Information from Ararat Art Gallery

About Time: Australian Studio Tapestry 1975-2005

About Time Australian studio tapestry 1975-2005 will be presented at Ararat Regional Art Gallery from 12 August to 26 September 2010. The exhibition presents tapestries by leading artist-weavers from Ararat Regional Art Gallery's permanent collection, alongside selected loans from public and private collections to highlight the key influences and formal and conceptual concerns that have shaped the character of studio tapestry during this formative period.

In the context of the exhibition, the term ‘studio tapestry’ refers to tapestries designed and created by independent artist-weavers outside of a collaborative environment, such as where production weavers interpret the designs by non-weaving artists.

‘About Time’ boasts some very significant tapestries by leading artist-weavers that reflect the aesthetics and concerns of each decade: bold and colourful abstract works of the 1970s, whimsical and expressive figurative works from the 1980s and more recent tapestries that examine the formal aspects of the time consuming and technically demanding weaving process itself.

The exhibition includes tapestries by Roma Center, Marie Cook, Liz Nettleton, Merrill Dumbrell, Alan Holland, Cheryl Thornton, Tess Crawford, Belinda Ramson, Gerda van Hamond, Kay Lawrence AM, Tass Mavrogordato, Valerie Kirk, Kate Derum, Cresside Collette, Tim Gresham, Sara Lindsay, Robyn Daw and Mardi Nowak.

Ararat Regional Art Gallery Director, Anthony Camm said, “ ‘About Time’ highlights the Gallery’s richly diverse sub-collection of studio tapestry and forms part of our ongoing commitment to presenting our permanent collection in new and interesting ways”.

“The exhibition reveals the potential for the sustained expansion of this unique sub-collection as a nationally significant repository for Australian studio tapestry into the future”, he said.

‘About Time’ is accompanied by a catalogue funded through the Gordon Darling Foundation. The catalogue features an essay by the exhibition curator Anthony Camm and short essays by established artists Kay Lawrence AM and Sara Lindsay and emerging artist Hilary Green, which explore the current ‘state of play’ with reference to their own practices and experiences.

An associated exhibition, ‘Some Small Way: small and miniature tapestries’, mostly from Ararat’s permanent collection, is presented until 17 October 2010 to augment the presentation of ‘About Time: Australian Studio Tapestry 1975-2005’.

‘About Time’ will tour Victoria with the support of the Regional Exhibitions Touring Initiative (RETI) and will be presented at Horsham Regional Art Gallery and Central Goldfields Art Gallery, Maryborough in 2011

Australian Tapestry Workshop website