24 September - 11 October 2020
about the exhibition
Judy Holding has established her artistic identity through the development of a personal ‘visual vocabulary’ of symbolic forms. In particular, her depictions of trees and birds in sculpture and on paper reflect her abiding love of the diverse flora and fauna of Australia, and her consciousness of the timeless quality of the landscape. Increasingly, her work is informed by concern with environmental issues, the fragility of natural systems and the interconnectedness of species. During mandatory isolation, Judy has found solace in engagement with the austere landscape of the central Victorian goldfields. She writes that “the tiny birds of the region, with their uplifting flashing colour and energy, contrast with the solidity and timelessness of the forest that still remains.” The bronzes in this body of work, made in collaboration with Garage Art Foundry, are created with the lost wax (cire perdue) process, pushed to its limit to create the fine branches in some sculptures. The artist has used the disparate materials of tissue paper and cast bronze to evoke the flitting birds and still trees.
Judy Holding is a Melbourne based artist who has been practising for over thirty years. In 1977, she completed her Diploma of Fine Art at Monash University and since then has exhibited extensively in solo and group exhibitions across Australia. Judy’s practice is underpinned by regular travel and research trips to the Northern Territory as well as numerous residencies overseas including Italy, Ireland, Nepal and India. Judy has been a finalist in many awards including, most recently the 2020 Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery National Works on Paper Award and the 2018 Montalto Sculpture Prize. In 2009, she was the winner of the Banyule Award for Works on Paper. Her work is represented in collections throughout Australia including the National Gallery of Australia, Artbank, Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Monash University, Melbourne (Rare Books and Prints Collection), Benalla and Shepparton regional galleries.
