MRAG Maitland Regional Art Gallery

02 Mar 12 > 08 Apr 12

In what has become an annual tradition, welcomed by the City of Maitland and Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG), MRAG is excited to host the Maitland International Salon of Photography.  Opening Saturday 3 March 2012 at 3 pm by the Mayor of Maitland, Clr Peter Blackmore, MRAG is proud to honour the tradition of presenting this year’s best 100 prints received from countries across the globe.

24 Feb 12 > 29 Apr 12

Maitland Regional Art Gallery is playing its part in documenting and communicating the complex life and presence of the Hunter River. Riverstories:postcards from the edge is a creative response to the river in different forms and with different messages.  Covering a complete wall in the Art Factory, artist Judith White has created a huge mural of the river and encourages children to add to her artwork.The Art Factory is set up as an artist’s studio and young artists have the opportunity to create their own postcards to add to the edge of Judith’s work or are even welcome to contribute… » Read More

11 Feb 12 > 08 Apr 12

Maitland Regional Art Gallery, as part of Maitland Stories is playing its part in documenting and communicating the complex life and presence of the Hunter River. Riverstories is a creative response to the river in different forms and with different messages. The artists Tallulah Cunningham, Michelle Maartensz, Trevor Weekes and judith White  along with the stories documents by ABC Radio and Hunter Councils

27 Jan 12 > 26 Feb 12

A walk down ‘memory lane’ with this eclectic mix of autographed photographs by famous stars. From the Memorabilia Collection donated to MRAG by collector Pat Corrigan. Curated by Cheryl Farrell  

27 Jan 12 > 26 Feb 12

Photographs from the Maitland Mercury Collection. What were you doing in 1972 – were you born? Were you working or at school?  Cath Bowen, Maitland Mercury Chief photographer has again curated an exhibitions delving into the Mercury archives to take a peek and revisit 1972 – where you in the paper that year?

20 Jan 12 > 18 Mar 12

In recent years Australia followed these international examples and custom-printing became a significant part of contemporary printmaking practice and has seen a considerable increase in facilities with the establishment of many access and custom printmaking studios. Two such studios are Whaling Road Studio and Marnling Press. Established in 1978, Whaling Road Studio specialises in etching, relief and monotype. Owner and master printmaker Diana Davidson has produced  a remarkable body of work by leading Australian artists and over many years with technical assistant Peter Stevens worked with artists such as Charles Blackman, Arthur Boyd, Elisabeth Cummings, John Firth-Smith, Donald Friend, Robert… » Read More

09 Dec 11 > 05 Feb 12

A Gippsland Art Gallery & NETS Victoria touring exhibition. A journey into the beyond… Dreamweavers plots a strange and enchanting course through the world of dreams, nightmares and the imagination. The exhibition explores the contemporary preoccupation for the Fantastic through a range of national and international art practices, united by an enduring fascination with darkness and dark places. It imagines a world with the lights turned off, where monsters come out to play and reality becomes a flickering memory.  Dreamweavers explores the contemporary preoccupation for the Fantastic through a range of national and international art practices, that are united by… » Read More

09 Dec 11 > 25 Feb 12

Lewis Morley was born in Hong Kong in 1925 and emigrated to Australia in 1971, with his wife Patricia and son Lewis. Morley’s first published photographs were in Photography Magazine in 1957, followed by reportage in The Tatler from 1958. Before leaving England Morley was asked, in 1968, to photograph Christine Keeler, a former model and showgirl who through affairs with both a British Minister of Parliament and an embassy staff member of the Soviet Union almost brought down the conservative British parliament in 1963 in what became known as the Profumo Affair. This exhibition brings together not only one… » Read More

09 Dec 11 > 22 Jan 12

For those who missed it the first time around, now is your chance to catch the Alice Springs Beanie Festival on a second national tour.  Due to the demand for beanies, more beanies (one can never have too many) and the outstanding success of the first tour of the Alice Springs Beanie Festival exhibition “Colours of the Country” Artback NT are proud to be touring another fabulous exhibition. The beanie is an icon of Australian headwear and has been celebrated by the Alice Springs Beanie Festival since 1996. This collection of beanies from the Alice Springs Beanie Festival demonstrates the… » Read More

