheries a new exhibition curated by Joseph Allen Shea and also featuring the work of Howard Arkley (Australia), Mohamed Bourouissa (France), Paul B. Davis (USA), Will French (Australia), Jesse Hogan (Australia), Miranda July (USA), Corita Kent (USA), Amanda Maxwell (Australia), Susumu Mukai (Japan), Garry Trinh (Australia).

1.85 Million: Art Peripheries will open this evening from 7pm at the Campbelltown Arts Centre with guest speaker: Anne Loxley, Curator C3West, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. The exhibition looks at cross-cultural and geographical comparisons and connections between social experiences of urban and suburban environments and includes number of newly commissioned works.

Join Rhys Lee, curator Joseph Allen Shea and artists Jesse Hogan and Amanda Maxwell for a discussion on Saturday 20 August, 1-3pm.

Campbelltown Arts Centre | 20 August – 23 October

Photo by Garry Trinh.

Coming Soon | Marie Hagerty

We are very pleased to announce Marie Hagerty’s first solo exhibition at Karen Woodbury Gallery.

Hagerty’s paintings have been described as oscillating between the figurative and the abstract as forms appear familiar yet also indistinguishable.

The exhibition will consist of a suite of major paintings ranging in scale with a shift in palette from previous works. These new paintings are aesthetically stunning whilst technically complex, provoking a prolonged engagement with the viewer.

Please contact the gallery to arrange a preview, info@kwgallery.com

Marie Hagerty | 31 August - 24 September


Rider 2011, oil on canvas, 157.0 x 137.0 cm

Titania Henderson | NGV

Titania Henderson has been selected to participate in the 6th Cicely and Colin Rigg Contemporary Design Award.

Titania's work Together 2010 will be included in the exhibition at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia in 2012.

Magda Matwiejew | Wasp Waist

We thought we would share a few images from Magda Matwiejew's newest video work Wasp Waist ("Taille de guêpe") which was completed in April 2011.

The work has been selected in the 2011 Videoholica International Video Art Festival in Varna, Bulgaria, from August 5-12.

100 Artists. 100 Tickets. 100 Dollars.

We are very pleased to support You're Welcome - a charity art raffle where every ticket wins an original work and all proceeds go to the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre.

100 Artists. 100 Tickets. 100 Dollars.

Heather B. Swann, Lara Merrett, Lionel Bawden and Rhys Lee have donated works to the project. Get involved!

For one afternoon only at Mars Gallery (418 Bay St, port Melbourne) from 3-6pm on Sunday July 24 to add a special piece to your wall and contribute to a great cause.

We're Loving | Nell and Romance Was Born

We're loving the newest collaboration by our friends Romance was Born and Nell.

The first drop of the SS12 collection has arrived in Melbourne and we are super keen to snap some up!

You may recall gallery artist Kate Rohde collaborated with the eponymous fashion duo last year for their Renaissance Dinosaur collection? (We blogged about it here.) And before that Del Kathryn Barton.

Save the Date | Locust Jones

Locust Jones features on this Sunday's Art Nation on ABC 1 from 5pm, ABC 2 9.50pm.

On the programme Locust talks about his concerns about contemporary international politics and issues via the voice of his practice.

Gallery Interview | Michael Cusack

Michael Cusack has been in Melbourne these last few days to launch his new exhibition Transverse Series at Karen Woodbury Gallery. We caught up with him for a few quick questions about his life as an artist...

Michael Cusack

Describe your work in 5 words.
Abstracted, reduced, interrupted, optimistic, autobiographical

Tell us about this new body of paintings? They seem a lot ‘looser’ than the works in your 2008 show. Once you make something its made, then you have to make something else. It can apply to a body of work or to shapes within a work. I took a slightly different approach this time, a more vigorous approach. I used bigger brushes and rags to make marks. I was also toying with ideas about when a painting is finished and I wanted to use the whole canvas again. My last exhibition I was moving shapes around on a flat background and the shape making was more contained. On this occasion I wanted to change the way I made paintings. I introduced line and made structures or frameworks to support the shapes. The large dark shapes are still there but they are getting older and heavier now they need frames or scaffolding to support or hold them up.

top: anchor 2011, bottom: fig.11 2011

What are your influences at this time? Hard to say, as the process is internal and widespread. Everything from photographs by Cartier Bresson, to architectural plans, to images of ship building. Any old stuff on the street I find inspiring. It can be anything from a cardboard box shape to oil marks on the road. As an Art teacher I do a lot of research into other artists and artists practices, so these too are influences. There is also studio research of course.

Who or what inspires you to keep making? I think Jasper Johns said, “Do something and then do something else to it, and then do something else to it.” And there you go; you’re painting. The act of painting and the use of materials is its own inspiration, I guess you choose to do it. Being in the studio is not always about painting but research and converting the sometimes mundane into something poetic or of beauty. I really haven’t solved all the problems I am trying to work out in the studio and I am inspired to work on that. I believe in the work and that it changes every year and I am curious enough to stick at it to learn new things and to try and make the best work I can. I haven’t finished working out things yet and that is inspiring.

top: stone wall in Ireland, bottom: paintings at home

Tell us about your background. What path led you to become an artist? I grew up in Ireland and moved to Australia when I was 21. Early on in Dublin I had no inkling of becoming an artist, certainly not a painter. We were exposed to a lot of literature and I was inspired by a lot of Irish writers Beckett, Joyce, O’Casey etc. Apart from musicians, they were the creative people I was attuned to early on. When I was 16 or so I took up photography and spent those early years wandering the streets of Dublin taking photographs. I think photography taught me how to look and examine. I still find it incredibly inspiring. Much later after moving to Australia all my negatives were burnt in a fire and soon after my cameras were stolen. I took that as a sign and so I gave up photography per se. I did draw from an early age but didn’t go to Art school until 1995 (when I was thirty five) at Hunter Street Institute in Newcastle NSW, which I loved. That was the beginning of painting making sense to me, now I teach painting trying to make it make sense for others.

What does a typical day in the studio involve? There is nothing typical in the studio though I always listen to music, but closer to an exhibition I will be in there day and night. It’s sort of like: paint, paint, paint, sit around and read, do some drawing, experiment, paint, paint, paint, tidy up, jump on the computer, sit around again.

top: studio inspiration, bottom: the studio

What is your dream project? I don’t really have a dream project as such but I love travel and it feeds the mind so guess a few residencies in odd locations might be something.

If you could live with any artwork ever made what would it be?
There is too many to choose from really though I would like a Thomas Nozkowski painting. I do have a lovely drawing done by my daughter who has drawn me with a scruffy beard and the words ‘my naym is dad’ written on it. I am happy to have that one.

my naym is dad'