Murdoch University Art Collection Board recently hosted its popular annual soirée on 11 November 2023.
Attended by artists, bequestors, friends and eminent figures of Perth’s arts community, this event also previewed an exhibition titled FIRST LOOK: New Acquisitions. You can see a selection of images from the Art Soirée here.
FIRST LOOK is the second edition in a series of exhibitions celebrating a selection of 18 artworks recently acquired by purchase, commission or gift during the Art Collection’s GOLD HORIZON 50th Anniversary campaign period.
Launched in 2021, with the first edition exhibition of the same name, GOLD HORIZON aims to strategically acquire contemporary Australian art of the highest quality and relevancy to commemorate the Art Collection’s milestone 50th Anniversary in 2024. As well as honouring this landmark occasion, these considered acquisitions will also become important cornerstone artworks within the greater context of the Collection for decades to come.
Featured in FIRST LOOK is an exciting and diverse array of exceptional artworks by emerging, mid-career and senior Australian artists including Abdul Abdullah, Atong Atem, Jimmy Baker, Maringka Baker, Jacobus Capone, Naomi Hobson, The Huxleys, Beryl Jimmy, Sonia Kurarra, David Miller, Christopher Pease, Lance Peck, Reko Rennie, Brad Rimmer, Khashayar Salmanzadeh, Bernard Tjalkuri and Nyankulya Walyampari Watson.
We’re delighted and honoured to represent these artists in the Collection (many for the first time) and excited to share their exceptional work with you.
Installation views of First Look: New Acquisitions, featuring the following artworks:
Top (L-R): Naomi Hobson, Daley’s Bike and Free Lollypops, 2019, photographic print on cotton rag art paper, artist proof and edition 4/5, 75 x 104 cm each. Purchased to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Murdoch University Art Collection.
Centre (L-R): Jimmy Baker, Kalaya Tyukurpa; Nyankulya Walyampari Watson, Ngayuku Ngura; Bernard Tjalkuri, Tjitji Tjuta; David Miller, Inarki; from the Tjungu Palya Artists Print Folio, 2009, screen-print on paper, edition 5/40, 59 x 84 cm each. Donated by Alan R. Dodge AM & Neil Archibald 2022 through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program to support Murdoch University Art Collection’s 50th anniversary artwork donation campaign.
Bottom (L-R): Abdul Abdullah, A Return, 2022, oil on linen, 200 x 165 cm; Khashayar Salmanzadeh, Spiritual Heavyweight, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 91.4 x 91.4 cm; Naomi Hobson (see above); Reko Rennie, TIME 2 REBEL, 2022, pigment & acrylic on linen, 150 x 120 cm. Purchased to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Murdoch University Art Collection.
