In and of this place at Benalla Art Gallery

Benalla-Art-Gallery-In-and-of-this-placeCurated by independent curator and Palawa woman Jessica Clark, the exhibition In and of this place pairs artworks from the collection of Benalla Art Gallery with works by contemporary Australian artists to broadly consider the earth’s topographies, geographies, its natural seasons and cycles, and reflect on humanity’s place in the natural world.

“It’s an incredible opportunity to bring these historic works of art from the Benalla Art Collection into a contemporary dialogue,” said curator Jessica Clark. “Exhibition development has involved research from home during lockdown, and multiple research visits at the Benalla Art Gallery.”

The exhibition outcome features a selected group of works by Australian artists from Benalla’s extensive collection of landscape painting, that have each been paired with a contemporary work by an Aboriginal artist that responds to Country.

Together, the artworks and their respective pairings present a journey through the Australian landscape – across, below, and above its surface – through varying representations of the land that extend well beyond the physical reality of place.

In and of this place initiates an expanded way of seeing, understanding and exploring with the Benalla Art Collection, through the heart and lens of Australian artists both past and present, Indigenous and non-Indigenous,” said Clark.

“Jessica Clark’s nuanced curation of In and of this place threads links between imagery and colour throughout varied expressions of the Australian landscape,” said First Nations Engagement Coordinator at NETS Victoria Jenna Warwick.

Artists featured in the exhibition include: Charles Blackman, Arthur Boyd, Lorna Chick, Grace Cossington-Smith, Maggie Nakamarra Corby, Janet Dawson, Deanne Gilson, Hans Heysen, Robert Juniper, Richard Larter, Beaver Lennon, Djambawa Marawili AM, Roy McIvor, Danie Mellor, Allison Murray, Albert Namatjira, Anne Ovi, Gloria Petyarre, Emanuel Phillips Fox, Angelina Pwerle, Lloyd Rees, Tom Roberts, William Robinson, Keith Stevens, James Tylor and Judy Watson.


In and of this place is a Benalla Art Gallery and NETS Victoria digital exhibition for the 50/50 series. For more information and to view the exhibition online, visit: www.benallaartgallery.com.au for details.

Images: (left) Tom Roberts, Kalorama in the Dandenongs, 1924 oil on plywood, 45.5 x 35.5 cm Benalla Art Gallery Collection Ledger Gift, 1978 | (right) Gloria Petyarre, Aknangkere Growth, 2011 acrylic on linen, 89 x 120.5 cm – courtesy of the artist and Art Mob