President's Message April 2011
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| Geoff Williams, President |
There has been an active and expanded exhibition program this year, but there has not been a parallel increase in volunteers to do the work. Volunteer numbers are diminishing due to family illness and escalating work pressures. There are far too few doing far too much for an inert majority. Vacancies include a new Web Site Coordinator, a trainee Exhibition Coordinator, a trainee Activities Coordinator, a Newsletter Coordinator, a trainee Membership Coordinator, and a Treasurer for about two months.
The AGM will be 13 July 2011, and members should plan their support of the ASV. Activities, including exhibitions, will need to be cut if there is not more support. Volunteers please contact John Bishop, Secretary, on john@bishop.net. The Committee will need to approve appointments at Coordinator level.
Geoff Williams, President
ASV News & Forthcoming Exhibitions
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| Our exhibition venue at dawn at Carlton Gardens |
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FLOWER AND GARDEN SHOW 2011
The ASV sculpture exhibition at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show Carlton Gardens – Royal Exhibition Building, was open Wednesday, 30 March to Sunday, 3 April 2011. This year’s ASV MIFGS Sculpture Exhibition was for the fi rst time located at The Boulevard in the Carlton Gardens, which is a high-profile site to exhibit three-dimensional works. As a result, the exhibition was a resounding success with tens of thousands of people streaming through the site and viewing the wide range of works on display. As a consequence of the large viewing numbers through the site, sculptors were provided a unique opportunity to present and showcase their works before thousands and thousands of people.
There were a total of 71 exhibits across the three categories of entry produced by 45 sculptors. Of these, eight works, worth $20,000, were sold during the course of the exhibition. Congratulations to those sculptors.
The judge, Malcolm Thomson (curator at the Clement Meadmore Gallery, Australian Academy of Design), was suitably impressed by the quality and high-standard of work on display, and made very favourable mention of the variety of subjects presented and media
utilised, as well as the different treatments displayed. He stated in his report, “In judging this year’s exhibition I have considered each work carefully and have been impressed by the aesthetic, the quality and technical expertise of the sculptors exhibiting their works.” In coming to his decisions about the six principal prize-winners the judge also commended the works of many of the exhibitors.
The prize-winners were:
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| Andrew Bryant, Moods 4, on stainless steel base, limestone, unique Photography: Jenny Rickards |
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| Mary Currin, Powerful Owl, granite, unique |
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| Kevin Free Arabasque, Angaston marble on metal base, unique |
Section 1 – Carved Work:
First Prize - Andrew Bryant (‘Moods 4’);
Second Prize – Mary Currin (‘Powerful Owl’)
Commendations in this section were awarded to:
Betty Collier (‘The Cluster #2’), Kevin Free (‘Arabesque’) and Anthony Kim (‘Head’).
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| Grant Finck, Binary Code resin and fibreglass, edition: unique |
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| Maria Coyle, Children Chatting ceramic with metal patina, edition: unique |
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| Zoe Ellenberg Fishbone Ferns, bronze, on redgum base, edition: unique |
First Prize – Grant Finck (‘Binary Code’);
Second Prize – Maria Coyle (‘Children Chatting’)
Commendations in this section were awarded to: Zoe Ellenberg (‘Fishbone Ferns’), Eva Ermer (‘At Peace’), Gillian Govan (‘William the Second’) and Janice McCarthy (‘Bruce’)
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| Damiean Vick, Kokeshi Doll welded mild steel, edition: 1 of 3 |
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| Betty Collier, Wings of the Field powder coated mild steel, edition: unique |
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| Wings of the Field powder coated mild steel, edition: unique |
First Prize – Damian Vick (‘Kokeshi Doll’);
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| John Bishop Guardian, limestone, unique |
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| Rachel Boymal Circus Frieze, bronze, edition: 1 of 3 |
Commendations in this section were awarded to: Lindsay Butcher (‘Scrupulous Ways’), Mark Cowie (‘Navigation’), Jim Howson (‘Trojan Toy’), Rudi Jass (‘Ribbon 3’), Wayne Robbie (‘Left at the Altar’) and Diane Thompson (‘Untitled’)
The ASV is indebted to its sponsors for their generous support of this year’s exhibition. The sponsors were:
International Management Group,
Association of Sculptors of Victoria,
Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC OBE,
Bulleen Art and Garden – Meredith Plain,
The Forged Garden – Mark Cowie, and
Art Exhibition Services – Mark Cowie
The People’s Choice Award proved to be very popular among visitors to the exhibition, with more than 8,200 votes being lodged. The winner of the $500 PCA was Rudi Jass with his delightful and elegant kinetic work ‘Silver Leaves 3’, which clearly captured the imagination of the viewing public. Second place in the PCA went to Pat O’Connell for his appealing work, ‘Hiding in the Grass’, and Maria Coyle placed third for her engaging work, ‘Children Chatting’.
