Exhibition of Gallery bronzes to travel regional Queensland

24 May 2007 – 5 July 2009

An exhibition of 14 bronze sculptures from the Queensland Art Gallery Collection will travel to 13 centres in regional Queensland, from mid 2007 to 2009.

‘Myth to Modern: Bronzes from the Queensland Art Gallery Collection’ begins its tour at Hervey Bay Regional Gallery, where it shows from May 24.

The exhibition explores aspects of figuration through bronze sculpture and features works by acclaimed French nineteenth century artists Auguste Rodin and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Queensland Art Gallery Acting Director Andrew Clark said the exhibition was the first in the Gallery’s history to tour exclusively bronze sculptures to the regions.

‘The exhibition brings together works from the Gallery’s International and Australian Collections, including artists such as Paul Gauguin, Harold Epstein and Henry Moore, alongside Queensland artists Harold Parker and Daphne Mayo’, he said.

‘With sculptures dating from the late seventeenth century to 1975, ’Myth to Modern’ reflects the changing nature of artists working with the enduring medium of bronze.

‘It also demonstrates the Gallery’s continued commitment to increasing access to the Collection for our regionally based audiences.’

Mr Clark said the works in ‘Myth to Modern’ ranged from figurative sculpture depicting classical myths and legends, to twentieth century abstract responses to the human form.

The selected works capture a number of mythological subjects including the legends of Greek heroes Hercules and Perseus, shown respectively in Giovanni Battista Foggini’s c.1700 sculpture Hercules and Omphale and Alfred Gilbert’s c.1882 Perseus arming.

A mythological female character is depicted in Bertram Mackennal’s Truth 1894, a stunning allegorical bronze of young woman with flowing hair and arched wings.

Biblical figures Eve and Susannah are the focus of bronzes by Harold Parker and Daphne Mayo, two of Queensland’s most celebrated sculptors.

Parker’s Eve repentant 1928 depicts a disgraced Eve after her expulsion from the Garden of Eden, while Mayo’s virtuous Susannah 1942 is sculpted as a classic bathing nude.

The influence of an emerging modernism and its principles are highlighted in works dating from the late nineteenth century including Auguste Rodin’s Torse de jeune femme, an expressive fragment of a female torso and portraits such as Madame Schuffenecker by Paul Gauguin and Portrait of Madame Renoir by Pierre Auguste Renior.

The exhibition culminates in the work of two British high modernists: Henry Moore and Jacob Epstein. Moore’s work reflects an abstract treatment of the figure, while Epstein’s portrait busts of his daughter Kitty and also the writer George Bernard Shaw exhibit deeply chiselled realism.

Myth to Modern’ opens at Hervey Bay Regional Gallery from May 24 to June 30, before travelling to Mount Isa Civic Centre (July 12- August 18); Dalby Regional Gallery (August 24 – October 7); Gladstone Regional Art Gallery & Museum (December 12 – February 23, 2008); Rockhampton Art Gallery (February 29 – April 13); Bundaberg Arts Centre (May 16 – June 29); Caloundra Regional Art Gallery (July 9 – August 17); Cooloola Shire Public Gallery (August 21 – October 4); Cairns Regional Gallery (October 11 – November 30); Artspace Mackay (December 5 – February 1, 2009); Outback Regional Gallery, Winton (February 7 – March 27) and Roma on Bungil Gallery, Roma (April 3 – May 17) and Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery (May 22 – July 5).

Contact: Amelia Gundelach

Phone: +61 (07) 3840 7162