Group Show

Gang of Four

10 December – 22 December 1999

The four artists who comprise the Gang of Four came together initially as friends. From this friendship was discovered a shared artistic sensibility, despite the differences in each artist's practice. Lindy Lee's iconic photocopies and paintings, Savanhdary Vongpoothorn's pierced and patterned canvases and works on paper, Simryn Gill's installations and photographs, and Phaptawan Suwannakudt's exquisitely detailed paintings and drawings could not be more different in their form, yet the similarity in approach is somehow evident. Each artist's work exhibits a layering of ideas and a deliberate, almost meditative precision, arising from what the artists call a "slowness of temperament."

The exhibition is the first time that these artists have shown together as a group, and proves to be a vibrant and dynamic show.

Simryn Gill is an installation artist who works in a vast range of media. In recent works she has brought fragile and momentary outdoor installations into the gallery through large photographs. Gill is Malaysian and has lived between Australia, Singapore and Malaysia since 1987. She has exhibited widely both in Australia and internationally, including the 1995 Venice Biennale, the 1997 Istanbul Biennial, Australian Perspecta 1997 and 1999, as well as soro shows at the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki (1998) and ArtPace, San Antonio (1999). A survey show of her work is currently touring the U. K.

Lindy Lee is one of Australia's most renowned artists and has shown extensively both in Australia and overseas, including the 1985 Australian Perspecta, the 1986 Sydney Biennale, Prospect 93 (Germany), Transcultural Painting (toured throughout Asia) and Edge to Edge: Contemporary Australian Art to Japan. Her work is held in most of Australia's major institutions, including the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Art Gallery of Western Australia, and the Art Gallery of South Australia.

Phaptawan Suwannakudt learned temple painting from her father Paiboon, Thailand's most venerated mural painter. Since his death, she has become his natural successor, working on numerous projects throughout Thailand. Her subject matter, while adhering to the tenets of Buddhism, also often questions the role of women within that culture. Her works have also been exhibited in The Philippines, France, Japan and Australia, as well as Thailand (such as the Womanifesto show in Bangok in 1997). In 1998-99 Suwannakudt completed an Australia Council-funded commission for the Zen Meditation Centre, Sydney.

Savanhdary Vongpoothorn's art references a wide range of sources: Minimalism, Buddhism, Lao textiles, Australian landscape, Aboriginal art. Her sculptural installation, perforated canvases and works on paper maintain a clarity and conviction that has won her numerous supporters and awards. Born in Laos, she grew up in south west Sydney. She has shown throughout Australia, and has been included in such exhibitions as Spirit + Place at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Transit at the Art Gallery of NSW, and The Rose Crossing, currently touring Southeast and East Asia. She has recently completed a major commission for Macquarie Bank.

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