9 - 28 February 2012
about the exhibition
Denese Oates is a Sydney-based sculptor who has been exhibiting for over thirty years. This exhibition has developed from the artist’s fascination with the natural grids and patterns that are found in our environment. Fractals and spirals provide a particular inspiration for Denese and landscape reveals beauty in the lattice of tree branches, corals and waterways. The artist often mimics the architecture and structure of antlers, blood vessels and neurons as a skeletal basis for her sculptures. Initially working in the malleable potential of paper in her earlier sculptural years, Denese now, almost exclusively, uses metal, in particular copper wire and corten steel, to mould her abstract creations. Many of Denese’s sculptures are composed of masses of interlocked and woven wires that resemble extraordinary organic forms. Her choice of metal as the preferred medium creates a dichotomy between the durability of her pieces and the transient and fragile subject matter she depicts.
Born in Orange in the central west of NSW, Denese moved to Sydney to study at the Alexander Mackie College of Advanced Education in Sydney (now College of Fine Art, UNSW) before embarking on extensive travels in Japan, Papua New Guinea, Europe and North and South America. Denese has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions nationwide and her work is represented in many collections including the Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra; Christchurch City Collection, NZ; Artbank, Sydney; University of New South Wales, Sydney; Wollongong City Art Gallery, NSW and many regional galleries. Most recently, Optus acquired a major work by Denese for their Sydney office.