12 Nov 11 > 15 Jan 12

A Hector Tjupuru Burton Initiative – 2011, Men’s collaborative paintings and Women’s collaborative paintings         NGAYULU WITINI NGAYUKU MAMAKU TJUKURPA. NGAYULU WITINI NGAYUKA NGUNYTJUKU TJUKURPA I hold my Father’s story. I hold my Mother’s story This exhibition comes from the Amata Community which is located at the western end of the Musgrave Ranges in South Australia, about 10 km south of the Northern Territory border, approximately 380 km south west of Alice Springs as the crow flies. The germination of this series of paintings started with indigenous leader Hector Burton teaching young men, mostly his grandsons, his story. With the sudden… » Read More

11 Nov 11 > 19 Feb 12

The iconic webbed aluminium chair is revived and revered to stir nostalgic memories of summers long past. Think family life, summer holidays, barbeques, sunshine, sprinklers and sunburn. Inspired by the folding chair’s cross hatch of colourful webbing, Lucy Barker weaves luminous landscapes across both levels of the Art Factory.The exhibition is full of colour and fun with lots of interactive activities.Weave your own artwork or become part of Lucy’s exhibition by taking your photograph in front of her artwork and having it added to her movie screening in the Art Factory. Barker’s exhibition in the Art Factory will also relate… » Read More

21 Oct 11 > 04 Dec 11

Faces of Maitland is a series of photograph depicting the people living in the Maitland district in 2011. This series will take you into the private world of a diverse cross section of local residents. The artist’s aim is not to invade, interpret or translate but simply to show a true depiction the lives of those in our community.

21 Oct 11 > 04 Dec 11

Through my Eyes is and exhibition of ceramic sculptures that theatrically capture everyday gestures and interactions. The artist invites us to view the world as he sees it; to think about scenes in everyday life, fleeting personal moments, and remember – things are not always as they seem.

21 Oct 11 > 04 Dec 11

An exhibition of self-portraits by Hunter and Central Coast students from Kindergarten to year 10, FACE2011 is the second year that MRAG has facilitated an exhibition of portraiture by children and teens. The student’s works demonstrate insight into self identity and exploration of colour and material demonstrated by children and young people. Curated by Lauren van Katwyk, presented with support from the NSW Department of Education and Training.

07 Oct 11 > 04 Dec 11

This exhibition represents a selection of art work both spanning a decade of Braidwood based artist John R.Walker’s sensitive response the harshness of the Australian landscape. John Walker has made a unique contribution to Landscape painting in Australia. As part of that journey, his works on paper have made a major contribution to his body of work. Walker places equal value on both his works on paper and on canvas. From his earliest exhibitions drawings and gouaches have been a major component. Every subject Walker has explored is covered by a signifiant body of work on paper and the National… » Read More

16 Sep 11 > 06 Nov 11

Pat Corrigan has been collecting art for over 30 years and his art collection is extensive. This exhibition Pat Corrigan > Collector is a selection of some of his personal favourites, taken directly from the walls of his Sydney home. The exhibition includes classic black and white photography by artists such as Rex Dupain and Olive Cotton, iconic paintings by Brett Whiteley, Lloyd Rees and John Olsen, as well as 2D and 3D works by established and emerging contemporary artists including Patricia Piccinini, Tracey Moffatt, Reg Mombassa, Ben Quilty, Patrick Jungari, Hossein Valamanesh, Louise Hearman, Laith McGregor and Brook Andrew.… » Read More

26 Aug 11 > 02 Oct 11

A series of portraits by Euan Macleod, featuring well known personalities from the Australian art world, including a portrait of MRAG’s own director, Joe Eisenberg. The retrospective exhibition is simply and aptly entitled Portraits and depicts Macleod’s family, friends and a rich tapestry of people from his life, including several publicly known figures.   Macleod’s gaze has a way of revealing the secrets of his subjects – aging, ugliness, faults and moodiness. His portraits are vigorous and gestural and often treat the subject unmercifully. MRAG and Maitland City Council are pleased to bring Portraits to Maitland in conjunction with another Macleod… » Read More

26 Aug 11 > 16 Oct 11

Williams River Valley Artists Project (WRVAP) began in 2009 out of a conversation between artists about the proposed (and now defunct) Tillegra Dam, in the Williams River Valley, Dungog, Upper Hunter, NSW. The valley has been devastated by the impact of the dam proposal, the community fragmented and the land has fallen into a state of neglect and disrepair. There is ongoing disquiet about what the future holds. This exhibition brings together sensitive responses to the experience of the impact of the proposal and the disruption to the valley along with hope for a better future.

