2006 THERESE HOWARD - THE SOLO

EXHIBITION IMAGES

"What is it about Therese Howard’s work that is so intriguing and perplexing? They trick at every opportunity, they lure and seduce, they are amusing and disturbing, they ask the big questions and provide no clear answers. They set up expectations and then pull out the rug. In other words they do what all significant art does, they impact on our lives in unexpected ways and challenge us to think, to see and to react differently." Ted Snell, Professor of Contemporary Art, Dean of Art, John Curtin Centre Curtin University of Technology, Perth, catalogue essay 2006

Following her Dutch still-life inspired work, such as "Still Life of the Sea" , Howard has created still life arrangements cast in bronze, using the ancient ‘lost wax method’, which are then meticulously hand painted. A pewter tankard is knocked over, spilling its contents on to the table on which sit three fish which have just been pulled from the sea. The works echo themes of impermanence and mortality, excess and abundance, youth and overindulgence.

Drawing from a range of sources including international contemporary art, Howard’s is a unique approach to the tradition of bronze. “It is my intention to re-present bronze – in a way that differentiates it from its more traditional associations. The result is a group of works that employs the history of art and theory, to discuss art itself, within a contemporary context”. Howard’s works are held in private collections nationally and this will be her first solo exhibition.