2017 exhibition program

For more than 40 years the Institute of Modern Art (IMA) has been commissioning and presenting works by Australian and international artists at pivotal points in their practices, often curating their first solo exhibitions in Australia. In 2017, we present nine exhibitions and a raft of commissions; a diverse group of artists whose approaches to materials, space, and ideas give us new tools for perceiving and re-shaping the world.

Willem de Rooij
February 11–April 13

2017 begins with a major exhibition by Willem de Rooij. For his first solo exhibition in Australia, de Rooij presents a number of works that reflect on the Dutch colonial project and its contemporary incarnations. In particular, a series of sublime textiles trace the global colonial legacy of the Dutch fabric industry, including in Indonesia, while a monumental bouquet reveals the artist’s multilayered and complex approach to materials and concepts.

Fiona Tan
February 11–March 11

Coinciding with de Rooij’s exhibition we present the film installation Nellie (2013) by Australian/Indonesian artist Fiona Tan. This is a work in which Tan explores the relationship between the Asia-Pacific and Europe. Nellie takes its point of departure from the imagined life of a forgotten woman, Cornelia van Rijn, who was the daughter of the famed 17th century painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. At the age of 15 she emigrated to Batavia, present day Jakarta.

Céline Condorelli
May 6–July 15

In May we feature the work of London-based artist Céline Condorelli in a collaboration with the 11th Gwangju Biennale, with whom we have co-commissioned a new body of work, supported by the Keir Foundation. Condorelli’s solo show will treat the galleries as case-studies in what an exhibition can be, creating diverse environments where everything from climate to furniture are integral features.

Ross Manning
August 5–October 28

In August we feature the first survey exhibition by Brisbane-based artist Ross Manning. Known for his use of everyday materials, Manning’s IMA show will include new commissions that repurpose florescent tubes, ceiling fans, and outmoded technology for exquisite interplays of light and sound.

Amalia Pica
November 18–March 3, 2018

Argentinian artist Amalia Pica’s whimsical sculptures, installations, performances, and drawings explore both our desire to be understood and the inherent imperfections embedded in our modes of communication. This is the artist’s first solo show in Australia.

Goldin+Senneby
November 18–March 3, 2018

For their first solo exhibition in Australia, collaborative artists Goldin+Senneby present the second mutation of their multi-avenue retrospective project Standard Length of a Miracle, which began in 2016 at Tensta konsthall, Stockholm. For the Brisbane iteration the artists have invited curator Camila Marambio to act as interlocutor. 

The Green Room
Wrapping up this two-year evolving project platform Jeremy Hynes Award recipient Liam O’Brien presents recent work, Possession (March 18–April 13). While in May we present Material Politics (May 6–July 15), a group show focusing on artists such as Archie Moore and Jemima Wyman with Zach Blas who are using everyday materials and approaches to explore issues of ecology, inequality, and sovereignty.

IMA travelling exhibitions
Two of the IMA’s celebrated exhibitions of Australian artists will travel to Europe and North America in 2017/18. Gordon Bennett: Be Polite shows at two venues in Canada, at Vancouver’s Contemporary Art Gallery; and the McMaster Museum of Art in Hamilton, Ontario. The recently opened solo exhibition by Nicholas Mangan, Limits to Growth, will be presented at KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin, who co-produced the exhibition with the IMA and Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne.

Acknowledgements
The IMA is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, the Australian Government through Australia Council for the Arts, and the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian Federal, State, and Territory Governments. The IMA is a member of Contemporary Art Organisations Australia.

The IMA’s 2017 exhibition program has been generously supported by Australia Council for the Arts; Arts Queensland; Brisbane City Council; Creative Partnerships Australia; the Keir Foundation; Mondriaan Fund; and our Commissioners Circle and Supporters Group.