23 Jul 11 > 13 Nov 11

Sean Roche has contributed to various publications in live music, fashion and documentary photography. Hours & Minutes is Roche’s first major public gallery exhibition. Hours & Minutes is a compilation of simply put, personable, but pithy photographs taken in locations across Australia and Europe. Using 35mm film, Roche has captured a range of bland and unpromising subjects. Together in this exhibition Roche’s images accumulate as a collection of considered and perceptive metaphors. Though each photograph is a snapshot in time, many of Roche’s images imply a past and future. He focuses on a single aspect of a relationship or a… » Read More

22 Jul 11 > 11 Sep 11

Martin Sharp, 2011, ink on paper, 29.7 x 42 cm Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG) and Maitland City Council (MCC) is pleased to bring to Maitland a retrospective exhibition of two sibling award winning artists Peter Kingston and Fairlie Kingston. Two years in the planning this exhibition includes over 70 artworks sourced from almost 40 different private and public art collections from across NSW and Queensland. This exhibition is the annual exhibition sponsored by Farrow Wyatt Chartered Accountants and their support has underpinned MRAG’s ability to bring this collection of stunning artwork to Maitland. The Kingstons spent an idyllic childhood… » Read More

01 Jul 11 > 21 Aug 11

David Fairbairn selected portraits 1998 – 2010. A Campbelltown Arts Centre travelling exhibition, curated by Renee Porter. Linage is an exhibition that spans the last twelve years of David Fairbairn’s artistic practice. The artist works on prints, drawings and paintings in a range of sizes concurrently. Lineage includes works that are larger than life size portraits to the more intimate etchings and drawings. This exhibition presents a comprehensive body of work and clearly illustrates Fairbairn’s mastery of the use of line, the power and immediacy of its mark and his dedicated approach to producing mulit-media work that reveals he is one… » Read More

01 Jul 11 > 21 Aug 11

Caprice, A Holy tirade of the heart uncovered presents a series of collaborative drawings and paintings by Hunter Valley artists Eric and Robyn Werkhoven. Together they exhibit under the title of Studio La Primitive. The works in this exhibition are a celebration of every day life “exploring the world of human caprice, with sheer delight and a touch of irony”. The artist’s indiviual styles are evident in these works; Robyn’s passion for portraiture and figuration, and Eric’s stylised mythical beasts and human creatures, as is their shared attraction to bold color. Their styles come together in these works complementing each other and creating an exciting body of work of new works. The exhibition… » Read More

03 Jun 11 > 26 Jun 11

Works of art selected by Joe Eisenberg, Cultural Director, will be on sale at MRAG for three weeks only. Artworks available to purchase start from as little as $100 up to the investment range of $5000. To launch In Good Taste, MRAG Sponsor Tyrrell’s Wines will present Tyrrell’s wines to visitors with a special wine tasting. “We Tyrrells have been on our vineyard for two thirds of Australia’s modern history. The motto of ‘nothing is great unless it is good’ came with my great grandfather from England and has been a guiding beacon for the family through the years. It… » Read More

17 May 11 > 17 Jul 11

Ever wondered what collectors collect and why? Franks Flat is an exhibition of the artwork found in the home of one of Sydney’s longest art dealer Frank Watters. Raised in Muswellbrook, along with his brother Max (an artist and art collector), Frank’s heart is never far from the Hunter. Watters Galley is one of the most important commercial art galleries in NSW and this exhibition has been curated by Frank Watters’ business partner Geoffrey Legge and Geoffrey’s daughter in law Sonia Legge. A number of the artists represented in this exhibition were given their first commercial exhibition at Watters Gallery… » Read More

06 May 11 > 26 Jun 11

China syndrome is a very large and thoughtful message in only two words. There are also only two cabinets in the exhibition but they mean a lot and are not picked at random. We find ourselves as travellers, voyaging toChina, and connecting with chinaware and its display. The relationship to museum practice and presenting an exhibition is critical, and ceramic modelling is at the heart of it all. What a story, told primarily in clay, metaphors, antonyms and analogies, and done so with humour and comedic wit compounded by fun. What a story wrapped in memory, heritage and intimacy. What… » Read More

06 May 11 > 26 Jun 11

From Scientific Illustration to Graphic Novels. Curated and opened by Trevor Weekes.

