historical Asian Art
1 UNkNOWN ARTIST
The Chola dynasty of southern India (c.880–
1279CE) was a golden age for Hindu sculpture,
notably for developing the production of bronze
statues of deities for use in ceremonies and
processions outside temples. Represented
in many forms, Krishna is one of the most
celebrated Hindu gods, depicted here as a youth
in a cheerful dancing pose. He holds a small ball
of butter stolen from his foster mother, who,
when peering into his mouth, could see the entire
universe. This sculpture, purchased with funds
from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust,
expresses a dance of mischievous joy, as well as
the grace and divinity of this popular incarnation
of Vishnu.
Unknown
| India |
Krishna the jubilant butter thief 13th century
(late Chola period) | Bronze | 38.8 x 24 x 14.3cm | Purchased 2012
with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust through the
Queensland Art Gallery Foundation
2 OTAGAkI RENGETSU
Buddhist nun Otagaki Rengetsu is one of the
most prominent artistic figures of nineteenth-
century Japan. A poet, calligrapher, painter and
potter, her works combine the ideologies and
aesthetics of Buddhism, the tea ceremony and
waka
poetry, punctuated with the expressive
strokes of
kana
calligraphy and the naive touch
of a self-taught artist. Based in Kyoto, she began
creating tea ceramics late in life. Her studio was
prolific, producing around 50 000 paintings and
ceramics during her lifetime, and her works have
become highly sought after. She was ordained
as a nun at the age of 33 and adopted the name
‘Rengetsu’, meaning ‘lotus moon’. She went on
to establish an artistic career that would be
one of the era’s most successful. This beautiful
collection of Sencha cups was acquired with
funds generously donated by the Henry and
Amanda Bartlett Trust.
Otagaki Rengetsu
| Japan 1791–1875 |
Sencha cups
1873 | Hand-built
stoneware, glazed, incised calligraphy, gold lacquer | Five cups:
4.5 x 8 x 8cm (each) | Purchased 2012 with funds from the Henry and
Amanda Bartlett Trust through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation
Contemporary
Asian Art
3 GImhONGSOk
Gimhongsok’s work is characterised by a deadpan
humour. His references to art history and
contemporary culture collide with political and
ethical questions, visual gags and sophisticated
ruminations on artistic materials, and all are
carried out in a strikingly compressed aesthetic.
Canine Construction
2009 — a sculpture of a dog,
assembled from black garbage bags and carefully
cast in resin — is a play on value, materials and
authorship. It mimics Jeff Koons’s sleek, colourful
balloon dog sculptures, and is one of a series
composed of garbage bags, cardboard boxes and
balloons, then cast in expensive materials such as
bronze or resin. The series stems from the artist’s
fascination with the role of public art and the
difficulty of achieving consensus about objects
in public spaces.
Gimhongsok
| South Korea b.1964 |
Canine Construction
2009 |
Resin | 162 x 235 x 88cm | Purchased 2012. Queensland Art Gallery
4 ATUl DODIyA
Atul Dodiya is a central figure in contemporary
Indian art. For many years he has borrowed and
quoted images from art history, politics, folklore
and popular culture for his work, a strategy
known as appropriation. He is interested in
how a personal collection of belongings can
shape lives and become part of a collective
memory.
Somersault in sandalwood sky
2012,
commissioned for APT7, is an installation of
nine wooden cabinets filled with paintings,
sculptures, found objects and photographs.
Dodiya creates a personal art history of Asia and
the Pacific drawing on the Gallery’s collections
and exhibitions, including the APT. Celebrating
significant artists and art works, he combines
site-specific images with many of his recurrent
motifs to form what he calls ‘a creative
orchestration of many different voices’.
Atul Dodiya
| India b.1959 |
Somersault in sandalwood sky
2012 |
Teak wood cabinets with archival prints, paintings, sculptures and
found objects | Three cabinets: 213.4 x 121.9 x 22.9cm (each); three
cabinets: 198.1 x 121.9 x 22.9cm (each); three cabinets: 182.9 x 106.7 x
22.9cm (each); 1193.7cm (width, installed) | Commissioned for APT7
and the Queensland Art Gallery Collection | Purchased 2012.
Queensland Art Gallery
5 PhUAN ThAI mENG
Phuan Thai Meng’s photorealist paintings
depict urban environments in unique and
suggestive ways. He offers glimpses into the
forgotten spaces of cities that lie between rapid
construction and urban decay, exploring the
relationship between these seldom considered
environments and the local inhabitants.
The
Luring of [ ].
流水不腐
,
户枢不蠹
2012,
is a panoramic view through a number of
freeway overpasses in Kuala Lumpur. Phuan
manipulates this seamless imagery by making
unconventional modifications: a tear or cut
revealing a hidden support. The plywood beneath
evokes the structures of the slums in urban
Malaysia, contrasting the heavy concrete of
mass development — a symbol of the country’s
economic progress — with the construction
of the cheap housing occupied by those who
are yet to share in the spoils of success.
Phuan Thai meng
| Malaysia b.1974 |
TheLuringof [ ].
流水不腐
,
户枢
不蠹
2012 | Synthetic polymer paint on canvas mounted on plywood |
Six panels: 300 x 996cm (overall); 300 x 166cm (each) | Purchased
2012. Queensland Art Gallery
6 hUANG yONG PING
Huang Yong Ping came to prominence in the mid
1980s as a key member of Xiamen Dada, the
Chinese avant-garde movement. Since moving
to Paris in 1989, he has become renowned for
narrative works combining incongruous objects
and materials and which draw on Chinese and
European artistic and philosophical traditions.
Huang’s massive installations rework animal
and architectural forms, incorporating elements
of the sites in which they are constructed. The
artist’s series of snake skeleton sculptures
reference a significant symbol in Chinese
culture, as well as other cultures around the
world. These works play with interpretations of
the symbol of the snake, as well as referencing
local landscapes and architecture.
Ressort
2012,
commissioned for the Queensland Art Gallery’s
Watermall for APT7, with the generous support
of Tim Fairfax,
AM
, spirals from the floor to the
ceiling, metaphorically linking water with the sky.
huang yong Ping
| China b.1954 |
Ressort
2012 | Aluminium, stainless
steel | 53m (length) | Commissioned for APT7 and the Queensland Art
Gallery Collection | Purchased 2012 with funds from Tim Fairfax,
AM
,
through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation
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