Major acquisition memento of Orange Regional Gallery’s most successful exhibition
Orange Regional Gallery has a significant new addition to its permanent collection, thanks to the Friends of Orange Regional Gallery (FORG) who purchased the $45,000 sculpture, Chthonic Head 2 (2018) by internationally acclaimed British artist Laurence Edwards.
The large cast bronze sculpture was the welcoming piece to the gallery’s recent exhibition of Edwards’ work, the first comprehensive survey of his work to be shown in Australia.
The exhibition, A Gathering of Uncertainties, proved to be a real drawcard for our local gallery and was one of their most popular to date; second only, in fact, to the touring Archibald Prize exhibition.
“Yes, this has been one of the most successful in the gallery's history,” Orange Regional Gallery Director Brad Hammond said.
The 10-week exhibition was visited by over 8000 people and also saw the gallery have its busiest ever single day with almost 600 people coming through on Easter Saturday.
“We really saw the word-of-mouth factor with this exhibition,” Brad said. “We've had some locals revisiting the exhibition about seven times and other locals who brought their friends… a lot of people travelling from interstate, from Sydney and Victoria to see the exhibition.”
For a regional gallery like Orange to host an exhibition of this significance was a real coup and one that was only possible due to the recent major extensions to the gallery building.
“We always hope that we can do two things: support our local artists and to bring really great quality content to our region to share with our audience and the extension is really making that possible,” Brad said, adding that it also has allowed them the space to keep their permanent collection on display.
And that permanent collection now includes the large cast bronze sculpture, Chthonic Head 2 (2018), which sits in the gallery foyer.
“I just love it,” Brad said. “This is a major acquisition, it's a major piece by one of the UK's really rising figurative sculptors and I think it's a key piece of his.
“It's a piece that has great presence and it's got power and fragility altogether mixed in one, which is really very much what Lawrence Edwards' work is all about; this kind of tension between male strength and solidity, but then their psychology is very fragile, doubtful, it's introspective… it's part of what I think has really resonated with audiences far and wide.”
The purchase of this piece was only possible thanks to the Friends of the Orange Regional Gallery (FORG), a local community organisation that fundraises solely to buy important art for the community collection.
Over the past 30 years, FORG funds have helped purchase more than 30 significant artworks by celebrated local, national and international artists.
In just the last seven years, the 230-member organisation has raised $220,000 and made nine significant contributions to the gallery collection.
“It's our major function and basically when Brad sees something and he wants to buy, he comes to us,” FORG President Richard Walker said.
“And, in fact, the Friends’ fundraising, it's the only funds that are available to Brad when he wants to buy something, the only source of income on hand. He gets contributions made to by artists and bequeaths by people and things like that, but when he sees something that he wants we’re the people he goes to.”
Opening at the Orange Regional Gallery this Saturday, April 29, is The Mermaid’s Tail, an exhibition of large-scale paintings and works on paper by artist Suzanne Archer. With over 35 years spent working in the bush, Archer’s life and work is inextricably linked with the landscape. From her studio in Wedderburn to the South Coast, Archer’s work is inherently personal, creating art that entwines her life and the objects she collects.
Suzanne Archer: The Mermaid’s Tail will be on display at the Orange Regional Gallery until June 25, 2023.