Queensland Art Gallery Annual Report 1995-96

C U R A T O R I A L & S U P P O R T S E R V I C E S PROGRAM Mainly paintings on bark, canvas and boards from tradition-based etchings with collage by Sally Smart from her 'Scribble dress' communities, they add historical depth and balance to an essentially series 1995 and Ray Arnold's etching And for each sense there is urban-based collection of works by young to mid-career artists, on image I 1995. From Queensland, Ron McBurnie's large-scale a dynamic legacy from the landmark exhibition 'Balance 1990..,' intaglio print The temptation of St Antony 1994 reflects the artist's quirky urban images which touch on profound themes with A developing profile of desert works, consisting of three early considerable humour. Three 1976 collages by James Gleeson were boards and six 1990s canvases, was significantly strengthened by the donated by James Agapitos and Ray Wilson, while earlier twentieth- addition of seven 1970s 'Papunya boards' and six 1980s classic desert century prints and drawings by Frank Medworth and Richard canvases, adding coherence to a hitherto patchy collection, Boards Werner were also acquired. by Kaapa Tjampitjinpa and Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri together with canvases by the masters Paddy jupurrurla Nelson and Larry One of the world's leading publishers of avant-garde art editions and ungarrayi Spencer, Two Bob Tjungarrayi and Tjungarrayi Yala Yala multiples, Francesco Conz, donated over one hundred separate Gibbs add the historic perspective necessary to tell the story of works by thirty-nine artists, the most important single donation of cultural triumph in the desert over the past twenty-five years. The international art to the Gallery. It primarily represents artists from coveted Bush tucker story 1972 by Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri adds the Fluxus movement, currently receiving critical attention as a immeasurable value to the desert holdings. radically innovative phenomenon of the 1960s. Nam June Palk, Charlotte Moorman, Robert Watts, George Brecht, Alison Knowles The purchase of twenty-one bark paintings from three regions in and Dick Higgins are represented in the gift. Arnhem Land, dating from the 1960s to 1995, accords with the Gallery's commitment to acquire works from Northern Australia Several major prints and photographs, acquired from a variety of and re-animates the modest holdings of early bark paintings. The sources in the United States, Europe and Japan, were purchased monumental 2.4 metre Two creator sisters 1993 by Timothy with State Government new initiatives funding and Gallery Wulanjbirr, with a setting reminiscent of the Garden of Eden, is fine Foundation monies. Master prints such as Louis Marcoussis's cubist example of syncretism in contemporary bark painting, composition Le Comptoir 1920 and etchings by the surrealist Kurt Seligmann will facilitate gallery rotations of works on paper. Classic The sparse holdings of contemporary indigenous art from Western imagery from the 1970s by Richard Estes, Dorothea Rockburne, Roy Australia were expanded with two syncretic works in acrylic on Lichtenstein and more recent editions of prints by Ana Mendieta, canvas byjarinyanu David Downs from Turkey Creek, one entitled David Rabinowitch, Bruce Nauman and others fill important gaps Moses and God making the Ten Commandments: Blue Lake Country, in the collection. Mount Gambier 1989. Purchases of international photographs included vintage and later Commitment to collect across media and to contemporary art prints by André Kertesz, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Lisette Model, practice was demonstrated with the acquisition of an enigmatic and work by contemporary practitioners Krzysztof Wodiczko, installation of thirty-four ground pieces by Lin Onus. Wittily entitled Shirin Neshat and Boyd Webb. A stronger spring for David—Taos for a modern age 1994, it pays homage to Aboriginal inventor David Unaipon and to the creativity Building on the Gallery's commitment to reflect art practice of the of the Aboriginal people from Lake Eyre. Asia-Pacific region, Japanese photographers Yasumasa Morimura, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Michiko Kon and Kozo Miyoshi are now A suite of five works by pioneer urban artist Robert Campbell represented in the collection, and two elaborate 1994 drawings Junior, a fortuitous find in today's marketplace, was constantly on by Filipino artist Santiago Bose were added. display in response to the public's enthusiasm for their narrative treatment of history and popular culture. A video art collection was established with Brian Langer as consultant, and includes work by Australian and international artists Regional Queensland and the Torres Strait Islands were represented such as Peter Callas, Jil Scott and Bill Viola. by acquisitions of an installation from Aurukun by Arthur Koo-ekka Pambegan and a complex, articulated shark headdress by Regular rotations of prints, drawings and photographs in the Ken Thaiday. international and Australian galleries were contextualised with paintings, sculpture and decorative arts. Changing displays of Ukiyo-e The collection was showcased for the first time in the exhibition prints, including Gallery Society gifts, were presented in The Arco 'Pathways I - Changes and Exchanges...', revealing its depth and Gallery of Asian Art. diversity in the 130 works selected. Older parts of the collection were seen in the regional travelling exhibition 'Ancient Land, Exhibitions from the collection included 'The Power to Move: Modern Art..,' and in 'Regions and Rituals...', whilst the recently Aspects of Australian Photography' with emphasis on post acquired desert boards and canvases were displayed on rotation World War I images, particularly those from the 1980s, when in the Gallery and in 'Reference Points IV'. photography became accepted as an integral part of contemporary art practice; 'Multiples on Paper 60s & 70s'; the regional travelling Prints, Drawings & Photographs exhibition 'The Spiritual and The Social . . .'; and 'With a View Australian contemporary works on paper were augmented by to Japan: The Influence of Japanese Woodblock Prints on outstanding prints from the I990s, including five unique-state Australian Printmaking'.