A sculptor and a spiritualist are an unlikely pair to have shaped the history of Australian art, both now recognised in major survey exhibitions. ArtsHub speaks with curators on how Clarice Beckett and Margel Hinder did it.
Clarice Beckett, Wet day, Brighton,c.1928 (detail). Gift of Alastair Hunter OAM and the late Tom Hunter, Collection Art Gallery of South Australia.
When we think of Modernism in Australia, the roll call doesn’t naturally drift towards women artists.
While that has more recently been readdressed through exhibitions like Making Modernism – showing works of Grace Cossington Smith and Margaret Preston – and the current Know My Name project at the National Gallery of Australia, there are still vast gaps in popular knowledge.
Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's Senior Contributor, after 12 years in the role as National Visual Arts Editor. She has worked for extended periods in America and Southeast Asia, as gallerist, arts administrator and regional contributing editor for a number of magazines, including Hong Kong based Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. She is an Art Tour leader for the AGNSW Members, and lectures regularly on the state of the arts. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW.
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