01 Apr 11 > 22 May 11

Curated by Sarah Johnson. A Manly Art Gallery & Museum Touring Exhibition Robert McFarlane is represented by Josef Lebovic Gallery, Sydney McFarlane’s 40+ years of photographic practice place him as one ofAustralia’s most significant photographic artists, writers and critics.  This is the first comprehensive survey of Robert’s work and also launches a significant re-focus on Australian photography. The exhibition will feature 80+ framed works exhibited alongside a selection of Robert’s critical writings and publications, artist material such as diaries, notebooks and catalogues will accompany the works. Since the 1960s, Robert McFarlane has been an influential figure in Australian photographic practice… » Read More

26 Mar 11 > 17 Jul 11

Works with Quirk is an experiment more than an exhibition; it sets a precedent for the future of Art Factory exhibitions and programs. All of a sudden, our exhibition rationale woke up one day and realised it had hit early adolescence. Sure, it’s a bit awkward at the moment, but in time I think it’ll grow up alright. There’s a thirteen year old mentality behind works selected for this exhibition – overall it would seem there is very little rhyme or reason, and I felt I needed to explain myself with this statement and the statements attached to different ‘groups’… » Read More

11 Mar 11 > 01 May 11

Denese Oates has been making and exhibiting her unique art for more than thirty years. The work has always been about what transpires in our own experience; what is possible; and what can be found as imaginable and credible in it. She has involved the viewer in structures that are complex often shifting in perspective, critical and analytical and makes us, the public think! As a practicing full time artist throughout this time she has kept her audience tuned into and mesmerised with a variety of mediums that over the years have changed but finally or perhaps lately she has… » Read More

11 Mar 11 > 01 May 11

An Australian National Maritime Museum Travelling Exhibition. Prints from the Australian National Maritime Museum’s collection commemorate the rich living relationship between Indigenous people and water in Australia. The vivid representations of marine life and environments celebrate the survival of their communities and their struggle for land and sea rights and justice. This exhibition is supported by the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program, and Australian Government program aiming to improve access to the national collection for all Australians.

11 Mar 11 > 01 May 11

05 Feb 11 > 27 Mar 11

In this exhibition Paul Selwood presents the illusion of three dimensions with thin sheets of metal and an apparent sense of painted surfaces. To create the artworks in Perspective Cutouts, Paul left sheets of steel out on the grass of his property so that patterns of damp grass and trails left by insects would be inferred onto the metal’s surface as it rusted. To this, Paul scored the lines of a series of stacked geometric shapes, cut out the exterior overall shape, and then applied matte varnish, gloss varnish, or left other sections plain. The result is the implication of… » Read More

14 Jan 11 > 06 Mar 11

Papunya Tula Women’s Art is an exhibition of 43 paintings all created by the women artists supported by Aboriginal owned and directed company Papunya Tula Artists. Many of the artists in this exhibition were relatives of the male artists, who for over twenty-five years had witnessed the Papunya Tula art movement’s rise from relative obscurity to celebrated phenomenon. The women’s initially timid foray into their own practice quickly evolved into a movement of its own. Colourful, gestural experiments described the familiar iconography of the desert in new and exciting ways. Unrestricted by perceived conventions, they began to carve out a… » Read More

14 Jan 11 > 06 Mar 11

As an artist, Williams identifies with the land in a way that farmers, explorers, bushwalkers and others would understand. Keenly interested in the scars on the land of this ancient continent, Williams’s artwork explores our collective fate as it is tied up with the landscape. A centre piece of this exhibition includes the installation ‘Forecast’ which consists of a shredded paper cloud which hangs above the ground and as a ‘recalcitrant rainmaker’, if promises far more than it delivers – as noted by Dr Michael Beare when talking about William’s work.

