- press release
- ric spencer, symbolic v the natural the west australian, 7 november 2008
- alicia bridges, artists in residence stm entertainment, 19 october 2008
Turner Galleries welcome their third and final artist in residence for 2008, Hossein Valamanesh, accompanied by his wife Angela Valamanesh.
Hossein is presenting an overview of his career that includes works from 1993 to 2008. On show will be a range of works on paper, sculptural ladders, bronzes, branches and installations.
Angela is exhibiting new ceramic works, based on organic forms. This interest in the natural world is what links their work, as does their meticulous craftsmanship and a curiosity about language and its many structures. The works of both artists are lyrical in their symmetry, balance and elegance of form. They have collaborated many times in the past, and have done so again literally in two works in this exhibition, a digital print and a work on paper incorporating Rubinia leaves.
What really intrigues the viewer about the Valamanesh’s art is the wonder of the creation process, the seeming impossibility of the end product. Hossein’s iconic ladder, Madmen have seen the moon from 2005, features interlocking ladders, seemingly precariously balanced, and impossibly interlinked, that reaches over four meters high into the gallery rafters. Angela’s ceramic forms with their beautiful unglazed surfaces, appear to be natural forms, of pods, webs, corals or alien organs, not hand crafted from clay. Hossein’s untitled circular works made from spiny Cornus branches appear to be made from bronze, yet the work Memory stick, which spells the word “memory”, looks like wooden sticks but is actually cast bronze. There is certainly an element of teasing in their work, a sense of humour and intellectual vigour.
Many of Angela’s works are from her new Natural History Collection. They are curious, like some strange cross between bodily organs and reef corals. Their unglazed ceramic finish looks fleshy and porous, yet robust. Miscellaneous items is a collection of 10 objects, that together seem to be a coded message, an alien alphabet composed of organic forms, or exotic hieroglyphs.
Angela was born in South Australia in 1953. She is represented by Helen Stephens Gallery in Sydney and has work in the Art Gallery of South Australia, the Hobart City Council, Manly Art Gallery & Museum, University of Adelaide, Westpac, McQuarrie Bank, Aomori Contemporary Art Centre Japan, and LaTrobe University. Angela has exhibited internationally, including New Zealand, the USA, Pakistan and Japan. This is her first exhibition in Perth.
Hossein was born in Iran in 1949 and emigrated to Australia in 1973. He has exhibited extensively in Australia and overseas, including Poland, Japan and Germany. An Art & Australia monograph was published on his work in 1996, an important career survey was held at the Art Gallery of SA in 2001, followed by a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney in 2002. This year he was included in the Adelaide Biennale of Australian Art. His work can be found in most major public art collections across Australia, including all state collections.
Hossein is represented by GRANTPIRIE in Sydney and by Paul Greenaway Art Gallery in Adelaide.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- TURNER GALLERIES | showcasing contemporary art
at 470 WILLIAM STREET NORTHBRIDGE WESTERN AUSTRALIA 6003 - TURNER GALLERIES HAS NOW CLOSED.
This website is an archived record of the exhibitions and artwork shown at the gallery. - Turner Galleries acknowledges the Whadjuk Nyoongar people as the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters where Turner Galleries is situated, and pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging.
- Website © 2000-2024 TURNER GALLERIES. All images are © the artists and are not to be used without permission.
- This is a millapede project.