The carving demonstrations are an important component of the exhibition, with appeal and interest among the public continuing to grow. I would like to convey my thanks to Kevin Free and his cheery and dedicated band of carving demonstrators (Jenny Whiteside, John Bishop, Meredith Plain, Richard Kloester, Bronwyn Culshaw and Kay Salehi) for kindly and generously providing their time and expertise. Individually and collectively these artists created such a wonderful opportunity for visitors to see sculpting and carving first hand.
My thanks also to those exhibitors who kindly volunteered their time to sit the exhibition. Your efforts, energy and enthusiasm all contributed to engaging the public more closely with the works on display over the course of the fi ve days of the exhibition. I would like to convey my appreciation to Jenny Rickards, Michael Meszaros and John Ride for their assistance and unwavering support, particularly during the lead-up to the opening of the exhibition.
The International Management Group, the organisers of the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, are to be thanked for their sponsorship of our exhibition and for their support of sculpture and ongoing encouragement for the Association to be part of the annual Show. They have generously and professionally facilitated an opportunity for sculpture to be brought to the forefront of a prominent public event.
Mark Cowie
Curator, ASV MIFGS Sculpture Exhibition
Curator, ASV MIFGS Sculpture Exhibition
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ASV MEMBERS MEETING
Hi all members. I am going overseas for 7 weeks from May until July and have been pretty busy lately, I therefore have not had time to organise activities of interest for our monthly meetings. I also was not going to continue that role this year but somehow I’m still here.... Any volunteers? In the meantime the following things have been organised:11th MAY - all welcome especially new members for a social evening at our club rooms in Hawthorn. Bring a piece of your work and enjoy meeting other sculptors to talk over a glass of wine and some nibbles. In the past this has been great fun and a good way to find out about other work and about the Association.
10th AUGUST - we are going to visit the Bayside Sculpture Studios. This should prove to be a very informative and interesting evening. Many Of our members belong to this group.
9th SEPTEMBER - we will meet at our rooms where Geoffrey Ricardo will come and tell us about his work. I will tell you more a little closer to the date.
In the meantime if anyone has any ideas about activities or has a studio that would be interesting to visit please let me know.
Also let me know if anyone is interested in taking on this Job .....
Kay Salehi will book Zen Japanese restaurant 388 Burwood Road, Hawthorn for dinner for interested members before the next meeting on Wednesday 11 May. Please advise Kay on kays27@tpg.com.au by Monday 9 May if you would like to join in the dinner.
Gillian Govan
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MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR
Are you interested in becoming more involved in the Association? There is a great opportunity to work with the Membership Secretary for a couple of months to learn about how the Membership data is kept up to date, how to use Excel to output records, and produce Membership Renewal forms. You will also become more aware of the workings of the ASV website. Please contact Kay Salehi on 9808 4056 or send her an email on kays27@tpg.com if you are interested. She will be sending out 130 renewals by early June and desperately needs your assistance as she will be away for 6 weeks after 8th June. Hope to hear from an interested member soon.**************************************
WANTED - STUDIO SPACE FOR WORKING SCULPTOR
LOCATION: INNER EAST/SOUTH EAST PREFERRED, WILL COMMUTE IN METRO AREA MATERIALS: STONE AND TIMBERAMENITIES: ELECTRICITY AND WATER
SPACE: OPEN WITH VEHICLE ACCESS, SHADE COVER PREFERRED, ABLE TO SHARE AND TOLERATE DUST AND NOISE
SIZE: OPEN
TEL: 9822 4031
MOB: 0405 832 433
EMAIL: faustas@iprimus.com.au
Exhibition Opportunities outside ASV
2011 TOORAK VILLAGE SCULPTURE EXHIBITION
‘A DECADE OF SCULPTURE’ The Toorak Village Sculpture Exhibition is the most innovative and important annual event to take place in the Toorak Village, where they link the arts with business to form a unique cultural experience. During the entire month of May they exhibit contemporary sculptural works in the shop windows and on the sidewalks of Toorak Rd. Each year it continues to grow with increased enthusiasm from traders, artists & the public that view & buy sculpture.See website www.tooraksculpture.com.au
All enquiries to Tracey Cammock, mobile: 0438 542 713 or email: tracey@toorakvillage.com.au
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Applications are now open for the ‘Southern Way McClelland Commission 2011’
The value of each commission is AUD$300,000 plus GST with the two inaugural recipients to be announced in July 2011.