14 Jan 11 > 06 Mar 11

This exhibition includes a series of lithographic prints created by the enigmatic English born artist Charles Conder. Immigrating to Australia in the late 1800’s Conder was a contemporary of Tom Roberts and both were key figure in the Heidelberg School.

17 Dec 10 > 20 Mar 11

The much-loved children’s book Come by Chance, written and illustrated by Madeleine Winch, was originally published in 1988. It is a warm and gentle story of friendship, hospitality and care. For this exhibition, MRAG borrowed the original illustrations of Winch’s book from the Dubbo Regional Gallery collection, and paired them with a Hunter-based emerging illustrators Tallulah Cunningham, Morgan Laudine and Toni Walsh, who worked together to develop a child friendly installation inspired by Madeleine’s works for the project space. The… exhibition in the education wing, until March 20, is of the original watercolour drawings by Madeleine Winch for her well-loved… » Read More

19 Nov 10 > 06 Mar 11

Lucas Lorenzo and his children Santiago, Jesus, Nicolas, Aureliano and Carlota live and work in the craft village of Xalitla, Mexico. Xalitla is a very remote village in the Rio Balsa region of Guerrero. This area and other nearby villages are known for their paintings on amate bark paper, representing the religious beliefs and celebrations that are celebrated throughout the year. Lucas Lorenzo switched to working on masonite board, painting larger naïve figures of saints, devils, angels, animals and religious scenes; a change in style from the traditional village paintings which were painted on bark paper. Like many other craft… » Read More

19 Nov 10 > 09 Jan 11

Picture that in Maitland: 1965 was an exhibition of selected photographs from the Maitland Mercury archives, exhibited at MRAG in November 2010. Mercury photographer Cath Bowen was invited by MRAG to be guest curator, and working from the original negatives chose fifty works from thousands upon thousands of images. Together as an exhibition the audience was invited to peruse a social portrait of Maitland in the mid 1960s. The Maitland Mercury was established in January 1843 as a weekly Saturday newspaper, although today, Saturday is the only day in which an edition is not printed. It is the second oldest newspaper in New… » Read More

19 Nov 10 > 09 Jan 11

As an artist Poulet strives to evoke emotions….Poulet’s paintings are replete with squiggly lines, blobs of colour, and floating meandering forms – all very natural and reassuring components. He is not attempting to be clever or cerebral, and his work can not certainly be described as decorative. His art is based on impulses which are more obscure, embedded in the subconscious, somewhere alongside a poetic dream, a fragment of memory or unique vision of nature at its simplest and most obvious.  Joe Eisenberg, MRAG Cultural Director and Curator.

05 Nov 10 > 12 Dec 10

Our Water is a touring exhibition developed by Questacon — the National Science and Technology Centre Canberra, and proudly sponsored by the National Water Commission. Water. Our most precious resource. If you were in control of Australia’s water, how would you use it? Learn about all things water in this hands-on exhibition that delves into the different ways of using and preserving this precious resource. Have your photo taken and then see it fill up onscreen to show how much water is in your body, move elements like farms, livestock, dams and houses around a model catchment system, or navigate your way… » Read More

15 Oct 10 > 05 Dec 10

When Kierkegaard wrote that his life was nothing but ‘a mood, a single colour’, he was not considering the range of meanings that a single colour can generate. Such an understanding is fundamental to the artist in the solitude of his or her studio, as they begin to discover the potentialities of their chosen medium. A colour is no one thing but an entire spectrum of possibilities depending on how it is used.John McDonaldSolitary Pursuits in Red catalogue essay 2010  

18 Sep 10 > 14 Nov 10

Supported by the NSW Department of Education and Training. Curated by Lauren van Katwyk, Education Curator. Coordinated by Michele Keith, Telarah Public School and Lauren van Katwyk. The 54 works in this exhibition have been selected from a pool of 142 submitted works from 28 schools. FACE demonstrates the efforts of talented young artists and their teachers from across the Hunter and Central Coast regions, but it also affords us an insight into the perceptions of children and teens; their expressive capabilities, their understandings of the world and of art, and their interests and personalities. MRAG would like to thank… » Read More

