Opportunity to exhibit at Verge Gallery
The Verge Gallery exhibition program offers a “Wildcard slot” between the 12th of July and the 13th of August 2010 for budding artists, designers, architects and curators to come and strut their stuff. Anyone with an Access card can submit a proposal in an open competition designed to select an original, topical exhibition that will excite and entertain.
The exhibitor/s will be able to install their exhibition in the space, free of charge over the four week period, and will also be provided with guidance and assistance to manage, install and promote the exhibition.
Download guidelines.
Download Application Form
Submissions have been extended and are now are due at Verge Gallery on 28 May.
Currrently Showing: RAW
As per of the Wildcard exhibition slots the gallery currently hosts an exhibition from 5 emerging artists titled RAW, a show which explores concepts of containment, capture, growth and decay through the creation of raw and organic forms. The artists are second-year students who share a studio at the Sydney College of the Arts, and beat out stiff competition from other applicants due to their high standard of work for their level of experience. Although each of the artists presents the idea of RAW in a unique manner, there is a strong sense of unity between their works. The show will display the theme of RAW through aspects of human and animal forms, as a psychological state and also in the literal sense of unpolished or recycled materials. Unlike many previous shows at the Verge Gallery, RAW will primarily present free-standing sculptures, using the gallery space in a new and engaging way. From strange, junk-yard creatures to inorganic objects breathed to life, RAW will animate the gallery and intrigue viewers.
On show till 13th August
Featured piece 55 Durham Rd by Alexandra Reid Copper sheet 41.5 x 56 x 4cm $390
Alexandra Reid exhibiting in RAW interviewed by Kimberley Van Hek (Verge Gallery Assistant Curator):
- Who are you? Are you from Sydney? What made you decide to study sculpture?
I’m from a small town near the Blue Mountains. Being in the city full time for Uni was a new experience for me; it was kind of a shock to go from an open country town to the busy city where no-one slows down. It made me really interested in the idea of public and private spaces.
I was always interested in the process of art making. I think the 3 dimensional form was what made me decide to study sculpture. I wanted to make things that I could see working in different spaces.
- Construction of books. Practical art making process. How did you put this together?
- How does this sculpture apply to the concept of RAW?
I had to cut out the books into circles with a jigsaw, which was kind of difficult, because I had to make sure that they wouldn’t fall apart. Then I clamped them down and applied some glue around the outside to make them hold together because they didn’t have their spines. There is a steel pole down the middle of all of them, except for the top and bottom ones.
I decided to use this artwork for the RAW exhibition because it was one of the first pieces I did for an assessment where there was supposed to be no concept, it was mainly about form. I thought it kind of applied to the RAW aesthetic because it’s not as polished and not as developed, being on of my earlier works, and it also has the aspect of the books being cut and left, like they are uncared for.
- What kind of books did you use? Was the content of the books important for the work or was it the form that was more significant?
It was definitely the form that was important for this work. The content of the books didn’t really matter; they just needed to be hardcover. I also tried to get some with pictures in them, because the colours would look good on the surface of the cut pages.
I got them from second hand stores. It was kind of hard work carrying stacks of books back and forth to Uni all the time. There were some I didn’t use as well because the stack eventually would have been too high and fallen over but I collected a lot.
- What made you decide to use the motif of the buildings? What murders happened there? Why are they significant?
I liked the idea of the domestic facade, like a film set, with a normal exterior but emptiness on the inside. I first thought of using buildings where murders had occurred because there was a murder that happened close to where I live. I was too young to understand at the time but later it interested me as a concept.
- Why did you decide to only use the floor plans? What does the flat 2 dimensional plane convey?
The flatness of the artwork is meant to convey the emptiness of the domestic façade. I had read a book about one of the murders that happened called “Rise”, by Ingrid … I later drove past the house and was struck by the fact that it looked so normal, not a place where you would have expected a murder to occur. The 2 dimensional form has the effect of the floor plans looking like they are folding up and collapsing. There is no space in the middle, they’re falling apart, as well as being stretched and distorted.
- Why copper? Is it because it is easier to work with? The colour?
I liked the idea of copper because it would erode quite obviously and discolour to a green as it ages.
- What is it like working with the other students? How do they influence your artwork if at all?
Everyone is pretty tight. We were previously in a really small space and now we’re with the third year students so we have more room to move. We have these sessions where we’re supposed to judge each other’s work and everyone has an opinion on what you’ve done so you really need to have a strong idea of where you’re coming from. Sometimes there are classes of up to forty or fifty students but there are only twelve or thirteen of us so we’ve gotten quite used to each other.
-What made you all decide to enter the Wildcard competition? Was it a conscious decision to make art that all fit together or did you just have already existing concepts and pieces that worked well?
We had an exhibition last year at Vaucluse house and that went pretty well. Our lecturers are always encouraging us to do things outside of class and this was something we decided to go for on our own and we submitted the application without them even knowing.
We thought that the idea of RAW would work well for us because we are all only second years and we’re still learning. We had a three hour brainstorming session when we decided to do this to decide what work to include. We didn’t really need to develop anything to make sure our artwork fit together; maybe this is because we’ve worked together for a while. I think all the artworks connect through our theme but they also sit very strongly on their own. We’re all very different in our concepts and ideas.
Past Exhibition: Sydney Painters
Where does the medium of painting fit in today’s art world? Is it being overshadowed by masses of digitally produced pictures, instantaneous photographs and video? Verge Gallery leads the fight back!
From the 20 of May until 2 July Verge Gallery is hosting an exhibition showcasing some of Sydney’s emerging and established artists who work with paint.
A featured piece is 'Two Ways' by Nana Ohnesorge (left), which blends together two different portraits, one that only appears if the oval painting is viewed upside down.
About the Verge Gallery
Verge Gallery
Jane Foss Russell Plaza,
City Road, Darlington
T (02) 9563 6218
Opening hours: 11am - 3pm weekdays.
FREE ENTRY
The Verge Gallery is an exciting new addition to the University of Sydney campus - housing the best in unique and rousing student art.
The Gallery was opened by the University of Sydney Union (USU) in 2009, and holds regular exhibitions, showcasing the vibrant burgeoning student art scene in Sydney.
Free entry and open to everyone on campus and in the wider community.