Queensland Art Gallery Annual Report 1997-98

The contemporary Asian art collection has been allocated its own spaces in Galleries 3 and 14 as part of the New Installation (although once every year or two they will be taken over for major blockbuster exhibitions). The first of these major installations was Shigeo Toya 's Woods I// 1991-92 which was followed by Xu Bing's A book from the sky 1987-91 and Nilima Shiekh's Shamiana 1996. All three installations are extremely important works by senior artists, and were very popular with audiences. Planning and research for the Third Triennial was an important component of the Assistant Curator's work, who is both the Selector for Singapore and a member of the South Asian Selection Team. Assistance with research for Japan and the Crossing Borders components for the Triennial was also undertaken . Drawn entirely from the Collection, the exhibition 'The Spiritual and the Social', which previously toured through regional Queensland, was lent to the Melbourne International Festival. The significance of the Collection was further underlined by the loan of Wong Hoy Cheong's In search of faraway places, Chatchai Puipia's Siamese smile: Siamese intellectual and Sanggawa's Palo-sebo to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, for the exhibition 'Art in Southeast Asia 1997'. International Art The limited restructure of the Program resulted in the appointment of an Assistant Curator of International Art. Her first task was to develop new displays of the Gallery's International collection in Galleries 7, 8 and 9 as part of the New Installation. This incorporates works across media categories as well as presenting substantial interpretive material. One of the Gallery's most significant acquisitions was the purchase of the sculptural piece Void (#13) 1991-92 by the internationally renowned artist Anish Kapoor. Though born in India, Kapoor lives and works in Britain and his work identifies him with the British avant-garde. Void (#13) is a highly evocative work rich in philosophical and metaphysical references. The Gallery's International holdings were significantly enriched by a second major donation by the Italian collector and publisher Francesco Conz of works associated with the Fluxus movement. This donation includes works by European and American artists such as Eric Andersen, Joseph Beuys, George Brecht, Philip Corner, Jean Dupuy, Geoffrey Hendricks, Alice Hutchins, Mieko Shiomi, Ben Vautier and Wolf Vostell, and a number of Asian artists such as Yayoi Kusama and Yoshimasa. The International art collection was enhanced by the purchase of three works with contextual significance. Children fishing by Blandford Fletcher is a handsome companion to Evicted, the Gallery's very first acquisition in 1896 and one of its most loved paintings. Frederick Goodall's Mother and child is a study for the Gallery's larger work Holy mother, and Andre Llote's Femme a la cuisine (Woman in the kitchen) reflects the artistic links between Australia and France in the 1920s. Decorative Arts The collection of Australian ceramics continued its steady development with the acquisition of fine examples by Bruce Anderson, Les Blakebrough, Joanna De Maine and Steve Bishopric. Bishopric is based outside Yeppoon and his Shigaraki orb no. 2 reflects the continuing interest by Australian potters in Japanese medieval kilns and long wood firing. A group of three ceramic vase forms by Fiona Murphy was acquired after their return from exhibition at the 'Concorso lnternazionale della ceramica d'arte' at Faenza, Italy. A massive pate verre vase by Ann Robinson, and Cold waters by her student Emma Camden, continued the representation of glass practitioners from New Zealand. Recent work by Australian glass artists includes the impressive Tall blue bottle, blown by Ben Edols and carved by his partner Kathy Elliott, and an exceptional example of the production ware of Matthew Larwood. In the International collection a significant group of lttala glassware, presented by the distributor Ordal Australia, included the Aalto vase and examples by Timo Sarpaneva and Tina Nordstrom. An important Orrefors glass vase in the 'ariel' technique by Edvin Ohrstrom was purchased at auction. Donut bracelets by Susan Cohn and Pendant: Flame Ill by earlier Makigawa were purchased to supplement the works originally acquired as part of the development of the exhibition 'Contemporary Vessels and Jewels: Australian Fine Metalwork' which travelled to Shanghai in 1997. Two batiks from Utopia added to the collection of Aboriginal textiles, while three block printed fabrics by Rosie Pvverle provided the first representation of the textile work of the Torres Strait Islands in the Collection. An attractive French enamelled inkwell was presented in memory of Miss Ida Martin by her sister. 26 ROBINSON, Ann New leal,od o.' ,44 Vase: Flax pod 'Te Rita' 1996 Mvulded d.rk gree• lead rystal gloss. lost...vax rdsting 30 X 35 X 25CIT' Purchdsed 1997 Q1 eP1 S1dnrt Art ..iallery FoL.m..Jtion lJ. m~ Orpcs VAUTIER, Ben F•anre b.193° J'ai pas peur de Marcel (I am not afraid of Marcel) '194 % Metal, pa,ot, .vood Panel: 49.8 x IS., x l 'icm lrn1'e-gnnder 102 6 x 15.2 x 34cn ,3pprox. r :!Q.); panel 1 r:; x >0 x 1 '.:lcn· G1't J~ Frdrcesco C nz "--troug the Queens,drd A,t ualle,y Fc.ur dati( -n 1 ~s,