(l to r) Kate Just with Katie Somerville, Curator, Australian Fashion and
Textiles, National Gallery of Victoria, who opened the exhibition.
This is an important exhibition for our gallery as it launches our latest acquisition, Kate Just's 'Paradise' (2006). 'Paradise' reinvigorates our gallery's collection development and makes important links to earlier works of soft sculpture in the permanent collection. which extend from 1970s craft-based and second wave feminist art to more recent postmodern investigations into materials and process. We are excited to present 'Paradise' to the community for the first time and are thrilled to have added such a significant work to our collection.
Kate is an incredibly energetic and talented artist. We had a lot of fun working with her and everyone at the gallery was buoyed by her warm and generous spirit. Kate's exhibition has only been up for a few days, but it has been interesting to watch how audiences are drawn into the exhibition. The tactility of the knitting is one reason, but the strong personal narratives underpinning Kate's work also come through, evoking strong and very different emotional responses in gallery visitors. People are certainly lingering in the exhibition and mostly leaving with a look of amazement on their faces! Kate's exhibition continues until 8 July 2012.
Coinciding with this survey exhibition in Ararat, Kate Just is presenting new work in the exhibition, 'The Skin of Hope' at Daine Singer in Melbourne.
