A celebration of contemporary jewellery and objects, Radiant Pavilion brings together local and international artists for an exciting and diverse range of events across Melbourne from 7 September 2019
The biggest Biennial of its kind in the southern Hemisphere with 60 plus events, Radiant Pavilion brings together artists, theorists, collectors, wearers and appreciators from around the world for nine days of exhibitions, talks, performances, roving events and installations.
For the first time, Radiant Pavilion offered two exciting mentorships for early career practitioners. One for a writer to be mentored by Dutch writer, curator and art historian Liesbeth den Besten – culminating in a piece of writing to be published in Metalsmith magazine. The other for a curator to be mentored by Australian curator Kate Rhodes to develop and present an exhibition (Insistent.Gestures.) during Radiant Pavilion.
Melbourne has a thriving hub of contemporary jewellery makers. With a rich tradition and comprehensive offering, it is home to a diverse and generous community of artists, galleries and studios.
“This year’s festival is a wonderful cross-section of what’s happening in the contemporary jewellery and object field,” said Claire McArdle, co-Artistic Director. “There’s so much to be discovered and I’m thrilled that we are able to present this wonderful showcase in Melbourne.”
“From the beginning, it’s been really important to me that Radiant Pavilion is more than a festival,” said Chloë Powell, co-Artistic Director. “The additional programs we offer for artists, such as this year’s curatorial and writing mentorships, mean we can support their creative and professional development in different and meaningful ways.”
2019 Radiant Pavilion program highlights include:
Insistent. Gestures. (RMIT Gallery)
Insistent. Gestures. brings together the work of five artists including Kazumi Nagano (JP), Yong Joo Kim (KR), Chen Chun Tai (TW), Cyrus (Wai-Kuen) Tang (HK/AU), Yu Fang Chi (TW/AU) – who live, work or were born in Asia to explore personal narratives, diasporic identity and the use of repetition.
The Indigenous Jewellery Project (Peanut Gallery)
The first survey exhibition of The Indigenous Jewellery Project (IJP) – a nation-wide Australian contemporary jewellery project working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander owned art centres and artists across Australia.
PELAGIC (Blindside)
Seabirds and molluscs, whales and zooplankton, fish, flotsam, and plastics – all that inhabits the tidal zone, and upper surface of the open ocean. Utilising material collected by Dr Lavers during her second Research Expedition to Henderson Island in the South Pacific – a remote, uninhabited atoll of the Pitcairn Islands archipelago – this unique collaboration will see the coming together of disciplines; sculpture, jewellery, sound, and science, exploring site-specific ecologies under pressure. Artists Liv Boyle and Sara Retallick will respond to new research data such as accumulation patterns, weather conditions, beach topography and currents, questioning perceptions of remoteness and natural resilience.
Understory (Domain House – Royal Botanical Gardens)
Cara Johnson’s solo exhibition that draws on complex, and layered narratives that connect people and plants, shown within Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens. Johnson’s ongoing research into the way people manage plants, and the landscape, has been explored through form, material and making processes, with reference to the Victorian Rare and Threatened Species collection, which is situated within the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Conjuring Poiesis (Albert Street Gallery)
Exhibiting together, Nicholas Bastin and Katherine Bowman explore mythology, considering an idiosyncratic voice of contemporary fiction in jewellery object and art making.
Hang on to a dream (Gallery Funaki)
Lucy Sarneel is one of The Netherlands most renowned contemporary jewellers, with a career spanning over 30 years. In this intimate solo exhibition, she presents new works dealing with the rich seams inspiration that have long informed her practice; personal identity, Dutch cultural history and the magic collision of elements in the everyday.
Makin’ it (Presgrave Place)
Makin’ it is a series of observational documentaries by Mark Newbound, running on a loop and projected onto a Melbourne laneway wall. Each documentary depicts a local jewellery artist making a piece from beginning to end. No words are exchanged, the only sounds are those produced by the making process.
Radiant Pavilion 2019 takes place across Melbourne: 7 – 15 September. For more information, including full program, visit: www.radiantpavilion.com.au for details.
Image: Lucy Sarneel, Hang On #7, 2018, 12 x 10 x 1 cm, zinc, acrylic paint, varnish – photo by Rob Bohle