The commissions will be displayed on the Peninsula Link freeway close to McClelland Gallery+Sculpture Park on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia.The Southern Way McClelland Commission provides artists with an opportunity to develop a major public work, both as a major statement by the artist and a signifi cant cultural statement within the history of Australian sculpture.
Applications for consideration for the Southern Way McClelland Commission 2011 are open to all, from 1 April 2011 to 31 May 2011.
Download Entry Forms from www.mcclellandgallery.com
Submissions close on Tuesday 31 May 2011 at 5pm.
For further information please contact:
Charlotte Carter, Coordinator Southern Way McClelland Commission McClelland Gallery+Sculpture Park, 390 McClelland Drive, Langwarrin Victoria 3910 Australia
Telephone +61 3 9789 1671
Fax: +61 3 9789 1610 or email ccarter@mcclellandgallery.com
www.mcclellandgallery.com
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Register your interest – Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture
Victorian sculptors are being invited to submit entries in one of Australia’s richest arts prizes, the Melbourne Prize for UrbanSculpture 2011.
Open to artists across the country, the Prize is one of the most valuable in Australia and will provide career development and exhibition opportunities for sculptors.
There are three awards on offer:
• Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture 2011 - $60,000 cash, generously supported by The Vera Moore Foundation, The Tallis Foundation and the Melbourne Prize Trust.
• Professional Development Award 2011 - $10,000 cash, plus an international air ticket and residency at the Victorian College of the Arts, generously supported by Nathan and Pamela Jacobson, the Professional Development Award Trust, Qantas and the Victorian College of the Arts.
• Civic Choice Award 2011 - $5,000. Awarded from votes cast by visitors to the public exhibition at Federation Square and www.melbourneprizetrust.org, only during the exhibition between 7 and 21 November 2011, generously supported by Nathan and Pamela Jacobson.
For further information contact the Melbourne Prize Trust on T: 9685 9276 or visit their web site at http://artsvictoria.cmail1.com/t/r/l/jlhhdtl/oiydikill/f/
Entries close: 15 June 2011
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AFFORDABLE ART FAIR - Melbourne
Originally launched in London in1999 to address a demand for quality contemporary art. The Affordable Art Fairs now take place twice annually in London and New York, and annually in Bristol, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Singapore, Milan, Melbourne and Sydney. Featuring art that is both collectable and affordable, Art Melbourne has become the largest annual contemporary art fair in Australia.For more information: www.affordableartfair.com.au; Art Melbourne 2011, Melbourne’s Affordable Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton, Victoria 19 – 22 May 2011
Jenny Whiteside: Featured Artist
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| Jenny wins 1st prize at the ASV annual William Hoggan Thomas Memorial Award for her work, Madonna (Flamestone from WA) |
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| Madonna’s Repose (Flamestone from WA) Photography courtesy of the artist |
Since 1990, Jenny has managed to carve out a rewarding career in sculpture from her home studio and has been a member of the ASV since about 2001. She has also been the recipient of prizes such as the ASV William Hoggan Thomas Memorial Award for her piece, ‘Madonna’ in 2004.
Jenny does not work by a plan, instead she lets her work, which is predominantly figurative, evolve naturally from the stone, which allows her to incorporate unexpected colours, textures and imperfections inherent in the stone. Foremost a stone carver, her favorites include, Mt Gambier Limestone, Pyrophyllite, Serpentine, Chlorite, Soapstone, and Alabaster. Most of this is imported from Canada.
