Contemporary textile art
We are delighted that Kate Just’s works ‘An Armour of Hope’ and ‘The Arms of Mother’ will be presented in the forthcoming exhibition ‘MOTHER: Stories from the NGV Collection’ at the National Gallery of Victoria at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, which will be launched on 27th March.
About these deeply personal pieces, that have been recently acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria, were produced during her PhD project exploring the relationship between textiles, skin, and touch, Kate shares: “Making their NGV debut are two of my works, which explore knitting’s metaphoric equivalency to skin. ‘An Armour of Hope’, 2012, took the form of a hand knitted chain-mail armour for our then recently adopted child Harper; while ‘The Arms of Mother’, 2012, were arm-length gloves for my own body embroidered with scars. The works materialised my own and Harper’s past familial losses, and our resilience and hope for the future.”
Curated by Sophie Gerhard and Katharina Prugger with assistance from Eva Christoff, the exhibition ‘MOTHER’ will be presented at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia from 27 March to 12 July 2026.
Pictured: Kate Just, An Armour of Hope, 2012, hand-knitted metal and silk, 104 x 45 x 4 cm; The Arms of Mother, 2012, hand-knitted and hand embroidered rayon and cotton, 92 x 32 x 2 cm. Images courtesy of the artist
Please join us for an Finissage for 'The Felling Place' and 'Land marks, with an artist talk by Julia Robinson on Saturday 11th April, 1pm-3pm.
Artist Talk from 1:30pm
Julia Robinson’s ‘The Felling Place’, currently showing at Hugo Michell Gallery, is a foray into eco-horror and plant horror: sub-genres that arise from our fractured relationship with the natural world and might be characterised by narratives where nature is not only sentient but malevolent. In these narratives, plant life may strike back at humans and horror comes from our terrifying encounter with ‘monstrous’ vegetation.
This will also be the final day to experience Bridie Gillman's solo exhibition 'Land marks', an exhibition developed in Yogyakarta, Indonesia (affectionately – Jogja). Each piece has been made in response to a patchwork of everyday observations – a fleeting moment while on a motorbike or a slower studied observation while waiting for a meal. Translated through colour, these seen things and places become landmarks through which the artist navigates around town.
Hugo Michell Gallery are proud to partner with Bird in Hand Winery for this finissage event.
Hugo Michell Gallery acknowledges the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of the Adelaide region, and that their cultural and heritage beliefs are still as important to the living Kaurna people today.
_____
BRIDIE GILLMAN
Land marks
_____
JULIA ROBINSON
The Felling Place
_____
Hugo Michell Gallery are proud to partner with Bird in Hand Winery for this opening event.
We're delighted to share that Paul Yore is a finalist in the Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award for 2025, congratulations Paul!
The Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award, established in 2009, is organised by the Art Collection and Galleries Unit at Deakin University, Victoria. The award celebrates contemporary sculptures from artists around Australia, culminating in an exhibition of finalists' work held in August to October each year at the Deakin University Art Gallery.
The finalist exhibition will be presented from 27 August to 10 October 2025 at the Deakin University Art Gallery, Melbourne Burwood Campus.
Pictured: Paul Yore, Vegemite Jar (installation view), 2025, acrylic yarn needlepoint, cotton thread, and board, 18.5 x 15 x 15 cm, ed. of 5 + AP. Photography by Sam Roberts
___
Living Waters
___
Yiminga Ampirnipapurti - Sunrise
We’re delighted to share that Sera Waters has been selected as one of 10 finalists in the 2025 Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award.
The Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award celebrates the diversity and strength of Australian textile art. Now in its ninth iteration, the Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award was initially established to mark Wangaratta's long and prominent history of textile manufacturing and craft making. In furthering this unique tradition and social history the award celebrates and strengthens the development of contemporary textile practice in Australia. With the significant investment of project partners, the Kyamba Foundation, prize money now stands at $40,000, representing the richest textile prize in Australia.
The 2025 finalists, selected from over 430 entries Australia wide, are contemporary artists who not only demonstrate a mastery of technique in a broad textile medium, but innovation and excellence alongside a rigorous and robust conceptual practice.
The Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award 2025 will open on Saturday 24 May 2025 with the winner announced that day. The exhibition continues until 17 August 2025.
Pictured: Sera Waters in her studio, 2020. Photography by Sia Duff