Danie Mellor Like an extended maritime voyage Danie Mellor s practice has traversed many waters, charting art history, Indigenous consciousness and European conscience. His latest territory is essentially unmapped and unnamed, but it is deeply of the world materially and metaphysically. Blue has been Mellor s constant companion, a muse unreachable and unspeakable: neither the Ancient Greeks nor Aboriginal Australia had a word for the colour of oceans and heavens. From the Madonna s lapis lazuli robe to the spirited presence of Yves Klein s monochromes, blue s complex mystique has likewise infused Mellor s hand over decades. Once lured by the smouldering mezzotint and well versed in the taxonomy of drawing, Mellor now reaches beyond the metaphors of colonialism s material culture to the object of art itself. Emanating from the indigo jungle and its mirror, the shimmering void, an intellectual enquiry is brought into conversation as Mellor tests ways of understanding beyond landscape. These monumental ecologies evoke primeval time, but they do so in the very eye of the moment, vividly present both before and after science. With an expansive and critical exhibition history and countless awards and commissions to his credit, Danie Mellor s international practice is generated from his studio retreat in the Southern Highlands of NSW. Selected for QAGOMA s APT8 in 2015 and the 2016 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Mellor s work is held extensively across public and private collections in Australia and overseas.
born 1971 Mackay, queensland education PhD, National Institute of the Arts Australian National University (ANU) MA (Fine Art), Birmingham Institute of Art & Design, University of Central England, uk solo exhibitions 2016 a sensual instinct, Jan Murphy Gallery, brisbane 2014 Jan Murphy Gallery, art basel, hong kong Primordial: SuperNaturalBayiMinyjirral National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, part of the Edinburgh Arts Festival presented by the Edinbugh International Festival and Director Sir Jonathan Mills Danie Mellor Exotic Lies Sacred Ties, Major survey and touring exhibition, University of Queensland Art Museum, curated by Maudie Palmer, AO (UQAM, Tarrawarra Museum of Art, Museum and Gallery of the Northern Territory) 2012 Danie Mellor, Manly Art Gallery and Museum, nsw Danie Mellor Paradise Garden, Caruana and Reid Fine Art, Elizabeth Bay in association with Manly Regional Gallery, nsw 2011 Multiple Histories, Jan Murphy Gallery, brisbane 2010 Non Sufficit Orbis, in association with Caruana and Reid Fine Art, melbourne art fair, vic 2009 New World, New Order, A Complex Vision, Jan Murphy Gallery, brisbane A Balance of Power, Caruana & Reid Fine Art, nsw 2008 The Great Creative Golden Age Of Long Ago & Here & Now, Holmes a Court Gallery in Association with Caruana & Reid Fine Art Gallery, perth 2007 Voyage + Recovery, Fireworks Gallery, brisbane Visions of a Curious Wonderland, Caruana & Reid Fine Art, Elizabeth Bay, nsw From the Landscape of the Curious, Uber Gallery, melbourne 2006 Voyages of Recovery or An Ongoing Catalogue with Moments of Reason from the Cabinet, Canberra Museum and Art Gallery More from the Cabinet, Despard Gallery, hobart
solo exhibitions (contd) 2006 In Memories Lie Fragile Dreams, Solander Gallery, canberra 2005 A Backward Glance, Fireworks Gallery, brisbane group exhibitions (selected) 2016 Yinchuan Biennale: For an Image, Faster Than Light, Museum of Contemporary Art Yinchuan, china Maiwar, William Jolly Bridge, Brisbane City Council, brisbane Fleurieu Art Prize, Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art, adelaide Panorama: Part One, Tarrawarra Museum of Art, vic Antipodean Inquiry curated by Owen Craven, Yavuz Gallery, art stage singapore, singapore Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Magic Object, Art Gallery of South Australia, adelaide 2015 8 th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT8), QAGOMA, brisbane Post-hybrid: reimagining the Australian self, John Curtin Gallery, Curtin University, canberra Sophie Gannon Gallery, sydney contemporary, sydney Storm