Overview
|
Bendigo Art Gallery 42 View Street, Bendigo VIC 3550 |
|
| 20 Mar 20 - 26 Jul 20 | |
| FREE |
Bessie Davidson was one of a cohort of female Australian artists who, at the turn of the nineteenth century, sought to expand their lives and artistic careers by travelling to the renowned cultural centres of Europe, most notably Paris and London. Many artists returned to Australia bringing their matured artistic style to an Australian audience. Davidson was one of the few who chose to remain in Europe, firmly establishing herself within the vibrant artistic milieu of Paris’s Montparnasse. Over the course of her career, Davidson received many accolades and awards including being made a chevalier of the Legion of Honour – the highest award conferred by the French government.
Whilst Davidson’s work has been largely overlooked in Australia, stories of Bessie Davidson’s life as an artist living in Paris were a frequent part of conversations in artist Sally Smart’s childhood home in rural South Australia. Bessie was Sally’s great aunt – her legacy empowered this renowned Australian artist to follow her own artistic ambitions.
This exhibition brings together more 50 works that highlight Davidson’s ‘modern French impressionist’ style of painting – with light filled domestic interiors, landscapes and portraits of women. In addition, the gallery has invited Sally Smart to create a new body of work responding to and developing upon the cultural legacy of Davidson as a pioneering female South Australian artist – firmly placing the work of this ground-breaking artist back into the story of Australian art history.
Smart, who recently retraced Davidson’s life in Paris, has worked with leading dancers Deanne Butterworth and Jo Lloyd to create a new cross-disciplinary video installation that represents Davidson’s relationship with lifelong friend, and rumoured lover, Margaret Preston. This newly commissioned work “embodies the timeless psychological tensions for these women, grappling with the avant-garde in art and life, at a traumatic period in human history – with war, isolation, gender, and modernity,” and will be shown alongside a survey of key works from Smart’s Australian and international collections.
Bendigo Art Gallery invites you to view this exhibition in the comfort of your own home by clicking the links below:
You Might Also Like
Bendigo Art Gallery Curatorial Manager Lauren Ellis will share stories of Brett Whiteley’s passion for drawing which began in the artist’s childhood.
Read moreDrop into the Park Studio to design and make your own patterned magnets using shapes...
Read moreMeet SOUL fury artist Shireen Taweel and Education Officer Margot Feast in the Gallery’s Park Studio for a family friendly af
Read moreThe event will also be live streamed via Facebook however if you are attending in person pl
Read moreHear from SOUL fury’s guest curator Nur Shkembi, independent curator and scholar of ...
Read moreLearn about sourcing your art materials from nature, using ochres and minerals to make your own natural nontoxic paints and art materials.
Read moreLearn about sourcing your art materials from nature using Australian minerals to make your own natural nontoxic paints and art materials.
Read moreJoin Bendigo Art Galley Curator Clare Needham for a tour of the exhibition SOUL fury and the work of leading Australian and internat
Read moreLearn drawing techniques inspired by Brett Whiteley in these informal, relaxed works...
Read moreLearn drawing techniques inspired by Brett Whiteley in these informal, relaxed works...
Read more