theo koning

fragments of language

26 august - 1 october 2016

Theo Koning’s exhibition of new sculpture is inspired by being at the intersection of many spoken languages whilst in Basel in 2015, and thinking how this might translate into new visual forms.

Koning is a very well known and highly respected Perth artist who has been exhibiting since the early 1970s. His artworks can be found in numerous important public collections, including the Art Gallery of WA, Art Gallery of SA, National Gallery of Australia, Artbank, and many more.

For several years his found object based artworks have had much in common with the Japanese notion of wabi-sabi - finding a quiet beauty in imperfections, and accepting the natural cycle of birth, growth, death and decay. Koning collects objects with forms or finishes that appeal to him, methodically stores them until needed, and then creates unique assemblages from them.

In 2015 Koning was artist in residence, via the Artsource Basel Exchange Residency, at Atelier Christoph Merian Foundation Studio in Basel for six months. Whilst there he was exposed to many different spoken languages, and also to a soundscape installation and performance at the Electronics Institut HEK. He described how “fragments of sound, speech and noise from many sources collected and constructed together could take one on a vivid, visual journey." This started him thinking about the inherent, or innate, ‘languages’ that objects possess, and how combining objects creates new narratives, or a new ‘language’.

Koning realised “the found material or object can already contain so much identity that it is rendered difficult to transform and becomes 'the found object' existing within its own context and exhibiting its own language." However this meaning, or language, had the potential to be changed when placed with other objects. His challenge was to “subvert, convert, and reinvent the identity and language of the found material or object, without submitting to its presumed identity and language." Viewers will find that he has been extraordinarily successful.

All quotes from the artist’s exhibition statement, August 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

untitled 14 cloth, wood, black acrylic paint 9.7 x 68 x 5cm 2016 $950 sold
yellow maze gesso on painted wood 34 x 19 x 6cm 2013 $850	white grid wood, white gesso 53 x 55 x 6cm 2012-13 $1,500
untitled 4 wood, paint 8 x 34 x 4cm 2015 $500
floating green paint, sand on card, gesso panel 30 x 30 x 3cm 2016 $750	untitled 16 wooden bowls, tape 24 x 21 x 12cm 2015 $850
buffalo bingo wood, bingo cards 10 x 56.4 x 2cm 2016 $450
untitled 2 wood, felt, varnish 55.4 x 30.5 x 7.3cm 2016 $950	untitled 3 wood, orange poly twine 41 x 17 x 8cm 2016 $500
untitled 5 wood, paint 38.4 x 31.7 x 9cm 2016 $750	untitled 6 wood, paint 30 x 21 x 7cm 2015 $550
slot white gesso on wood 9 x 24 x 9.3cm 2016 $400
untitled 7 white gesso on wood 12 x 2 x 12.4cm 2015 $450 sold	untitled 8 white gesso on wood 29.5 x 21.5 x 4cm 2015 $550 sold
untitled 19 wood, gesso, copper wire 10.5 x 35 x 9cm 2015 $650 sold
untitled 9 white gesso on wood 24 x 24 x 12cm 2015 $850	untitled 10 white gesso, black acrylic paint on wood 30 x 9.5 x 6.8cm 2016 $450 sold
untitled 11 acrylic on canvas 25 x 30 x 2cm 2015 $750 sold	talisman wood 25 x 11 x 6.5cm 2014 $NFS
untitled 26 white gesso, black acrylic on wood 11 x 39.7 x 5.4cm 2016 $500
untitled 13 expanding foam on masonite, paint, oilive gesso 29.6 x 23.9 x 3cm 2016 $750	untitled 12 black acrylic on wood 24 x 8.5 x 4cm 2016 $400
untitled 17 wood, nails, metal 57 x 25 x 7cm 2015 $850 sold	font wood, gesso 10.5 x 35 x 9cm 2015 $850 sold
untitled 20 white gesso, olive gesso, pigment on canvas 45 x 24.3 x 2cm 2016 $650	kent no.624 wood, paint 45 x 24.3 x 2cm 2015 $800 sold
untitled 21 white gesso, wood 28 x 15 x 9.7cm 2016 $700	untitled 22 wood 59 x 28 x 13.7cm 2016 $1,100
untitled 23 acrylic stains on wood 35.2 x 21.2 x 2.8cm 2015 $800 sold	untitled 24 black acrylic, white gesso on wood 46.5 x 15 x 11cm 2015 $850
untitled 27 white gesso, black acrylic on wood 23.7 x 23.7 x 4cm 2016 $500	untitled 25 rubber, metal, plastic, wood 65.5 x 15 x 9cm 2015 $950 sold
untitled 28 paint, gesso on wood 50 x 29.5 x 8cm 2016 $1,100 sold	untitled 29 white gesso on wood 51 x 17 x 13.7cm 2016 $1,100
untitled 31 plastic coated wire, gesso on wood 22.5 x 30.2 x 15cm 2016 $750	untitled 30 graphite on mdf board 31 x 22.5 x 4cm 2015 $800
untitled 32 paint, gesso on wood 28.5 x 35 x 14cm 2016 $900	untitled 38 expanding foam, masonite, gesso 35.7 x 30.8 x 6cm 2016 $850
untitled 18 wood, gesso, black japan stain 37.5 x 59.5 x 2.5m 2016 $950 sold	untitled 42 coloured cardboard, card 31.5 x 17 x 0.5cm 2012 $450
untitled 1 white gesso on wood 13 x 20 x 6.5cm 2015 $450 sold	untitled 40 white gesso, wood 18.8 x 12.3 x 5.5cm 2016 $450 sold