Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Copy Link
ACU Art Collection: First impressions
News 27 AprilThe Australian Catholic University is delighted to announce the publication of First impressions: Indigenous works from the ACU Art Collection.
Building on the already significant representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art held within its collection, ACU recently embarked on an acquisition program for leading examples of this important genre. Reflecting great spirituality and a sense of place and wonder, Indigenous art maintains a position of great relevance to the cultural life of the University.
The Bush Plum Dreaming or Creation Story has become an increasingly popular form of the genre, and has been represented in the art of the Utopia region of the Northern Territory since the 1980s. Invoking the stories of dreamtime winds distributing bush plum seeds throughout the ancestral lands, and the cyclical fruiting and seeding that has ensued, these artworks pay homage to this fundamental concept through song, dance, ceremony and painting.
The painting Bush plum (15 – 106) 2006, by internationally recognised contemporary Australian artist Angelina Pwerle is a recent and important addition to the University’s collection. Acrylic on canvas, this stunning work has been realised by using a fine stick to create thousands of dots of yellow and orange ochres. The Creation Story has been given varied forms of expression but is most often characterised by intense areas of starlike dotting using a clear and refined palette. The multi-dimensional textured surface gives the work a shimmering and ephemeral quality that characterises the dreamtime. Possessing an uplifting and meditative quality that embodies the spiritual reflection of her Indigenous culture, Pwerle’s work draws deeply on the notion of divine creation and the role of the cosmos above charting the country below.
Working from the remote communities of Camel Camp, Artlore and Rocket Range Camp, Pwerle has risen to national and international prominence. Her paintings have been acquired by many significant public and private collections including the National Gallery of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria. Bush plum (15 – 106) is prominently placed at the Brisbane Campus.
Caroline Field
Curator, ACU Art Collection
The Australian Catholic University is delighted to announce the publication of First impressions: Indigenous works from the ACU Art Collection.
John Fahey’s love of the chapel on ACU’s North Sydney Campus will inspire a memorial plaque and a portrait, honouring the memory of the late Chancellor and his contributions to the university communit...
This year Australia Post will feature the art of Leopoldine Mimovich OAM (1920-2019) from the ACU Art Collection.
It is anticipated that A new perspective will make a significant contribution to the appreciation of art whilst providing a greater awareness of the diversity of the ACU Art Collection
An exquisite religious object in the form of ‘A Charles I Irish Silver Recusant’s Communion Cup’ measuring just shy of 20cm in height, is of significant historical interest.
Book review by Margaret Pont
Artist Chris Orr was thrilled to have Motherboard Madonna Verde chosen for the ACU collection. The Sydney Morning Herald wrote up the acquisition in an article entitled Divine intervention proves a li...
In this compelling image by David Frazer, two preoccupied figures, dwarfed by the majestic, mysterious landscape surrounding them, walk slowly along a cambered pathway, hand-in-hand.
The ACU Art Collection contains over 1,000 diverse artworks dating from the 13th century to the contemporary, representing a wide range of disciplines and media.
Imagine you are walking through a soulless building. The corridors are empty. The walls are blank, save for an occasional functional notice. Nothing distracts you from the task in hand, the unrelentin...
Tonight, the Australian Galleries is making history. At 320 pages and with a meticulously researched text by Caroline Field and copious documentary illustrations, the book, being launched tonight, is ...
ACU’s new program recognises the power of fiction to build empathy and improve psychological wellbeing.
The annual ACU Prize for Poetry aims to support writers and to continue the tradition of the Catholic Church as a key patron of the arts.
Artist Shen Jaiwei has had a long association with ACU having painted numerous portraits over the years, four of which the University holds in its collection. He has won several art prizes and been ch...
Depiction of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child with Wisdom Accompanied by St. Joseph and St. Mary MacKillop in the style of Taddeo di Bartolo.
Building on the already significant representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art held within its collection, ACU recently embarked on an acquisition program for leading examples of this...
Margaret Hutchison, History Lecturer in ACU’s School of Arts in Brisbane, writes in The Conversation about Australia’s war art scheme in World War I.
Arthur Boyd’s The Tribute Money is a distinctive work painted on a ceramic tile.
Biccherna is the term given to the municipal account book covers commissioned by the chief financial office in Siena between the 13th and 17th centuries.
Jessica Loughlin is a leading Australian contemporary artist whose work is influenced by timeless and expansive landscapes.
A rare and beautiful ormolu plaque is the latest artwork to be acquired by ACU.
An arresting object of religious significance came to light recently during the process of examining our icon collection.
Dating back to the 17th century, a silver gilt recusant chalice is ACU’s latest engaging and symbolic art acquisition.