Recent Acquisitions

7 October – 4 December 2022

Following the success of our 50fifty Acquisition Initiative which ran from 2017-2020, the John Curtin Gallery has continued to acquire important works that reflect the world in which we live. This exhibition presents works acquired over the last two years that have not previously been on display at the gallery, covering painting, photography, mixed media, textiles, ceramics, video, drawing and print. Included are significant purchases and donations of artworks by leading contemporary artists such as James Angus, Brent Harris, Joan Ross, Christian Thompson and Aida Tomescu; as well as important Western Australian artists, recent Curtin Fine Art graduates, and significant First Nations artists, including a major Spinifex Women’s collaborative. We thank all our Donors who have made these acquisitions possible.

ARTISTS INCLUDE:

Joshua Cocking received a BA (Honours, First Class) from Curtin University in 2021. He is motivated in his work and artistic practice to focus on humanist, environmental and technological issues. Disclosure about the environmental, social, economic and cultural precipices that contemporary society stands on, are deeply encoded within his artwork. The fragmentary and lyrical titles of his work allude to larger narratives that balance beauty and catastrophe.

Pippin Drysdale, one of Australia’s foremost ceramic artists, was formally recognised as one of Western Australia’s State Living Treasures in 2015. As part of her artistic practice, Drysdale prefers to capture fleeting moments in an intuitive manner, exploring biodiversity and ancient geological formations in her works. She never aims to accurately reproduce a scene, instead creating a celebration of the Australian outback, her birthplace and home, channeling her passion to pay homage.

Carla Adams has had artwork selected in ten separate exhibitions between 2012-2021. She received a Bachelor of Art (Distinction) from Curtin university in 2013, and a Bachelor of Art (Honours) from the same institution in 2014. She has used her experiences to create work that explores the minefield of meeting strangers online. These works investigate the female experience of online dating, and more broadly, what it’s like to be a woman online in contemporary society.

James Angus was born in Perth, WA, and currently lives and practices in Berkeley, California. He received a BA (Fine Arts) from Curtin University in 1990, and an MFA (Sculpture) from the Yale University School of Art in 1998. His practice draws on natural and built forms as an investigation into how sculpture can mediate someone’s perception and experience of the physical world. His recent work follows the pursuit of his interest in formal engineering structures and materials.

DATES & TIMES

7 October – 4 December 2022

Mon-Fri 11am-5pm, Sun 12pm-5pm

ADDRESS

John Curtin Gallery, Building 200A, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley WA 6102

PLAN YOUR VISIT

Admission and Accessibility

Inset images: Pippin Drysdale, Bungle Bungle, 2007 – 2013, glazed porcelain forms, dimensions variable. Curtin University Art Collection. Donated by Pippin Drysdale through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2021. Courtesy of the artist. Spinifex Women’s Collaborative (Kanta Donnegan, Ivy Kaidlaw, Myrtle Pennington, Ngalpingka Simms, Tracey Simms), Kungkarungkalpa, 2019, acrylic on linen, 200 x 228 cm. Curtin University Art Collection. Acquired with funds donated through Curtin Foundation, 50fifty Acquisition Initiative, 2020, Courtesy of the artists and Spinifex Arts Project.  Christian Thompson, Refuge, 2014, single channel HD video, duration: 4:19 minutes. Curtin University Art Collection Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Christian Thompson, 2019. Courtesy of the artist and Michael Reid Gallery.