RMIT GalleryExhibition Program 2007

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1 SIGMAR POLKE Sigmar Polke, They had made a good 30 Billion marks since the mid-60s. But they had really only developed ‘innovative prototypes and individual systems’ 1996, gouache on paper, 100 x 70 cm. 2, 3 BEYOND METAL Vanessa Raimondo, Neck Piece – Stranded 2005, PVC plastic, polyester, 42ø cm. Photo: Terence Bogue. Andrew Last, Small Slotted Baskets 2002, anodised aluminium, 6.5 x 10.5 x 18 cm. Photo: Mark Ashkanasy. 4 FASHION FACE Robyn Beeche, Divine 1981, make-up: Richard Sharah, jacket: Michael Vollbrach, digital print, 51 x 51 cm. 5 FABSOLUTE Alfredo Bouret, ‘Rose Red’ story for English Vogue 1955. Photo: Mark Ashkanasy. 6, 7, 8 NEW ABSTRACTION RMIT Leonard Crawford, Pierrot Lunaire (detail) 1975, oil on canvas, 122 x 61 cm, collection RMIT Gallery. George Johnson, Structures 9 (detail) 1983, acrylic on canvas, 122 x 107 cm. Grahame King, Celebration (detail) 1993, lithograph, 55.5 x 74.5 cm. Photos: Mark Ashkanasy.

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9 MATERIAL EVIDENCE Jenny Watson, Change (detail) 2001, synthetic polymer paint on pre-made canvas; oil and synthetic polymer paint on French bed sheet with Italian organza; ceramic, 40 x 30 cm; 178 x 78 cm; 8 x 5 x 1.5 cm. Collection the artist. Photo: Mick Richards. 10 RICH TEXT Kiron Robinson, Way Out 2007, neon sign mounted on perspex, 36 x 38 x 8 cm. Photo: Mark Ashkanasy. 11 NEW TRENDS OF ARCHITECTURE Iredale Pederson Hook Architects, Tjuntjuntjara Community House 2001-2005. 12 MARKS AND MOTIFS Sophia Szilagyi, Where shadows lie 2005, colour ink-jet print, ed. 40, diptych, each sheet 12 x 16.5 cm. Print Council of Australia collection. 13 LIVING ELVIS Soda_Jerk with Sam Smith, Pixel Pirate II: Attack of the Astro Elvis Video Clone (DVD still), 2002–2006 14 SIEMENS – RMIT FINE ART AWARD Exhibition installation image, works shown (left to right) by Angela Watters, Prue Crone, Phoebe Ross. Photo: Mark Ashkanasy. 15 ECHOES OF HOME Liu Xiao Xian, The couple 2004, camphor wood and bronze, 187 x 62 x 47 cm (wood), 180 x 55 x 40 cm (bronze). Photo: the artist. 16 FLOATING WORLDS Christopher Köller, Untitled, Shibuya, Tokyo (from the series Floating Worlds) 2003, type C print.

RMIT Gallery, RMIT University

344 Swanston Street

Melbourne Australia 3000

GPO Box 2476V Melbourne 3001

Telephone: + 61 3 9925 1717

Facsimile: + 61 3 9925 1737

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.rmit.edu.au/rmitgallery

Gallery hours:

Monday–Friday 11–5, Saturday 2–5

Closed Sundays and public holidays

Free admission. Lift access available.

Left: RMIT Gallery facade

Photography Tim Griffith

18 December 2006 – 17 February 2007 Sigmar Polke: Music from an Unknown SourceMusic from an Unknown Source presents forty gouaches all created in 1996; together they provide insight into the concerns over 40 years of pre-eminent contemporary German artist Sigmar Polke. An Exhibition of the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen/Institute for Cultural Relations and the Goethe-Institut. Curated by Sigmar Polke and Götz Adriani.

RMIT Gallery Touring Exhibition Beyond Metal: Contemporary Australian Jewellery and Holloware Featuring twenty-seven of the most celebrated contemporary practitioners, Beyond Metal is characterised by an Australian aesthetic that embraces raw and recycled materials, innovative design and use of technology and a respectfully playful approach to tradition. Presented by the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade in association with the Victorian Government and RMIT University. Touring India, Chennai, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore (February– June); Malaysia (September); Singapore (November–December). Curatorium: Suzanne Davies, Carlier Makigawa, Beatrice Schlabowsky, Ray Stebbins for RMIT Gallery. Artists Helen Aitken-Kuhnen, Roseanne Bartley, Nicholas Bastin, Vito Bila, Julie Blyfield, Susan Cohn, Simon Cottrell, Juongmee Do, Mark Edgoose, Robert Foster, Stephen Gallagher, Rowena Gough, Marian Hosking, Daehoon Kang, Johannes Kuhnen, Elfrun Lach, Andrew Last, Simone LeAmon, Carlier Makigawa, Vicki Mason, Leslie Matthews, Karl Millard, Chris Mullins, Sean O’Connell, Vanessa Raimondo, Brenda Ridgewell, Beatrice Schlabowsky. Public Program April–May, Beatrice Schlabowsky, Marian Hosking artists talks, Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi.

