By Peter Maddern
Revealed is an initiative of the Samstag Art Museum to tap into the art treasures of some of Adelaide’s leading collectors and have them, well, revealed to the public. The first in the series of three exhibitions was held last year (see Our Review Here) and the last will be in 2015, after which a book covering them all will be available.
As Gene Sherman (of the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation) in her most useful essay in the program states ‘Now seen as a professional of sorts, the collector circles the globe in a constant quest to view and be viewed…. In the 21st century the collector stands as a patron, philanthropist and cheer squad leader endowed with significant acquisition budgets.’
This stanza in the trilogy of Revealed has a clear focus on the particular interests of the individual collectors, and how the singular paintings work towards that desired sense of the whole. This is perhaps distinct from say looking at the individual works purely in and of themselves. To that extent, at least, this is a different and laudable kind of exhibition.
For example, Mark and Jill Awerbuch home in on works that appear disjointed, especially Thomas Hirschhorn’s Walk Through Fire. While the Michell family seem taken by images that examine young women at risk, exposed and vulnerable. Julian and Stephanie Grose have taken a liking to the photography of James White, with his Another Hotel #4 the stand out to this reviewer.
Meanwhile, Rick and Jan Frolich explore darkness and the colour black in a series of images that despite their starkness perhaps appear as the most complete or rounded of the collections. This also includes one of the two Bill Henson images on display. Finally, Vivonne Thwaites presents her happenstance array of objects that are concerned with domesticity, feminist ideas, the garden and the seasons.
As mentioned, Revealed #2 is a different kind of exhibition but one that carries a great sense of this State’s often hidden faces of art patronage.
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