in a Teacup, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, vic 2014 Windows to the sacred: An Exploration of the Esoteric, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, vic, QUT Art Museum, QLD, Orange Regional Gallery, NSW, and Devonport Regional Gallery, TAS 2013 Australia Royal Academy of Arts, London, curated by Kathleen Soriano, Director of Exhibitions, Royal Academy of Arts, Dr Ron Radford AM, Director of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and Dr Anne Gray, Head of Australian Art at the National Gallery of Australia Memoires Vives: une Histoire de l Art Aboriginene Australien/ Vivid Memories: an Aboriginal Art History, curated by Paul Matharan and Arnaud Morvan, Musée d'aquitaine, bordeaux Debil Debil Anna Schwartz Gallery, Carriageworks, curated by Marcia Langton AM, sydney Sakahàn International Survey of Indigenous Art, National Gallery of Canada, ottawa International Kogei Triennial 21 st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, curated by Lisa Cahill, japan My Country, I Still Call Australia Home: Contemporary Art from Black Australia, QAGOMA, curated by Bruce McLean, brisbane
group exhibitions (contd) 2013 Berlin Preview, in conjunction with Michael Reid Berlin and Arts Queensland, berlin Jan Murphy Gallery and Sophie Gannon Gallery, sydney contemporary art fair, sydney 2012 Animal/Human, The University of Queensland Art Museum, brisbane undisclosed: 2 nd National Indigenous Art Triennial, National Gallery of Australia, canberra Terrain: crossing landscape and country, Art Gallery of South Australia, adelaide NEW 2011: Selected recent acquisitions, UQ Art Museum, curated by Michele Helmrich and Samantha Littley, brisbane Sculpture is Everything: Contemporary works from the collection, QAGOMA, brisbane 2011 Curious Colony, Newcastle Regional Art Gallery travelling exhibition at S.H. Ervin Gallery, sydney Your Move: Australian Artists Play Chess, Bendigo Art Gallery travelling exhibition at The University of Queensland Art Museum; McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park, The Elisabeth Murdoch Gallery; Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art, University of South Australia Message Stick: Indigenous Identity in Urban Australia, Artbank International touring exhibition Atonement, The Bega Valley Regional Gallery, nsw Imitation of Life, Canberra Museum and Art Gallery, act 2010 Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing, PLC Croydon, nsw Curious Colony, Newcastle Region Art Gallery, nsw Time Travel: Reimagining the Past, Tweed River Art Gallery, nsw Buffalo, Bird and Bandicoot - Paintings, prints and sculpture from the Flinders University Art Museum Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collection Gallery M, Flinders University art Museum, adelaide Your Move: Australian Artists Play Chess, Bendigo Art Gallery, vic Redlands Westpac Art Prize and Exhibition, Mosman Art Gallery, nsw Interpreting Portraits: Macquarie 1810 2010 Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, nsw 2009 Spectrum, AGCA Gallery at Federation Square, melbourne Artists Ink: Print in making from the Warrnambool Art Gallery Collection, Ararat Regional Art Gallery, vic
group exhibitions (contd) 2009 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA), Northern Territory Museum & Gallery, darwin Animal Attraction, Newcastle Region Gallery, nsw Menagerie, Australian Museum, act Floating Life Contemporary Aboriginal Fibre Art QAGOMA, brisbane Now and Then, Campbelltown Art Centre, nsw Indigenous Ceramic Art Award, Shepparton Gallery, vic Bravura, Art Gallery of South Australia, adelaide Culture Warriors: National Contemporary Indigenous Art Triennial, National Gallery touring exhibition at QAGOMA, brisbane MCA COLLECTION: NEW ACQUISITIONS, Musuem of Contemporary Art, sydney 2008 Tallis Foundation National Works on Paper, Mornington Peninsular Gallery, vic National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA), Northern Territory Museum & Gallery, darwin Important Aboriginal Art, Caruana & Reid Fine Art, Elizabeth Bay, nsw 2007 NATSIAA, Northern Territory Museum & Gallery, darwin