2 March – 14 April Fashion Face: Fashion Photography by Robyn Beeche 1979–1989In the heart of London’s fashion world in the 1980s, Australian photographer Robyn Beeche created iconic images for designers and personalities including Zandra Rhodes, Vivienne Westwood, Mary Quant, Divine and Leigh Bowery. Working in an era predating digital manipulation of photographic images, Beeche developed and perfected techniques to create elaborate visual illusions including pioneering applied holography. Part of the 2007 L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival Cultural Program. Curated by Suzanne Davies. Public Program 7 March, Robyn Beeche, artist talk: ‘Making Faces’.

2 March – 14 April Fabsolute: Fashion Illustration by Alfredo Bouret 1940s–1960sAlfredo Bouret’s disciplined hand and observant eye capture the glamour and elegance of a golden age of fashion in an exhibition of fashion illustration. Bouret’s extraordinary drawing skill was in high demand and he created iconic images for every major couture house in post-war Paris. Fabsolute charts his career, presenting work he created for Balenciaga, Vogue, Tatler, Queen and Glamour magazines and advertising campaigns for British Vogue, Jaeger, Wolsey and Bally of Switzerland. Part of the 2007 L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival Cultural Program. Curated by Suzanne Davies. Public Program 2 March, Alfredo Bouret in conversation with Robyn Healy.

1 May – 9 June New Abstraction RMIT 1965–1985:Leonard Crawford, George Johnson, Grahame King Crawford, Johnson and King were central to the advancement of non-objective art in Melbourne in the post-war decades. Their preference for abstraction over the figurative imagery favoured by many other artists ensured a strong alternative in the modern art movement in this city. New Abstraction cele-brates RMIT University’s 120th anniversary by honouring these three senior artists’ significant contribution to RMIT, the Melbourne art community and to Australian art as a whole. Part of RMIT University’s 120th Anniversary celebrations. Curated by Charlotte Skene.

3 May – 9 June Material Evidence: Jenny Watson Works on Fabric 1981–2005Material Evidence surveys more than two decades of Watson’s painting on a variety of textiles such as velvet, silk and hessian. The artist draws on images from life and dreams to create compelling narratives. A Griffith Artworks and DELL Gallery @ Queensland College of Art travelling exhibition. Curatorium: Holly Arden, Chris Handran, Simon P Wright. Public Program 4 May, Jenny Watson, artist talk.

1 May – 9 June Rich Text: Emerging Artists and the Written WordRich Text brings together twelve emerging practitioners whose work uses text to deliberately blur the boundaries between meaningless slogans and significant statements in advertising, politics, popular culture and the fine arts. In Rich Text, words are used as found objects, treated with both irreverence for their disposability and an attentive respect for their history. Presented in partnership with the Emerging Writers’ Festival. Curated by Tai Snaith and Helen Walpole. Artists Gabrielle de Vietri, James Dodd, Tim Fleming, Danielle Freakley, Is Not Magazine, David Keating, Antuong Nguyen, Pandarosa, Narinda Reeders and Kiron Robinson. Writers Kate Just and Amy Spiers. Public Program 1 May, opening night performance by Danielle Freakley; 10 May, Kiron Robinson, artist talk.

20 June – 28 July New Trends of Architecture in Europe and Asia-Pacific 2006–2007The fourth New Trends project documents current trends in the work of young architects by revealing their past, present and future ambitions in a diverse range of housing, public architecture, urban planning, landscape and installation. Presented by School of Architecture + Design, RMIT. Touring to Patras, Tokyo, Melbourne, Perth, Luxembourg and Shanghai. Commissioners: Winy Maas (Europe) and Riken Yamamoto (Asia-Pacific). Architects R & Sie (n) /Francois Roche, Stephanie Lavaux, Jean Navarro (France); B.I.G. Bjarke Ingels Group (former PLOT, Denmark); Polaris architects (Luxembourg); JDS Architects (former PLOT, Denmark); NL architects (Netherlands); Enric Ruiz- Geli/Cloud 9 (Spain); Andreas Angelidakis (Greece); DOGMA OFFICE (Italy); Zizi & Yoyo arhitektid (Estonia); Taira Nishizawa Architects (Japan); MADA s.p.a.m. (China); Edge Design Institute Ltd. (Hong Kong); Mass Studies (Korea); Duangrit Bunnag (Thailand); Sean Godsell Architects (Australia); Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects (Australia). Public Program 22 June, public lecture, RMIT, Building 8 Lecture Theatre.

