A mound of soil with green plants and dried flowers is displayed indoors, partially covered by clear panels and illuminated by overhead lights, creating a contained, artistic installation on a concrete floor.

Bauhaus Now!

Name: Bauhaus Now!
Start: 2019-07-26T08:00:00.000Z
End: 2019-10-20T07:00:00.000Z
Location: Buxton Contemporary

When

26 July 2019 – 20 Oct 2019

This exhibition has now ended.

Location

Buxton Contemporary Corner Southbank Boulevard & Dodds Street, Southbank. The University of Melbourne, Melbourne

In the year of its centenary the Bauhaus returned to haunt our museums. How do contemporary artists re-imagine a relationship to this legendary school? Are they scavengers raiding the ruins of modernism, appropriators of ‘good design’ kitsch or acolytes of an unholy sect?

Bauhaus Now! explored its legacy in Australia—both for contemporary artists and for art education—highlighting its visionary, collectivist ideals and its radical practices.Mondspiel, the ground-floor installation by Mikala Dwyer and Justene Williams, was part resurrection and part zombie dance. The first-floor gallery displayed rare Bauhaus archival material from the two former Bauhaus students exiled to Australia, Gertrude Herzger-Seligmann and Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack.

Reconstructions by kinetic artists Michael Candy and Christopher Handran demonstrated the celebrated Bauhaus experiments with colour and light, in Hirschfeld-Mack’s Farbenlichtspiele, (Colour-Light Play) and Moholy-Nagy’s Light Space Modulator.

The Bauhaus Weaving of Elizabeth Pulie and Rose Nolan’s constructions were both made from the cast-off litter of domestic life. Other artists in this exhibition channelled colour theory, like Peter D Cole’s miniature multiples, Jacky Redgate’s experiments with colour, light and photography, and Shane Haseman’s performance Triadic Dance of the Secondaries. Students across art, design and architecture schools collaborated in a parade and exhibit a series of abstract toys.

Artists

Mikala Dwyer & Justene Williams

Gertrude Herzger-Seligmann

Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack

Paul Klee

Michael Candy

Peter D Cole

Christopher Handran

Shane Haseman

Rose Nolan

Elizabeth Pulie

Jacky Redgate

Curated by Ann Stephen.

Gallery

Large colorful geometric sculpture resembling an abstract kite, with a central frame and beams supporting fabric in red, purple, orange, yellow, and black, displayed in a modern gallery space with neutral walls and polished floors.

A geometric sculpture of interlaced blue and yellow wooden planks stands on metal legs, decorated with white objects, against a wall painted with large red, green, blue, and black angular shapes.

Colorful, abstract sculptures made from mixed materials including fabric, plastic, and metal are arranged in a well-lit gallery space with gray walls and a concrete floor. The sculptures vary in shapes and sizes.

Exhibition catalogue

Bauhaus Now!

Editor: Melissa Keys

Authors: Dr Ann Stephen, Prof Susan Best.

Bauhaus Now!
Buxton Contemporary University of Melbourne
26 July – 20 October 2019

Available for purchase at Buxton Contemporary, with postal delivery available. For purchase enquiries contact

$15, student discount 50%

Access

Download wall labelsPDF (514 KB)

Supporters

Centre of visual art, The university of Sydney, Australian Council – Australian Research Council, Australian Council for the Arts, Goethe Institut, Four Pillars, Dody Oliver

Banner Image:
Installation view, Mondspiel (Moon play) 2019 (detail), Mikala Dwyer and Justene Williams. Courtesy of the artist, Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne; Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney; Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney © the artists photography Christian Capurro