Culture Warriors: National Contemporary Indigenous Art Triennial, National Gallery of Australia, canberra 2006 Indigenous Ceramic Art Award, Shepparton Gallery, vic 3 Large Rooms, Fireworks Gallery, brisbane NATSIAA, Northern Territory Museum & Gallery, darwin Artbank: Celebrating 25 years of Contemporary Art, National touring exhibition Important Aboriginal Art, Caruana & Reid Fine Art, Elizabeth Bay, nsw 2005 Important Works on Paper, Rex Irwin Art Dealer, Sydney Predominantly White, Fireworks Gallery, brisbane Landscape Now, Solander Gallery, canberra NATSIAA, Northern Territory Museum & Gallery, darwin Primavera curated by Felicity Fenner, Museum of Contemporary Art, sydney 2004 Fremantle Print Award, Fremantle Arts Centre, wa
group exhibitions (contd) 2004 Important Works on Paper, Rex Irwin Art Dealer, sydney National Works on Paper, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, vic NATSIAA, Northern Territory Museum & Gallery, darwin NATSIAA, Touring Exhibition Important Works on Paper, Rex Irwin Art Dealer, sydney Shield And Show, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, qld 2003 Story Place the art of Cape York and the Rainforest, Queensland Art Gallery, brisbane What Have You Done Lately?, Fireworks Gallery, brisbane Fremantle Print Prize Award, Fremantle Arts Centre, wa Trees, Rex Irwin Art Dealer, sydney Kultur Hund, Rex Irwin Art Dealer, sydney NATSIAA, Northern Territory Museum & Gallery, darwin 2002 Melbourne Art Fair, melbourne Cultural Collations, Contemporary Sculptors Association, Yarra Sculpture Gallery, melbourne commissions 480 Queen Street with BVN, DEXUS, and Grocon, brisbane Darling Harbour with Lend Lease and HASSELL Australian National University Baulderstone Hornibrook Unilodge, ANU Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), canberra Australian Indigenous Cultural Network, AIATSIS, canberra Tandanya, adelaide Tjabal Student Centre, ANU William Jolly Bridge, brisbane awards and prizes 2016 Finalist, Fleurieu Art Prize, Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art, adelaide 2010 Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing 2009 26 th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award Indigenous Ceramic Art Award, Shepparton Art Gallery, victoria
awards and prizes (contd) 2008 Tallis Foundation National Works on Paper, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, victoria 2007 Highly Commended, Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award 2006 Canberra Critic s Choice Award For Visual Arts Research and Development grant, University of Sydney 2003 Highly Commended, Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award 2002 Highly Commended, Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award 2000 Post Graduate Study Award, ANU 1996 Rotary Art Prize 1995 deetya Overseas Study Award 1994 Australian National University Award conferences (selected) 2011 Australian Davos Connection Future Summit 2011 melbourne Invited session presenter, EMBA, USYD Business school 2010, 2011, sydney 2010 Artist voice, Museum of Contemporary Art, sydney 2009 The great work of China (keynote) Australian ceramics Triennial, sydney Australian Davos Connection, invited session facilitator, Australian leadership retreat, hayman island 2008 Artist Danie Mellor discusses Art & life ABC Stateline 2007 Memento #6 Australian Print symposium, National Gallery of Australia, canberra publications (selected) 2016 Phil Brown, Edge of Eden, Brisbane News, 3 March Simone Fox Koob, A Sensual Instinct: study in blue and white, The Australian, February 23 2014 Debbie Cuthbertson, Australian artist Danie Mellor s supernatural schowcase at Edinburgh Festival, Sydney Morning Herald, 12 August Michaela Boland, Out of the blue, The Australian, 9 August John McDonald, Art Basel Hong Kong 2014, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 May
