Sculpture is Everything:
Contemporary Works
from the Collection
Showcasing the Gallery’s Collection and featuring
a group of major new acquisitions, ‘Sculpture is Everything’
explored the extraordinarily diverse and surprising field
of contemporary sculpture.
‘Sculpture is Everything:
Contemporary works from the
Collection’ challenged audiences’
understandings of what constitutes
sculpture. The exhibition celebrated
the Gallery’s active role collecting
and commissioning international
contemporary sculpture over recent
decades, and acknowledged the
support of benefactors whose shared
vision has put the Gallery at the
forefront of this field of collecting.
With a focus on new and recent work,
‘Sculpture is Everything’ explored
how unexpected forms such as
film, photography, painting and
performance could be considered
sculptural. The exhibition reflected
the scope and depth of the Collection,
with work by more than 80 artists
from Asia, Africa, Europe, North
and South America and Australia,
including a range of work by
Indigenous Australian artists.
It demonstrated the changeable
nature of sculpture through a
diversity of approaches by artists
including Ai Weiwei, Martin Creed,
Bharti Kher, Nam June Paik, Michael
Parekowhai, Roman Signer, Gordon
Hookey, Lorraine Connelly-Northey,
Rachel Whiteread, Anish Kapoor,
Mathew Jones, Rebecca Horn,
Scott Redford, Robert MacPherson
and Tobias Putrih.
Several major new acquisitions
purchased with the support of Tim
Fairfax,
AM
, some by artists never
before seen in Australia, were
featured including Zilvinas Kempinas’
magnetic tape installation
Columns
2006; Timo Nasseri’s faceted metal
wall piece
Epistrophy VI
2012;
Lara Favaretto’s rotating car-wash
brushes
Gummo IV
2012; Henrique
Oliveira’s oozing, bulbous wooden
form
Xilonoma Chamusquius 2
2012
and Michael Sailstorfer’s
Wolken
(
Clouds
) 2010, suspended above
GOMA’s Long Gallery.
Also on display were popular
collection works such as Montien
Boonma’s
Salas for the mind
1995;
Nam June Paik’s
The Elements
1989; Michel Tuffery’s
Povi tau vaga
(
The challenge
) 1999; Bharti Kher’s
The skin speaks a language not its
own
2006 and Aurukun artist Joe
Ngallametta’s
Thap yongk
(
Law
poles
) 2002–03.
18 AUGUST – 28 OCTOBER 2012
GOMA
16
// REWIND
/ REVIEW 2012