17 Sep 10 > 14 Nov 10

Although Afterlife presents a vision of dead and dismembered animals; horses, rats and birds the exhibition is not dark or morbid. Rather Afterlife relates not to what happens to the bodies after death or where the souls may go,  Afterlife is about how Archer reshapes and interprets the skeletal remains in a theoretical, poetic elegiac or fanciful way. Using media such as paint Archer wants to contrive and concoct with her subject matter on canvas and forge and form objects that ultimately find their way into our world as paintings and sculptures. Suzanne Archer: Afterlife an MRAG Touring Exhibition (PDF)… » Read More

10 Sep 10 > 31 Oct 10

Lunch for the Trades is a quirky look at lunch for people in the trades and includes ‘Micro Fiche ‘n’ Chips for the Computer Technician’ and ‘Tongue and Salad Sandwich for Shoemakers.’ Downes is known for her quirky artwork; having won the People’s Choice in the National Sculpture Prize at the National Gallery of Australia in 2001 with Tea Party in the Mayoral Garden, a fun look at the notion of ‘taking tea.’  In the project space:  a selection of interactive, playful responses to Ruth’s exhibition by local artists and designers. Deluxe Hamburger by Adam Kelly and Karen Kelly Food… » Read More

07 Sep 10 > 14 Nov 10

Geraldine Berkemeier and Gary Shinfield present a very different take on life with their exhibition River Crossing which focuses squarely on the life of the Hunter River as it weaves its way across the land. Indeed the exhibition River Crossing looks at how we as a population have lived and worked with the river and the results of our interaction with it – good and bad. Using the technique of printmaking Berkemeier and Shinfield have created a lyrical and subtle series that quietly demonstrate both the life and sometimes death of a water course important in this region.

20 Aug 10 > 10 Oct 10

The exhibition In[two]art features an impressive convergence of recent works from sixty significant Australian artists. Thirty pairs of artist couples have been selected for the exhibition, including Alun Leach–Jones and Nola Jones; Clare Healy and Sean Cordeiro; Rick Amor and Meg Williams; Helen Eagar and Christopher Hodges; John Turier and Nicola Hensel; and Deborah Paauwe and Mark Kimber. The diversity of practice, medium and style on display in In[Two]Art, supported by an extensive catalogue for the exhibition, is enough to promise a diverse and fascinating visit to MRAG. But In[Two]Art will be of interest for many visitors because of the… » Read More

23 Jul 10 > 12 Sep 10

The CCP Documentary Photography Award is a biennial showcase of contemporary Australian documentary photography. Since the inaugural exhibition in 1997, this event has grown in profile and significance. It represents a unique, national initiative in support of documentary photography, providing a rare opportunity to assess the themes, styles and ideas that characterise this fascinating genre. The seventh exhibition demonstrates the breadth of contemporary approaches to documentary practice from traditional black and white narratives through to vibrant colour recordings all of which have been achieved without digital manipulation. Themes range from Victoria’s Black Saturday Bushfires through to ocean swim racing and… » Read More

16 Jul 10 > 12 Sep 10

Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG) is proud to present a survey exhibition by Adrian Lockhart which demonstrates his continual search for ways and means of depicting the ocean, the sea, the waves, the sand and the people that enjoy these elements synonymous with life in Australia. Lockhart is today recognized as a successful contemporary artist who can draw, paint and sculpt. All this and more can be seen in the current exhibition which is spread over three galleries and could have taken even more space as Lockhart is so very prolific.  Joe Eisenberg, who first introduced Lockhart to Maitland a… » Read More

03 Jul 10 > 22 Aug 10

Operation Art, a project that encourages Kindergarten to Year 10 from across the state to create artworks destined for children in hospitals, is currently touringNew South Wales, and has come to Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG) for July and August. The exhibition, a partnership between the NSW department of Education and Training, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, the Nelson Meers Foundation and the Art Gallery of NSW, consists of 50 works selected by 2008 Archibald Prize winner Del Kathryn Barton and a panel of representatives from each partner organisation. Selected from 655 artworks, the exhibition at MRAG represents the cream… » Read More

25 Jun 10 > 15 Aug 10

As noted in the exhibition catalogue the title of this exhibition, Breath and Stones offers one way of imagining distance, togetherness and incomplete sharing: breath evokes notions of the ephemeral, of momentary existence, and of permeability; while stones conjures the material and embedded, and a sense of performance. A juxtaposition of these two ideas conjures possibilities of fleeting and momentary experiences of community, of compassion, of individual life and of togetherness enveloping and possibly warming the performance, solidity and, at times, coldness of our environment. This exhibition invites the participant to sit and contemplate.  

