Garis & Hahn is pleased to announce “Peripheral Visions: Contemporary Art from Australia,” curated by
Marissa Bateman.
This exhibition showcases the most exciting artists from Australia’s contemporary art scene. Artists include
Australia’s Venice Biennale representatives Vernon Ah Kee and Claire Healy & Sean Corderio as well as
Joel Beerden, Stephen Bird, Nicholas Folland, Dan McKewen, Amanda Marburg and Phoebe Rathmell.
The works in Peripheral Visions will provide a tangential narrative for Australian art, which is all-too routinely
associated with landscape painting. Australian-born curator, Marissa Bateman discusses the exhibition’s
intention and focus:
“Peripheral Visions” carries multiple meanings and resonances. Most immediately it refers to Australia's
peripheral positioning within the international art market, of which New York is the epicenter. With London’s art
powerhouses Saatchi Gallery and the Royal Academy both staging surveys of Australian art in the next
eighteen months, it seemed fitting to start this international engagement with the exceptional artistic talent
emerging from Australia in the partly Australian-run New York gallery, Garis & Hahn.”
Each artist was selected for their unique mark making processes with peripheral materials such as Plasticine
and LEGO and are all unified by the occasion of the exhibition which marks the first time each artist will exhibit
in New York – an astounding fact given that three of the artists (Vernon Ah Kee, Claire Healy & Sean
Cordeiro) have exhibited at the world’s most prestigious contemporary art event, the Venice Biennale.
The dynamic dialogue within the exhibition escapes an overarching academic theme and expands on topics
such as urban/popular culture, gender, identity and indigenous/personal history. The diverse and multifaceted
work will communicate a picture of contemporary Australia that many international observers may not have
seen.
About the Curator
Marissa Bateman currently resides in both New York City & Sydney. She received her Masters of Art
Administration, Bachelor of Art Theory at College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales. Marissa was
the Assistant Curator at the Australian Pavilion in the 2009 Venice Biennale and was Associate Director at
gallery Rex Irwin Art Dealer. She has also worked at Sotheby’s and Bonham’s and is currently an Art Advisor
with 1858 International Art Advisory.
About Garis & Hahn
Garis & Hahn is a gallery-cum-Kunsthalle that mounts exhibitions focused on conceptual narratives and
relevant conversations in contemporary art. By displaying an array of carefully curated artists, the gallery
endeavors to provide accessibility, education, awareness, and a market to the art while engaging both the arts
community and a broader general audience.