Jenny gives regular limestone and soapstone carving workshops at her studio and at Bulleen Art and Garden.
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| Secret (Alabaster) |
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| Angel la Mer (Green Pyrophyllite) |
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| Angelina (Limestone) |
Members' and Others' News
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| Collection: Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. Photo: Andrew Frolows. |
Matcham Skipper, sculptor and jewler. Born New Zealand, October 14, 1921. Died Melbourne, February 24, aged 89.
The work of this diversely skilled artist is represented in the collections of state galleries around Australia and internationally including, the National Gallery in Canberra, the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, The Victoria & Albert Museum, London, The British Museum and The Montreal Museum. He received many major commissions including his last sculpture, a 2.4m bronze statue, ‘Young Man Awakening’ which was commissioned by Eltham Cemetery Trust to commemorate the graveyard’s 150-year anniversary.Matcham Skipper’s entry into the world of art began at ‘Montsalvat’, a not- for- profit artist centre, under the tutelage of the founder, Justus Jorgensen. The centre which is still in existence and located in Eltham, Victoria, is where Skipper thrived in the later years of his life, taking residence there, creating art and teaching. He was part of the bohemian world of the post war decades and his home was a renowned artist meeting point where artists including David and Arthur Boyd, John Perceval and actor, Barry Humphreys met for dinner and debate.
His sculptures of mostly nudes are peppered throughout Montsalvat. His wrought-iron Screens (1962) can be seen at the front entrance to the Australian National University’s H. C. Coombs building. Skipper was particularly known for his figurative jewelery based on medieval themes. Most of his jewellery was made using the lost wax casting technique and featured figures of lovers, sometimes including large stones. Skipper has been credited with being a pivotal figure in helping to pave the way for jewellery to be seen as an art form.
His techniques for creating his beautiful jewellery were learnt outside of Montsalvat during WWI, when as a conscientious objector, he was made to work in a munitions factory. There he learned how to use the tools necessary for foundry work that gave him the skill set to make jewellery.
Although having international acclaim, his works were well appreciated in Australia where he was bestowed the Churchill fellowship and in 1997, received an Emeritus Award from the Australia Council for his lifelong contributions to the visual arts and craft.
Information for this article was sourced from:
www.elthameastps.vic.edu.au/http://diamond-valley-leader.
http://www.craftunbound.net http://www.powerhousemuseum.com
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Passing of Mrs. Helen Ridley, ASV Life Member
Helen Ridley was an ASV member for many years. She used to make small, rather charming works and regularly showed them in ASV Annual Exhibitions. A warm and friendly person, she was modest about her work.We truly appreciate the loyal support of members such as Helen, and the Committee would like to express our sympathy to her family and friends.
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Overseas Travellers
Overseas Travellers Please submit Photographs and a short article on any Sculpture or other worthwhile Art that you see while travelling. (Digital images must be saved as JPEGs of 300 dpi, over 1 MB in size, and be able to be opened in PC format.)******************************************
Welcome to Our New Members
Andrew McCutcheon and Muniandy Ragappen
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Sculptor Organisations in Other States:Welcome to Our New Members
Andrew McCutcheon and Muniandy Ragappen
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NSW: www.sculptorssociety.com
Queensland: www.sculptorsqld.org.au
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Dalchem, Ronald Pitcher, trustee of Margaret Gunnersen Thomas Estate, Bulleen Art & Garden, Daniel Meszaros Architects, Without Pier Gallery, Kooyonga Chapel Winery, Mary van den Broek and IMG (International Management Group of America Ltd).
Note: although all editorial material is checked thoroughly for accuracy, neither the editors, nor the Society can accept responsibility for information in this publication that may be ambiguous or incorrect.
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Next Issue out in April 2011
Interviews with our foremost Australian sculptors + an artist from another discipline
Available from the NSW Art Gallery, Art Gallery of SA, Portrait Gallery in Canberra, the McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park, some regional galleries, Magnation and selected book stores and newsagents. Will also be available soon on-line at www.sculptureandtheenemies.com.au.
Enquiries to SCATE@netcall.com.au.
Enquiries to SCATE@netcall.com.au.
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| Angela Valamanesh Animal, Vegetable, Mineral #A, 2007 Unglazed Ceramic 4 parts 31x 97x 6 cm |
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