25 Jun 10 > 15 Aug 10

An exhibition from the Canberra Museum and Gallery. Curated by Deborah Clark. The art of Ruth Waller is imaginative, thoughtful, intelligent and passionate. Her practice of over thirty years has been richly varied, but there is a clear unswerving logic in its trajectory. A constant in the work has been her focussed referencing of art history: Waller’s concerns are contemporary, but her art has mined European painting from the Gothic to the Renaissance, the nineteenth century  Australian visual record, and twentieth-century art and popular culture for the global village. She is interested in the social, political and cultural context of… » Read More

18 Jun 10 > 05 Sep 10

Nest, Tom Kearney and Michelle Gearin, 2010 Nest is an exhibition of works and a collaborative play installation by Michelle Gearin and Tom Kearney. It is currently exhibiting in the Art Factory’s dual exhibition and project spaces, beautifully demonstrating MRAG’s intentions to present contemporary, intriguing and interactive exhibitions that develop the appreciation of art in child audiences. In Nest, a flowing and expressive painting on paper by Michelle hangs beside Tom’s amorphous resin and fibreglass sculptures, and the two have worked collaboratively for the project space, combining their individual aesthetic interests to create a visually splendid mural spanning ten metres.… » Read More

29 May 10 > 30 Jun 10

  Born in Maitland in 1895, Les Darcy (1895 – 1917) is considered one of the best Australian boxers of all time, an Australian hero with national significance. This exhibition showcased several pieces from MRAG’s growing collection of Les Darcy ephemera, promotional material and collectibles. Significant features of the exhibition included, exhibited for the first time, the Blooms Travelling Boxing Company tent wall, featuring Les Darcy in fighting pose. DVDs of live footage of Darcy were also presented, alongside collectibles and a new acquisition for MRAG, a hand drawn poster of Les Darcy, featuring all his boxing results. Estimated to be no more than… » Read More

21 May 10 > 11 Jul 10

Hanna Kay’s Undertow will be complemented by Maitland Jewish Cemetery: A Monument to Dreams and Deeds a publication and installation on the history of the cemetery and the people buried there, curated by Janis Wilton and Joe Eisenberg, and designed by David Guy.  This exhibition was part of an MRAG project entitled Maitland Jewish Cemetery and was the winner of the 2011 National Trust Heritage Awards, Category I: Interpretation and Presentation 1: Corporate/Government. Click here to find out more about this award winning project. Hanna Kay Touring Information Hanna Kay Education Kit (PDF)

06 Mar 10 > 13 Jun 10

Works of art from the MRAG collection which convey the colour and vivacity of everyday life have been hung at child height on the walls, while a brand new permanent light installation, developed by Melissa O’Brien, hangs in the adjacent stairwell space. In the play space, a 10 metre children’s collaborative drawing installation runs the length of the exhibition space, flanked by a children’s kitchen intended to point out the colour and pattern hidden in the everyday, and a relaxing garden where parents and kids can sit down to read one of MRAG’s children’s books on colour, or inspect the… » Read More

05 Mar 10 > 16 May 10

Compiled from both found images and personal objects – dogs, women, livestock, copulating couples, kittens, armchairs, pianos – Gearin’s paintings are expressive, personal artworks; this current body of work is vibrant and colourful, interweaving layers of oils, pastels and ink. ‘I want my paintings to inspire an inward seeing of outward experience.’ says Gearin. Michelle Gearin is the 2010 recipient of the Marten Bequest, and was a finalist in the 2011 Metro Art Prize.

23 Jan 10 > 21 Feb 10

Brett Alexander | Trine Deans | Ottoman | John ParkesMichael Randall | Pam Sinnott | Luke Thurgate :Labelled Queer is also an event on the 2010 Mardi Gras Festival program and is a partnership between MRAG, Rainbow Visions Hunter (which aims to building a healthier, more enjoyable, rewarding and culturally rich place for GLBTIQ people) and a number of queer artists with connections to the Hunter.  

