Myth to Modern: Bronzes

An exhibition of 14 bronzes sculptures from the Queensland Art Gallery Collection will open at Artspace Mackay on 5 December 2008.

'Myth to Modern' is an exhibition of 14 bronze sculptures from the Queensland Art Gallery Collection. It is the first exhibition in the Gallery's history to tour exclusively bronze sculptures to the regions.

The exhibition explores aspects of figuration through bronze sculpture and feature works by acclaimed French nineteenth century artists Auguste Rodin and Peirre- Auguste Renoir. It features together works from the Gallery's International and Australian Collections, including artists such as Paul Gauguin, Harold Epstein and Henry Moore, alongside Queensland artists Harold Parker and Daphne Mayo.

'Myth to Modern' includes sculptures dating from the late seventeenth century to 1975 and reflects the changing nature of artists working with the enduring medium of bronze.

Works range from figurative sculpture depicting classical myths and legends, to twentieth century abstract responses to the human form.

The selected works capture a number of mythological subjects including the legends of Greek heroes Hercules and Perseus, shown respectively in Giovanni Battista Foggini's c. 1700 sculpture 'Hercules and Omphale' and Alfred Gilbert's c. 1882 'Perseus arming'.

A mythological female character is depicted in Bertram Mackennal's 'Truth' 1894, a stunning allegorical bronze of a young woman with flowing hair and arched wings.

Biblical figures Eve and Susannah are the focus of bronzes by Harold Parker and Daphne Mayo, two of Queensland's most celebrated sculptors.

Parker's 'Eve repentant' 1928 depicts a disgraced Eve after her expulsion from the Garden of Eden, while Mayo's virtuous 'Susannah' 1942 is sculpted as a calssic bathing nude.

The influence of an emerging modernism and its principles are highlighted in works dating from the late nineteenth century including Auguste Rodin's 'Torse de jeune femme', an expressive fragment of a female torso and portraits such as 'Madame Schuffenecker' by Paul Gauguin and 'Portrait of Madame Renoir' by Pierre Auguste Renoir.

The exhibition culminates in the work of two British high modernists: Henry Moore and Jacob Epstein. Moore's work reflects an abstract treatment of the figure, while Epstein's portrait busts of his daughter Kitty and also the writer George Bernard Shaw exhibit deeply chiselled realism.