publications (contd) 2014 Debbie Cuthbertson, Australian artists kick of Art Basel Hong Kong with strong showing, Sydney Morning Herald, 15 May Sharne Wolff, Danie Mellor: Exotic Lies Sacred Ties review, The Guardian, 22 January Phil Brown, Utopia revisited, Courier Mail, 11 January 2012 Elizabeth Fortescue, Danie Mellor shows works at Manly Art Gallery and Museum, The Daily Telegraph, 4 June Djon Mundine, Good, better, best: the art of Danie Mellor, Art & Australia, Spring 2010 Khadja La, Culture Warriors Artlink Vol30, No 10 2009 Jessica Dawson, Australian Indigenous Art Triennial: Culture Warriors, Washington Post, Friday, 11 September Culture Warriors A Nine part Indigenous Arts Showcase, National Indigenous Television, broadcast from July 2008 Wally Caruana, The Great Creative Golden age of Long ago and Here and Now catalogue essay, Caruana, September Wally Caruana, Culture Warriors Frieze Magazine, Issue 116, June/August Louise Nunn, Big guns feature in art tour, The Advertiser, 24 June Catherine Garrett, Danie Mellor s Art ABC Stateline, broadcast, 20 June 2008 Christine Nicholls, Culture Warriors: National Indigenous Art Triennial, Object Magazine Studio Edition Issue 55, April/July Christine Nicholas, A Battle Won, World Sculpture News Volume 14, Number 1, Winter Luke Taylor, Culture Warriors (National Indigenous Art Triennal:07) recollections Journal of the National Museum of Australia, Volume 3, Number 1 ISSN 1833-4946, March John McDonald, A vivid trip back to where it all began, Sydney Morning Herald, 12 January 2007 Erik Jensen, Mr Yalandaja s traditional sculptures go to Washington The Sydney Morning Herald, 12 October Jonathon Dart, Culture Warriors departs from tradition, Canberra times, 6 October Miriam Cosic, Led by visions of their own, The Australian, October Sorenson, Rosemary, Tie that kangaroo down on a dinner plate, mate The Australian, 3 May Michael Desmon, Culture Warriors, CVA+C Broadsheet
publications (contd) 2007 Daniel Thomas, Indigenous Triennial Artlink Vol 27, no 4 Wally Caruana, Visions of a Curious Wonderland catalogue essay 2006 Sasha Grishin, Concept of Display, A Show, Sunday Times, Canberra Times, 20 August Jorian Gardener, Two visually stunning shows from CMAG, The Canberra Review, July 2005 Justin Clemens, John Howard in Toytown Hip politics at the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art The Monthly, November Alexa Moses, Primavera takes on a new sheen, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 September Sunanda Creagh, Young artists redraw perceptions of the land, Sydney Morning Herald, 8 September Sandra McClean, Art of the Accidental, The Courier Mail, 12-13 March 2003 Peter Yanada McKenzie, Story Place: Indigenous art of Cape York and the rainforest, Craft Culture, 28 November Ted Snell, Unfolding a Winner, The Australian, 15 September Lisa Byrne, Discrepant, MUSE, September Rosalie Higson, Cool and Collectable The Australian, 28 August Chloe Flynn, Telling stories, State of the arts, Visual Arts, August 2003 Ian Djon, Peter Denham, and Trish Johnston, Story Place, The Courier Mail, 26 July Rosemary Sorenson, The Story of the Cape, The Courier Mail, 19 July Ian Were, Story Place, Queensland Art Gallery, July 2003 Brooke Turner, Out of the Grid, The Financial Review, 25 June 2002 Djon Mundine, Cows & Kangaroos and Cultural Collations, MUSE, October collections ACT Legislative Assembly Adelaide Festival Centre Artbank Art Gallery of South Australia Art Gallery of Western Australia Australian Museum Australian National University Cairns Regional Gallery
collections (contd) Campbelltown Arts Centre Canberra Museum and Gallery City of Sydney Art Collection Flinders University Janet Holmes à Court Collection Kerry Stokes Collection Mallesons Stephens Jaques Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery Murdoch University Art Collection Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory Museum of Contemporary Art Muswellbrook Regional Gallery National Gallery of Australia National Gallery of Canada National Gallery of Victoria National Museum of Scotland New Parliament House Art Collection Newcastle Region Gallery Packer Collection PLC Croydon NSW Queensland Art Gallery Shepparton Regional Gallery Tjabal Centre Tuggeranong Arts Centre University of Queensland Art Museum University of Western Australia Art Collection Warrnambool Art Gallery