object eye
WOOD: art design architecture at JamFactory
Tuesday April 02 2013
Co-curators of WOOD: art design architecture, Elliat Rich and Brian Parkes, have created a little wooden forest of objects for us to float around and get lost in. The insightful duo have collected together the sublime works of 28 talented contemporary Australian artists, designers, and architects and created an engaging celebration of all things wood.
The exhibition of these works is a wonderful exploration of the historical, technological, and social significance of this ancient material.
Even though wood appears to be a simple, static material to work with, it is often not the case. Wood can crack, expand, and warp (I have experienced all three of these occurrences at once), and only the most skilled craftspeople can get the most out of this deceptively problematic substance.
Anish Kapoor at the MCA, Sydney
Friday March 08 2013
Recently the Object team visited the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia to see the greatly anticipated survey exhibition, Anish Kapoor. Judith Blackall, Head of Artistic Programs, and Megan Robson, Curatorial Assistant, kindly introduced us to the show, providing first-hand, behind-the-scenes insights into coordinating the museum’s most ‘colossal’ exhibition to date.
The group was told all about the enormous logistical feat that Anish Kapoor demanded. Realising this project, described by Robson as the museum’s most ambitious exhibition yet, required the biggest budget the MCA has acquired, largely due to the unique freight and installation requirements of Kapoor’s work. Comprised of 22 containers worth of sculptural works shipped directly from the artist’s studio in London, the sheer weight of his work meant engaging external contractors, including structural engineers and heavy lifting specialists, was a necessity throughout freight and installation. This involved not only closing off streets, but also removing whole walls and ceilings to accommodate the large-scale works.
National Contemporary Jewellery Award at Metalab
Monday October 15 2012
Last week I managed to get along to the National Contemporary Jewellery Award 2012 finalist exhibition at Metalab and it was fantastic! The converted industrial space that Metalab is housed in, just off Crown Street in Surry Hills at 10b Fitzroy Place, is a hidden gem itself. With its polished concrete interior it creates a cool and reverent atmosphere for what almost feels like a temple of worship to the beautiful and brilliant pieces exhibited.
The contemporary works by the 23 finalists in the awards (Nina Baker, Julie Blyfield, Claire Brooks, Bin Dixon-Ward, Joungmee Do, Sian Edwards, Emma Fielden, Yuko Fujita, Kath Inglis, Bridget Kennedy, Vicki Mason, Leslie Matthews, Christopher Earl Milbourne, Sarah Murphy, Nicole Polentas, Brenda Ridgewell, Kaoru Rogers, Emily Snadden, Andrew Welch, Alice Whish, Amy Zubick, Pennie Jagiello and Helena Bogucki) are diverse and truly push the boundaries with design and execution of jewellery production.
MONA — Theatre of the World
Friday August 31 2012
Sandra Brown is Object’s Touring Programs Coordinator, and a ceramicist in her spare time.
Well I finally got to go and see the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) down in Hobart while I was recently in Tasmania for work. Was it worth driving down from Launceston to Hobart? Definitely! Although the day was bitterly cold with Arctic winds coming off the water, the museum was a warm and welcoming ‘womb like’ cavern, carved into a sandstone outcrop on the Derwent River.
Directed to the bottom level of the building, deep below the surface, I stepped out and was immediately reminded of those dark, moody galleries found deep in the basement of the Louvre in Paris. The soaring natural sandstone walls, a reminder of the massive excavation of this site, are a perfect foil for the lavish cocktail bar, furniture and black theatre style drapes. It is down here that one commences the MONA experience for both exhibitions currently on show – Mona-ism and Theatre of the World.
Object magazine 62 — Wood You Wear Review
Monday May 14 2012
Linda van Niekerk’s exhibition Wood You Wear? boldly and aptly questions assumptions about functionality and provenance and reflects her curious and audacious process in creating her new jewellery designs.
The small scale of the community in Tasmania and connectedness inherent in this proximity has led to a collegiality among designer makers and a collaborative spirit. In this exhibition van Niekerk capitalises on these exchanges through the design process she employs.
To create these new works there have been ‘partnerships’ with six different designers makers who each knowingly, either at the time of making or event after, have consented to van Niekerk using their completed components or discarded remnants as the major feature of her jewellery. Remarkably she resists temptation to re-design, adapt or re-mould, instead simply honouring the form and subverting the function.
Visiting Object
St. Margarets, 417 Bourke St
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Gallery:
11am to 5pm
Wednesday to Saturday
Object Ground Floor:
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Wednesday to Saturday
+61 2 9361 4511
object@object.com.au
