Loaded

John Nixon, Silver Monochrome, 2010, enamel and bark on canvas, 305 x 230mm [detail].

John Nixon, Silver Monochrome, 2010, enamel and bark on canvas, 305 x 230mm [detail].

archived
4 Nov – 13 Dec 2014

Elizabeth Newman, Johl Dwyer, John Nixon, Julia Morison, Mikala Dwyer

An Enjoy Trust project

Curated by members of the Enjoy Trust, Loaded explores the cultural weight of materiality by bringing together a group of antipodean artists that over the past two-decades have utilised various material surfaces to convey a(n often highly-charged political) message. Stripped of traditional iconography, these works—covered in excrement, gold, nail polish, plaster, oil, enamel and bark—offer rich and beautiful surfaces and textures, evoking a whole world of complex relationships beneath if one only cares to look.

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The exhibition is made possible by the generous support and cooperation of Hamish McKay, Tim Melville, Julia Morison, Sandra Preston and Arun Patel. 

View photos from the opening on Facebook

Curated by Gary Peters, Sarah Caylor

Elizabeth Newman, Untitled (purple lake), 1987. Oil on canvas. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

Elizabeth Newman, Untitled (purple lake), 1987. Oil on canvas. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

Mikala Dwyer. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

Mikala Dwyer. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

Johl Dwyer, Verso, 2014. Plaster, acrylic, cedar 300 x 300 x 20mm. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.  

Johl Dwyer, Verso, 2014. Plaster, acrylic, cedar 300 x 300 x 20mm. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

 

Johl Dwyer, Rose, 2014. Plaster, acrylic, oil, cedar, 24K gold, 255 x 155 x 20mm. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

Johl Dwyer, Rose, 2014. Plaster, acrylic, oil, cedar, 24K gold, 255 x 155 x 20mm. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

Johl Dwyer, Verso, 2014 [left], Make-up, 2014 [centre], Rose, 2014 [right]. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

Johl Dwyer, Verso, 2014 [left], Make-up, 2014 [centre], Rose, 2014 [right]. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

Johl Dwyer, Make-up, 2014. Plaster, acrylic, oil, cedar, 610 x 400 x 35mm [detail]. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

Johl Dwyer, Make-up, 2014. Plaster, acrylic, oil, cedar, 610 x 400 x 35mm [detail]. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

John Nixon, Silver Monochrome, 2010. Enamel and bark on canvas, 305 x 230mm. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

John Nixon, Silver Monochrome, 2010. Enamel and bark on canvas, 305 x 230mm. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

Julia Morison. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

Julia Morison. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

Julia Morison. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

Julia Morison. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

John Nixon, Johl Dwyer, Julia Morison, Mikala Dwyer and Elizabeth Newman, Loaded, 2014. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

John Nixon, Johl Dwyer, Julia Morison, Mikala Dwyer and Elizabeth Newman, Loaded, 2014. Image courtesy of Oscar Perry.

About the artists

Johl Dwyer (b. 1985, Auckland) creates mysterious painting-objects through a process based approach of layering paint and plaster.

Mikala Dwyer (b.1959 Sydney) has been exhibiting internationally since 1982. In her installations and sculptures she often chooses materials that have a strong association with the body as she constructs idiosyncratic, personal spaces within the conventional architecture of the gallery.

Julia Morison (b. 1952, Pahiatua) has a rich and ambiguous practice. Over three decades she has used, and continues to use, a wide range of approaches and materials to represent her own intellectual order through an interweaving of symbol, material and philosophy.

John Nixon (b. 1948, Sydney) is one of Australia’s most significant painters and installation artists. He often lists Minimalism, the Monochrome, Non-Objective art, Constructivism and the readymade, as the starting points of his output.

Elizabeth Newman (b. 1962, Melbourne) lives and works in Melbourne. Her practice addresses questions of representation and subjectivity, offering articulate reflections on philosophical propositions, theory, politics, art, artists, aesthetics and everyday life concerns.