Mikala Dwyer

25 May – 28 July 2013
Goldene Bend'er

Three works, including a major sculpture series and a performance project comprise this new exhibition from one of Australia’s most important contemporary artists.

Mikala Dwyer is a Sydney-based artist known for her playful, fantastical installations that explore matter and alchemical metamorphosis. 

Her unique approach to installation marked a turning point in Australian art practice in the 1990s. Dwyer was important in asserting the move away from the discreet object to the all-inclusive environmental play of new conceptualism. 

Borrowing ideas from science, architecture and mythology, Dwyer’s abstract works push the limits of installation, sculpture and performance. They are full of uncertainties and contradictions – viewers are asked to participate and find their own meaning within the magic, memory, history, sexuality and ritual she evokes. 

A lecturer in painting at Sydney University, Dwyer has exhibited widely internationally and in Australia, including solo exhibitions Te Papa Tongarewa in New Zealand, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff and recently at IMA, Dublin. She has been included in the Sydney and Adelaide Biennales and has had residencies at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery and Gertrude Contemporary in Melbourne. Her work is held in public collections throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Goldene Bend’er will link three of ACCA’s galleries with new works that explore the body, transition and transformation, revealing Dwyer’s customary use of a variety of materials (fabric, metal, ceramic, paint and organic matter) and gestures. 

The exhibition is part of ACCA’s ongoing Influential Australian Artist series, which celebrates the works of artists who have made a significant contribution to the history of Australian art practice, and the exhibition will be accompanied by a substantial catalogue documenting the artists’ career. Previous artists in the series include Pat Brassington, John Nixon, Lyndal Jones, A Constructed World, Peter Cripps, and Domenico de Clario.

Goldene Bend’er runs from May 25 – July 28, alongside the exhibition One of the Things that Makes Me Doubt, by American born, England-based artist Daria Martin.

Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, 111 Sturt Street, Southbank.
Gallery hours: 10am – 5pm including weekends and public holidays. Wednesdays open late till 8pm. Mondays by appointment.

Tel: 03 9697 9999. Admission: Free. www.accaonline.org.au

ACCA is supported by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments.

MEDIA INFORMATION: Katrina Hall on 0421 153 046 or email kathall@ozemail.com.au