23 Jan 10 > 21 Mar 10

Carla Feltham, Michelle Maartensz and Martin Trew. The aim of Construction was to capture and document the formal beauty (and perhaps the ugliness) of newly created spaces and areas as they take shape and become a recognizable reality. It is not necessarily to photograph what could be claimed as major milestones in the construction cycle. Rather, it is the moments that engaged each photographer’s eye and aesthetic sensibilities.  In this way the individual images have become more than an historical record, but rather an artistic interpretation of how the final building site and the completed art gallery came into being. Construction therefore told… » Read More

11 Dec 09 > 28 Feb 10

Days of Summer is a masterful achievement in Salvatore Zofrea’s oeuvre, and Australian printmaking generally. One of this country’s most accomplished woodcut artists has again managed to create an ambitious and all embracing body of work that marks an important development in his own art, as well as bring us another vision of that great, enduring theme of Australian art – the Australian landscape. Salvatore Zofrea Touring Exhibition Information (PDF) Salvatore Zofrea Education Kit (PDF)

11 Dec 09 > 28 Feb 10

Sight paints a picture of life, but sound, touch, taste and smell are actually life itself.Gill Sullivan My time spent in wide and open spaces of Australian desert was not only of visual dimensions but of multi-sensory experiences of sight, touch, smell, taste and auditory senses. The created spaces concentrate on an effect, wanting to alter the viewer’s conditioned perception, not by imitation but by reconstruction of spacial memories. The work is more about what it is not rather than what it is. These multi-sensory and multi-dimensional experiences of the installations are meant to challenge habitual perceptions and pre-conceptions by… » Read More

27 Nov 09 > 17 Jan 10

Antarctica – A Place in the Wilderness is an exhibition of photography by Judy Parrott from an Australian Antarctic Division Arts Fellowship. Having spent several months on an Australian Antarctic Division Arts Fellowship, Brisbane artist Judy Parrott’s exhibition of photographic works Antarctica – A Place in the Wilderness presents a rare and exhilarating glimpse of life on Australia’s most remote research stations. 

27 Nov 09 > 17 Jan 10

Dreams: a train of thought and images experienced during sleep, a vision, something only imaginary, a distant hope or ideal. Chambers Dictionary Like many great projects, this one began with a dream.  The dream was to encourage artists from different places to come together to individually create an artwork for a joint show, and in the process to enable interaction between the artists, leading to opportunities for them to show their work internationally and to learn and develop through the experience.  In so doing this will then allow gallery patrons in many venues in three countries to see and learn… » Read More

23 Oct 09 > 06 Dec 09

O’Doherty says, “This project is not about conventional portraiture, nor is it the culmination of a personal relationship between artist and subject. It is meant to be viewed as a total; a sea of faces which themselves make up a whole portrait. It is also an arbitrary archive partially documenting the visual arts world centred around Sydney. I wanted my subjects to be recognisable, to come together like a large silent gathering of the arts community all clustered in one room. Each face is staring out from the canvas, unsmiling, eyes fixed on the viewer in a reversal, especially for… » Read More

15 Aug 09 > 18 Oct 09

As works on paper – the medium MRAG has recently focused its entire collection on – Recent Drawings presents a body of new body of work by Graham Kuo. Influenced by his own cultural background, these expressive artworks are a demonsration of the best of contemporary abstraction.

15 Aug 09 > 22 Nov 09

Fiona Davies installation Intangible Collections draws together historical and personal items, archived records and ephemeral memories of the diverse activities that once took place in the orginal buildings of the new MRAG. This beautiful exhibition commemorates the personal and social importance of the old Maitland Technical College building over its last hundred years.

15 Aug 09 > 06 Dec 09

Memories of his childhood formed a strong base for both Pryer’s exhibition of works and the children’s play installation he created to accompany it. Off the Leash is an exhibition that marries all of Jon’s different parts; artist, father, designer, and perhaps part dog. Words from Jon Pryer, taken from Jon Pr yer: Off the Leash catalogue, 2009. When I was a boy I thought as a boy, but now I think as a dog… UK memory > When I was a boy my father brought a mongrel puppy home; he’d seen a man carrying it down the pier where he worked, to drown… » Read More