An exhibition opening won't wait for fractured fingers!

A post is long overdue... But I've discovered that everything takes longer with one hand. Fracturing my fingers couldn't have come at a worse time (why couldn't I have done it in november?) But the show must go on.

So its out with the old and in with the new. This week I said goodbye to lucy goosey and the art of Australian picture books, and hello to Ace Bourke: A Collector's Journey.

What an amazing, inspiring and insightful exhibition of Ace Bourke's private collection. Works include historical etchings from colonial Australia (Bourke is a descendent of governor Philip Gidley King), aboriginal bark paintings, to works by contemporary artist friends of Burke's (Tracey Moffatt, Jonathan Jones, Micheal Riley, Jenny Kee). Also on display is the film of Bourke reunion with Christian the lion. A lion he bought in England in the '70s, raised for a year then returned to the wild! It is amazing to hear how casual Bourke is when telling the story about 'buying a lion from Harrods'.

The opening this arvo was a fantastic who's who of the Australian art world. It was officially opened by Burke's longtime friend, Jenny Kee and most of the contemporary artists represented were present.
Like I said earlier, it has been tough with fractured fingers (not to mention looking like a goose at the opening with my arm in a sling) trying to work as usual. I was on lighter duties today, which mainly consisted of telling people not to bring food and drinks into the exhibition. This turned out to be a great job as I was able to greet all the guests, have some excellent art chats and great networking.

In the past week I have also completed some more work on writing the ed kit for the Ruark Lewis exhibition (this will follow Burke's show in 6 weeks). Now I have typed the notes from our meeting, I have also done a fair bit of research (for quotes, practice) and started generating the art historical/ critical/ making questions. It is starting to come together... slowly!

Thats it for now, 97 hours down only 143 to go!

Photo: Ace Bourke and Jenny Kee at the opening of Ace Bourke: A Collector's Journey.

Meet the Artist

On Saturday my supervisor and I had our first meeting with Ruark Lewis at his studio. We had to discuss which works he will display in the up-coming exhibition, as well as lock in dates for public programs so that the marketing dept. could print the ads and invites. We also needed to discuss what the programs would be and how involved Lewis wanted to be in the process.

Prior to the meeting I read Lewis' Precis, as well as conducted some bio research and research into pieces written about his practice. I found the writing about his works quite difficult to fully understand, as he works quite collaboratively, using text, language, performance, history and narrative throughout.

Upon meeting him everything became clear. He was extremely generous with his time (given his health concerns) and willing to share the journey, practice, meanings, intentions, stories (just about everything) behind the making of EVERY SINGLE artwork he has created! As he has been creating since the early 1980s, it was a lot! It was amazing to hear this one-on-one from the artist himself, as it definitely gave me a much better insight into the concepts of the works.

When my supervisor told Lewis that I was going to use his works to help me explore ways to engage young people with deeper understanding and appreciating of contemporary art, he was very happy to share even more! He showed me some preparatory sketches and models and the finished works. He was also quite happy for me to have a look around his studio and take some photos (Sorry, but I can't show any here until the exhibition is up). It was a fantastic meeting which lasted a little over 3 hours. Hearing the stories behind the conceptual development of his works was really beneficial and is helping me to write the biographical and art historical/ critical information to accompany the education kit for the exhibition. It was also fantastic for my research paper (as long as it is used in the kit or publication). Lewis would have kept talking well into the night if we didn't have to leave. I think my supervisor regretted telling Lewis about my paper as he spent most of the time talking to me and not so much time on the logistical information for his exhibition.

I really enjoyed this experience. It is my first of it's kind and has made me realise just how much I would enjoy working with artists and doing this 'for real'... While I do still really enjoy teaching, this meeting (as well as having two full 8hr days of parent/ teacher interviews last week) has made me consider a change earlier than I had expected.

QAG Brisbane - 'Portrait of Spain: Masterpieces from the Prado'

Last week I went on a little interstate excursion to QAG to view 'Portrait of Spain: Masterpieces from the Prado'. It was a fantastic exhibition, full of beautiful paintings from the Prado Gallery in Spain. The exhibition featured portraits of royalty, saints, religious icons, landscapes and still lifes. I especially liked the portraits of female royals... a majority of their eyes were so captivating in conveying a sense of complete apathy and lack of interest in being painted. Almost like they were saying 'why do I have to be here? There are so many other things I need to be doing'.

The exhibition is very inclusive. Besides a very good layout, the accompanying programs/ activities were the best I have ever seen at an Australian gallery. As a teacher, one of my favourites was the 10m table of fresh fruit and veg, arranged to inspire a Spanish still life drawing. Exhibition ticket holders were invited to sit down and draw their own composition either with pencil and paper or using one of the provided ipads (and drawings could be sent to yourself!). This is an amazing activity for audience members of all ages and knowledge/ ability levels to further engage with works/ subject matter of the exhibition... also to hook them into making a return visit to the gallery! The Spanish tapas and sangria bar was also a hit!

I think it is great to see galleries providing these fantastic public programs and activities to accompany their blockbuster exhibitions. It is something that I have taken back to the gallery which I am interning in, as well as my school. What an experience!