19 June – 28 July Marks and Motifs: Prints from the PCA CollectionThis touring exhibition showcases forty-five of some three hundred works commissioned by the Print Council of Australia since the 1960s. Marks and Motifs gives an insight into the historical development of printmaking in Australia, particularly the recent emergence of new print technologies, including photomechanical and digital processes, and the effects these have had on traditional methods such as linocut and woodcut. A QUT Art Museum Travelling Exhibition and Print Council of Australia 40th Anniversary Project. Curated by Stephen Rainbird. Artists Ray Arnold, Tatipai Barsa, Yvonne Boag, G. W. Bot, John Coburn, Noel Counihan, Caroline Durré, Lesley Duxbury, Belinda Fox, Juli Haas, Treahna Hamm, Barbara Hanrahan, Cecil Hardy, Euan Heng, Tim Jones, William Kelly, Franz Kempf, Grahame King, Deborah Klein, Hertha Kluge-Pott, Les Kossatz, Maria Kozic, Graham Kuo, Alun Leach-Jones, Bruno Leti, Bea Maddock, Diane Mantzaris, Marie McMahon, Arone Raymond Meeks, Ann Newmarch, Graeme Peebles, Susan Pickering, Cat Poljski, Julie Purvis, Sally Robinson, Olga Sankey, Michael Schlitz, Jan Senbergs, Heather Shimmen, Melissa Smith, Sophia Szilagyi, Judy Watson, Arthur Wicks, Christine Willcocks, Fred Williams. Public Program 28 June, demo-nstration and tour by staff and students at the RMIT print workshop.

16 August – 20 October Living ElvisWhile Elvis Presley’s central role in the establishment of modern popular music and visual culture is well established, the relationship between his creative work and the studio traditions of the fine arts is still a work in progress. Thirty years after Elvis’ earthly demise Living Elvis explores aspects of this relationship and re-opens the creative dialogue that visual artists have had with Elvis over the preceding fifty years. Presented with the assistance of City of Melbourne Arts Grants Program. Curated by Peter Barnes and Suzanne Davies. Public Program 16–17 August: Symposium: ‘King Power: Designing Masculinities’. Keynote Presenter: Shaun Cole; Special Guest Lecturer: Dr Alka Pande. Presented by the RMIT Fashion Program and the Frances Burke Centre in collaboration with RMIT Gallery with support from the Australia India Council. Film Program 17 August: Freaky Fridays: Late Night Cult, ACMI Cinemas, Australian Centre for the Moving Image. 7pm: Kid Galahad. 8.30pm: Live Elvis impersonators. 10pm: Elvis: That’s The Way It Is.

5 November – 17 November Siemens RMIT – Fine Art Award Now in its seventh year, the prestigious Siemens – RMIT Fine Art Scholarship enables students to further their careers in the field of Fine Arts by assisting research and production costs. Eight students will receive scholarships, comprising five undergraduate travel scholarships and three postgraduate scholarships to a total of $32,000, as well as one artist receiving the $1000 Siemens Fine Arts Acquisition Award. An initiative of the School of Art, RMIT University.

3 December 2007 – 26 January 2008 Echoes of Home: Memory and Mobility in Recent Austral-Asian ArtEchoes of Home draws together fourteen Australian-based artists from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds within the Asia-Pacific region. The exhibition highlights the various skills, traditions and stories these artists have brought to Australia from their homelands and how these are used within the context of a new cultural environment. Toured by Museum of Brisbane, Brisbane City Council and supported by Visions of Australia. Curated by Christine Clarke. Artists Keiko Amenomori-Schmeisser, Dadang Christanto, Yuri Kawanabe, Won Seok Kim, Liu Xiao Xian, Yoshie Mizuno, Humna Mustafa, Shine Myung-ok Shin, Pamela Mei-Leng, Renee So, Jaishree Srinivasan, Alistair Trung, Alwin Reamillo, Savanhdary Vongpoothorn.

5 December 2007 – 26 January 2008Christopher Köller: Floating Worlds Floating Worlds is Köller’s photographic investigation of the contemporary Japanese surfing subculture, compiled during a residency at the Australia Council’s Tokyo studio in 2003. Köller’s photographs and videos document the emergence of surfing images on advertising billboards throughout the city as evidence of a shift in perception of surfing, from a transgressive subculture to a major thread in the contemporary Japanese imagination. Curated by Suzanne Davies and Christopher Köller.

RMIT Gallery is Melbourne’s most vibrant public art and design gallery. We explore all aspects

of visual culture, presenting changing exhibitions of Australian and international design

including fashion and architecture, fine art, craft, new media and technology. RMIT Gallery

presents regular floor talks, lectures and public events to coincide with exhibitions. The public

program provides an enjoyable and social means of experiencing contemporary culture. RMIT

Gallery welcomes school and community groups and can arrange introductory talks as required.

RMIT Gallery is housed in Storey Hall, an internationally celebrated example of architectural

innovation. The building celebrates time and transition, combining significant heritage

buildings with award winning contemporary architecture. Located in Swanston Street, near

the intersection with La Trobe Streets, RMIT Gallery is diagonally opposite Melbourne Central

Railway Station and can be reached by trams travelling on Swanston and La Trobe Streets,

including the City Circle Tram. Limited street parking is available. Melways reference: 2F E1.

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