BETWEEN APPEARANCES: THE ART OF LOUISE WEAVER

15 November 2019 – 9 February 2020
Louise Weaver, Taking a Chance on Love 2003 (detail), The University of Melbourne Art Collection Michael Buxton Collection Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Michael and Janet Buxton 2018

Curated by Melissa Keys 

Featuring fantastical creatures, iridescent other worlds, uncanny objects and unsettling organic forms Between appearances: the art of Louise Weaver explores the multidisciplinary practice of one of Australia’s most significant contemporary artists.

While Weaver is best known for her whimsical, thought-provoking sculptures of animals, Between appearances features more than 100 works in an array of media including sculptural installations, paintings, drawings, printmaking, collage, textiles, movement and sound. The exhibition spans three decades of the artist’s practice and reveals Weaver’s longstanding interests in fields as diverse as visual culture, art history, natural history, science and design.

Absorbed in particular by the dynamics and fragility of the natural world and environmental concerns, Weaver has a fascination with cycles of growth, metamorphosis and the intricacies of camouflage. Her work plays with these concepts and extends them into ideas surrounding artificiality and transformation, social themes and feminism, underpinned by the enduring power of mythology, make-believe and memory.

Curated by Melissa Keys Between appearances unfolds across all four of the galleries at Buxton Contemporary. It traces her gradual shift from early figurative forms and compositions through to abstract paintings, objects and sound environments, comprising an overview of Weaver’s richly imaginative, critical and compelling work from the early nineties through to the present.

This exhibition is the second major monographic exhibition at Buxton Contemporary celebrating a highly regarded artist represented in the Michael Buxton Collection at the University of Melbourne.

Louise Weaver’s new work has been developed with the generous support of the Australia Council. The artist is represented by Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney. 

Download large-format wall labels HERE.

IN THE MEDIA
Between Appearances: the art of Louise Weaver – Gina Fairley, ArtsHub 
Weaving a spell in a fairytale forest that hangs by a thread – Robert Nelson, The Age 
Louise Weaver on nature, feminism and crocheting animal forms –Tiarney Miekus, Art Guide Australia 
Appearances can be mesmerising in the art of Louise Weaver – Kerrie O’Brien, The Age 
Between Appearances: the art of Louise Weaver – Melissa Pesa, Art Almanac 

 

EXHIBITION CATALOGUE

Between appearances: the art of Louise Weaver – Exhibition Catalogue

 

Image shows a standing 3D frame, inside which hangs a black beaded decorative artwork. Behind are other framed artworks hung on blue gallery walls.
Close-up picture of a taxidermy bird wearing a jewlled necklace and crocheted leg warmers.
Perspective is of a corner in the gallery. Two large weavings are hung on the wall, one pink and one orange. In front, on long white plinths, sit 3 sculptures of taxidermy birds with colourful crocheted coverings.
Installation artwork of a red carpet with an assortment of red crocheted objects and animals (including a bear-like creature, a squirrel and a ferret-like creature) sitting on top.
A bolbous black shaped sculpture made of fibreglass, polyester and wool on a Tokonoma (shaped) bamboo pole in the foreground. In the background hangs tiny paper tubes stitched together into a screen-like installation.
Wide view of the ground floor gallery installation
Wide view of first floor installation
Image shows a section of the gallery with purple walls. A black chair-like installation sits on the floor, a purple painting on the wall and a hanging artwork in the background.
{"slide_to_show":"1","slide_to_scroll":"1","autoplay":"true","autoplay_speed":"3000","fade":"false","speed":"300","arrows":"true","dots":"true","loop":"true","nav_slide_column":5,"rtl":"false"}
Image shows a standing 3D frame, inside which hangs a black beaded decorative artwork. Behind are other framed artworks hung on blue gallery walls.
Close-up picture of a taxidermy bird wearing a jewlled necklace and crocheted leg warmers.
Perspective is of a corner in the gallery. Two large weavings are hung on the wall, one pink and one orange. In front, on long white plinths, sit 3 sculptures of taxidermy birds with colourful crocheted coverings.
Installation artwork of a red carpet with an assortment of red crocheted objects and animals (including a bear-like creature, a squirrel and a ferret-like creature) sitting on top.
A bolbous black shaped sculpture made of fibreglass, polyester and wool on a Tokonoma (shaped) bamboo pole in the foreground. In the background hangs tiny paper tubes stitched together into a screen-like installation.
Wide view of the ground floor gallery installation
Wide view of first floor installation
Image shows a section of the gallery with purple walls. A black chair-like installation sits on the floor, a purple painting on the wall and a hanging artwork in the background.
{"slide_to_show":"1","slide_to_scroll":"1","autoplay":"true","autoplay_speed":"3000","fade":"false","speed":"300","arrows":"true","dots":"true","loop":"true","nav_slide_column":5,"rtl":"false"}
Image shows a standing 3D frame, inside which hangs a black beaded decorative artwork. Behind are other framed artworks hung on blue gallery walls.
Close-up picture of a taxidermy bird wearing a jewlled necklace and crocheted leg warmers.
Perspective is of a corner in the gallery. Two large weavings are hung on the wall, one pink and one orange. In front, on long white plinths, sit 3 sculptures of taxidermy birds with colourful crocheted coverings.
Installation artwork of a red carpet with an assortment of red crocheted objects and animals (including a bear-like creature, a squirrel and a ferret-like creature) sitting on top.
A bolbous black shaped sculpture made of fibreglass, polyester and wool on a Tokonoma (shaped) bamboo pole in the foreground. In the background hangs tiny paper tubes stitched together into a screen-like installation.
Wide view of the ground floor gallery installation
Wide view of first floor installation
Image shows a section of the gallery with purple walls. A black chair-like installation sits on the floor, a purple painting on the wall and a hanging artwork in the background.
{"slide_to_show":"1","slide_to_scroll":"1","autoplay":"true","autoplay_speed":"3000","fade":"false","speed":"300","arrows":"true","dots":"true","loop":"true","nav_slide_column":5,"rtl":"false"}

Melbourne’s major new art museum draws upon the Michael Buxton Collection as a springboard for exhibitions, events, research, publishing and ideas.

We respectfully acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Eastern Kulin nation, the traditional owners of the land on which Buxton Contemporary is situated.

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