Bundanon 30th Anniversary Exhibition – Fantastic Forms
Image: Stephen Benwell. Image - supplied
By ERIN WALKER
The Bundanon Art Museum is opening their next major exhibition as a celebration of their 30th anniversary weekend. It has been 30 years since Bundanon was gifted to the Australian people by Arthur and Yvonne Boyd, with the purpose of cultivating an artistic and educational space that is immersed in the landscape that Boyd’s father, William Merric Boyd appreciated so much. The Boyd family, known commonly as the Boyd artistic dynasty, has quite the reputation for heavily influencing the art community in Australia; Arthur Boyd’s handing over of the Bundanon estate was a generous commitment to keep the legacy alive.
The Museum is located on 1000 hectares of parkland, the land of the Wodi Wodi and Yuin People, overlooking the Shoalhaven River on the South Coast of New South Wales. The rest of the land boasts a homestead, an art studio and an iconic landscape. The upkeep of the estate is at the request of Arthur Boyd who wanted it “to be accessible to any Australian whose life can be enriched by interaction with Australian creative artists”.
Fantastic Forms is a carefully curated exhibition that celebrates the works and influence of William Merric Boyd, best known as the father of Australian Studio Poetry. Boyd had an idiosyncratic approach to pottery, sculpting and drawing, an art style that has since influenced many other creatives. Three contemporary Australian artists have been selected to display their work alongside Boyd’s drawings and ceramics.
Established artist Nabilah Nordin has an anthropomorphic and visceral approach to her installations, using scrap materials and cut-offs to create what could be described as extravagant and wild.
Stephen Benwell is a critically acclaimed contemporary ceramic artist who merges the traditions of sculpture, ceramics and painting harmoniously, while drawing on an array of historical art periods and styles.
Rising young artist Rubyrose Bancroft will showcase one of her newest major works, The Seven Deadly Sins, a mythical animation series of claymation pieces.
The exhibition aims to explore the creativity of the human imagination, embracing the connection between Boyd’s legacy and the individualistic styles of artists practicing today.
“This substantial presentation of Merric Boyd drawings represents both Merric’s commitment to a deeply creative life, and his son Arthur’s continuation of this, in his own work and in his support of other artists,” said art curator for the Bundanon exhibition, Sophie O’Brien.
