June 5, 2018
The Wondai Regional Art Gallery is hosting two unusual exhibitions this month with works which have never been seen before in the South Burnett.
The front and main galleries have 68 works from the private collection of Brisbane accountant Brian Tucker, a long-time supporter of the Wondai Gallery and a well-known figure in Queensland and Northern Territory art circles.
Over the past 30 years Brian has built his accounting practice around the arts, helping artists, arts organisations and Aboriginal arts centres reach wider markets and achieve financial viability.
In the process, he has built up a collection of more than 1000 original artworks, prints, potteries and sculptures that has grown so large it needs its own curator to oversee it.
About 40 per cent of the works in Brian’s collection are by Indigenous artists.
They include traditional dot paintings from the Central and Western Deserts, ochres from the Kimberley, bark paintings and weavings from Arnhem Land and sculptures from the Tiwi Islands.
Parts of the collection have been displayed at the Kickarts Contemporary Arts Centre in Cairns; Jan Manton Art in Brisbane; and the Araluen Arts Centre in Alice Springs.
The works on display at the Wondai Gallery this month comprise original paintings and sculptures along with a large number of limited-edition prints.
Some are early works by artists whose current works command high prices.
To complement this, the Third Gallery is displaying recent Barambah Pottery works by the Yidding Artists Collective from Cherbourg.
Barambah Pottery was created commercially in Cherbourg from 1969 to 1986, and during its 17 years of operation many people worked at the pottery works to create vases, jugs, goblets, cups and plates, primarily for the tourist trade in Brisbane.
In 2016, a retrospective exhibition of these pottery pieces toured Queensland art galleries, and interest in that exhibition led to Barambah Pottery being relaunched in 2017 as a modern, arts-based pottery collective.
The exhibition of pottery on show in Wondai this month is largely composed of new Barambah Pottery pieces – mostly bowls and plates – that were created by eight local artists.
These vibrant, richly hued pieces are all hand made and are a world apart from the monochrome pottery produced in Cherbourg in the past.
They look set to become collector’s pieces.
An innovative exhibition of photographic works by students from Cherbourg State School in Kidz Korner completes the month’s exhibitions.
Speaking at the opening on Friday night, Wondai Art Gallery curator Elaine Madill said she was delighted to bring this month’s exhibitions to the region.
Brian had been a friend of the gallery for many years and assisted it in many ways, and she was proud to be hosting part of his collection so visitors could see artworks from distant parts of Australia they were otherwise unlikely to view.
She was equally proud to be hosting the display of contemporary pottery from Barambah Pottery, which she said was beautifully made and a tribute to everyone involved.
Elaine also praised Cherbourg State School students who performed their own especially written “Welcome To Country” to open the exhibition as well as creating the pieces which combined photography and art.
“You should be very proud,” Elaine said. “This is quite different from what we’re used to, and I admire your creativity.”
- “Core Of My Heart, My Country – Works From The Brian Tucker Collection” and “Barambah Pottery” will remain on display at the Wondai Regional Art Gallery from 10:00am to 4:00pm daily until the end of June; admission to view the exhibitions is free.
