In partnership with Curtin University’s School of Design and Art, the John Curtin Gallery will exhibit the work of postgraduates Jan Andruszkiewicz, Kelsey Ashe Giambazi, Sheridan Coleman, Ben Crappsley and Shayne O’Donnell.
John Curtin Gallery Director Chris Malcolm said the SoDA postgraduate exhibition is an exciting part of the Gallery’s exhibition program as it reflects the high calibre of emerging contemporary art in Western Australia.
“This exhibition will put these five emerging artists in the public eye and for some, it is their first opportunity to present work in a major public art gallery.
“Works in the exhibition, which include textiles, digital media, works on paper and ceramics are focused, imaginative and accessible. I am particularly impressed by the standard of work this year,” Mr Malcolm said.
Jan Andruszkiewicz, Aesthesis:
Focusing on liminal spaces that separate one point from another in time and space, these artworks draw from people and machines in motion to reveal a binding relationship based on difference. While places in their own right – a train platform, an escalator, a traffic intersection, a road – they also form symbolic boundaries or connections between here and now, and the possibility of future destinations.
Sheridan Coleman, International Summit
The mountain is a metaphor for achievement, often used to evoke spiritual, worldly and geographic themes. It inspires awe and terror by its sheer scale and cut through the core, it’s a layered diagram of life on earth over millennia. International Summit is an intriguing collection of paintings by artist Sheridan Coleman which provide a humorous portrait of our yearning for, and desire to reach great heights. Coleman has completed a Masters in Art at Curtin University and has exhibited her work in a number of exhibitions since 2009. She is currently a PhD candidate at Curtin University, investigating ways in which landscape-imaging technology has influenced contemporary landscape art.
Ben Crappsley, Substratum
Ben Crappsley’s work explores the idea of cinematic substratum – a film-like layer of imagery between frames without obvious narrative, characters or dialogue. Without these conventions of storytelling, the work becomes a filmic backdrop, giving us new places to explore. Are we lost in the inky depths where forms float in and out of focus, or are we winding our way through the forest of an unfamiliar terrain –an inner landscape waiting to be given a story with meaning.
Kelsey Ashe Giambazi, Antipodean Orientalism
The exploration and expression of cultural identity have been the central focus of Kelsey Ashe’s design practice for the past ten years. Antipodean Orientalism is a series of new work by the artist which draws on the rich textile traditions of Asia and the Pacific, focusing on the development of a signature style of decorative exoticism through hand illustrated and digitally printed textile designs.
Kelsey Ashe Giambazi said the title Antipodean Orientalism referred to the imaginary geographical crossroad between East and West, and the proximity and influence of Asian and Pacific cultural design traditions on contemporary Australian culture, identity and landscape.
Shayne O’Donnell, Space as place
The artist has created a number of large works on paper and canvas that investigate process and materiality. Within them, O’Donnell seeks an aesthetic that resonates with the poetic and the universal questions of Being.
“The urge to find meaning within the process of making and materiality of painting is combined with investigations of place, and where it sits in our perceptions of truth. My work provides glimpses of meaning and allusion to ideas of space as place.”
Editors note:
High resolution images and interview opportunities are available.
Contact:
Samantha Smith, Gallery Communications Officer, John Curtin Gallery, Curtin University on 9266 7347 or 0407 386 687 or email s.smith@curtin.edu.au.
The John Curtin Gallery is open Monday to Friday 12pm – 5pm and Sunday 1 – 4pm.
Admission is free. The John Curtin Gallery is located in Building 200A, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, 6102, WA. Switchboard enquires can be directed to 9266 4155.GPO Box U1987 Perth Western Australia 6845 | T: +61 8 9266 4155 | E: gallery@curtin.edu.au | FREE Admission
Metered visitor parking available in areas P3 and P31. Free parking on Sundays. Taxi rank no. 2 is located at the front of the gallery.
John Curtin Gallery
www.johncurtingallery.curtin.edu.au
