"Enterprise "

JOHN KELLY

Opening Friday 27 May from 6pm
On until the 19th of June

 

 

 

Michael Koro Galleries is pleased to announce an exhibition of recent work by the iconic Australian artist John Kelly. Currently based in Dublin, Ireland, Kelly is internationally known for his camouflage cow motif and its multiple reincarnations over the years – from Dobell's Cow paintings to the Cow up a Tree sculpture for the millennium project on Champs Élysées in Paris. The humour and pseudo-iconoclasm with which Kelly imbued the cow series has permeated into the more recent Logo and Enterprise series, which features as part of the Micheal Koro Galleries exhibition, the latter shown in Australia for the first time.

Following on from his successful solo show at London's Agnew's Gallery, Kelly will present recent work that continues his fascination with the interplay between politics and art, questioning the role of institutions as they bear upon the production and distribution of artists' work. His anarchism, in fact, comes as a response to his own professional experience; a somewhat public quarrel with this arts body a number of years back resulted in the Logo series, that questioned the state of the arts more generally.

The Enterprise series presents a set of futuristic follies, telescopes-cum-surveillance cameras, floating in the gallery space like sentinels or Orwel's Big Brother, banded together by painter's easel and models of major art institutions. For Kelly this collage of authoritative references, although playful and whimsical, conveys a subtle paranoia of the actual or potential power of the arts institution. As in the Logo series where he strategically deconstructs Australia Council for the Arts logo in an attempt to bring about a discussion of 'art as product', Kelly punctures the content with stark minimalism that is poignant, brash and honest. Melbourne audiences should look forward to seeing a cross-section of Kelly's work that traces the trajectory of his major themes and iconic aesthetic.

Artist's Biography

John Kelly was born in Bristol in 1965 and emigrated to Australia with his family in the same year. Having completed a BA in Visual Arts Painting followed by an MA at the RMIT University, Kelly took up a place at the Slade from 1996 to 1997. He had his first solo show in 1988 at Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, and his first UK solo show in 1995 at the Piccadilly Gallery, London.

Kelly has since exhibited at Les Champs de la Sculpture in Paris (2000), at Monte Carlo's Parade des Animaux (2002) and at China's Guangzhou Triennial (2008). His work is also represented in the National Gallery of Australia and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and is characterised by its exploration of Australian history and of 'the logo' as a symbol of anti-artistic oppression. He now lives in Ireland with his wife and son.

For further information and images please contact Joel Gailer at Michael Koro Galleries on 03 9328 5556 or admin@michaelkoro.com

 

Michael Koro Galleries gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Agnews Gallery, London for the realisation of this exhibition.

John Kelly Opening night sponsored by Moo Brew