MELBOURNE.- Australia’s first commercial art gallery dedicated to women artists launched in August 2019 attracting global attention. Founded by respected art consultant and advocate Lisa Fehily,
Finkelstein Gallery aims to address under representation and establish parity for female artists. In 2020 the gallery will present solo exhibitions from some of Australia’s most exciting emerging and established female artists: Kate Baker, Jacqui Stockdale, Deborah Kelly, Cigdem Aydemir, Lisa Roet and Monika Behrens. The gallery will also present a compelling program of talks and engagements to be presented free to the public, and will conclude the year with a curated group exhibition.
Inspired by the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington D.C campaign #Fivewomenartists and under representation of female artists in Australia’s institutional collections, Lisa Fehily decided the time was right to open a gallery dedicated to the work of female artists. In addition to the artists presenting solo exhibitions, Finkelstein represents Coady, Louise Paramour, Kate Rohde, and international artists Kim Lieberman (South Africa) and Sonal Kontaria (UK).
Fehily describes how in 2020 Finkelstein Gallery will focus on nurturing the careers and promoting the works of its nine Australian women artists and two international artists, “We are thrilled to present this series of exhibitions including new work from Cigdem Aydemir and Monika Behrens, Kate Baker’s incredible glass installation presented in concert with her new video work, the unveiling of Lisa Roet’s investigations into simian behaviour - a result of her project with Jane Goodall – and comprehensive surveys of Jacqui Stockdale and Deborah Kelly’s practices.
The gallery will also present a critical program of talks to encourage a wide audience to engage with the work and concepts presented by these multifaceted artists. I’m excited to announce that on 7 March, on the eve of International Women’s Day, we will present a panel discussion at M Pavilion, where we will also announce a curated program of talks and events for 2020.”
Finkelstein Gallery’s 2020 exhibitions are as follows:
Kate Baker 6 February – 19 March: Multi-disciplinary artist Kate Baker merges photography, film and print technologies with the mediums of studio glass and metal fabrication, erasing the traditional divisions between them. Incorporating little known and little-used techniques, Baker locks images and textures within layers of melted glass and also onto metal. Baker then carves the surface of each glass panel to create beautifully finished works with exquisite textures and surfaces. Her themes are of a complex human environment, layered with physical, psychological and emotional strata. In this solo exhibition, Baker will also present a recent development in her practice, as she embraces the use of the moving and projected image in the creation of immersive video and sound installations, involving environments created with studio glass elements.
Jacqui Stockdale 26 March – 7 May: Finkelstein Gallery will present a comprehensive curated survey of Jacqui Stockdale’s practice to coincide with her exhibition, The Long Shot, at Linden New Art in February, 2020. Raised in country Victoria, Stockdale is intrigued by the myths surrounding Ned Kelly and 19th century folkloric narratives. Stockdale works across photo-media, painting, drawing, collage and performance to explore the often disparate and overlooked histories of Australia. She is mostly known for creating highly theatrical portraits. Through archetypal characters, symbolism and carefully researched theatrical settings, costumes, props and live animals, she focuses on the abandoned cultural narratives of the past in the hope of shedding some light on the fraught issues of Australia as a nation in the present.
Deborah Kelly 14 May - 25 June: The gallery will present a solo show of Deborah Kelly’s new work, presenting a cohesive understanding of the unyielding practice of Kelly to explore and question issues of gender, power and privilege. Kelly works across media, discussing lineages of representation, politics and history in public exchange. This solo exhibition will consist of new collage work together with Deborah’s new collaborative animated collage, The Gods of Tiny Things, which contemplates the life of complex beings in threatened habitats both literal and metaphorical. Emerging from an open-call workshop, it premiered at the Channels International Video Festival in Melbourne, September 2019 and has been shown internationally in several festivals.
Cigdem Aydemir 2 July - 13 August: Cigdem Aydemir is producing a new body of work for this exhibition, continuing to investigate possibilities for intersubjective and transcultural communication with an interest in post-colonial and feminist issues. Aydemir works in the mediums of installation, performance and video art in her socially and politically engaged art practice. Through critiquing, decolonizing and queering mechanisms, Cigdem will further establish relations of power, while producing work that is driven equally by research, play, criticism and humour.
Lisa Roet 20 August - 1 October: For over two decades Lisa Roet has won acclaim in Australia and internationally for her powerful investigations into the complex interface between humans and our simian relatives. Drawing inspiration from a myriad of sources including residencies at major international zoos, field studies of apes living in the forests of Borneo and most recently through her own heart surgery, Lisa’s multidisciplinary approach to her work has challenged, and continues to challenge, fundamental scientific and behavioral theories relating to human evolution and creationism, language and communication, science and art and the relationship between humans and ‘other’ primates. Roet’s art practice is infused with refreshing vigour, candour and an inescapable sense of mystery, poignantly highlighting how inextricably linked humans and primates are amid the messy uncertainty of biology, nature and culture. This solo exhibition draws its inspiration from her upcoming international project with Jane Goodall. The project launches at Hamer Hall in April 2020 and travels, reaching UNESCO Paris as its final destination.
Monika Behrens 8 October - 12 November: Monika will present a solo exhibition inspired by her recent residency at La Cité des Arts International, Paris, where she continued her investigation into traditional and historical still life painting. Her work continues to draw an ever–evolving dialogue between the histories of traditional still life with contemporary ways of making paintings.
