Mikala Dwyer

Mikala Dwyer is an Australian artist born in 1959 in Sydney.[1] She is a contemporary sculptor who was shortlisted with fellow artist Justene Williams to represent Australia at the 2019 Venice Biennale.[2]

Mikala Dwyer
Born1959
Sydney
NationalityAustralian
EducationUniversity of Sydney; Middlesex University; University of New South Wales; Professor Stan Douglas, Berlin University of the Arts
Known forSculpture and installation art
MovementContemporary art
Websitemikaladwyer.com

Education

In 1983, Mikala Dwyer attended the University of Sydney and in 1986 received a Bachelor of Fine Art. Dwyer also spent time at the Middlesex University from 1985 to 1986 in the United Kingdom. In 2000, Dwyer earned her Masters of Fine Art at the University of New South Wales, College of Fine Art. Dwyer also trained under Professor Stan Douglas at Berlin University of the Arts from 2005 to 2007.[3]

Career

Dwyer has been producing work for exhibition since the early 1980s, developing a career in installation and sculptural work. Her practice deals with the spiritual, magic, rituals, the occult, alchemy and the "other". Dwyer's practice can be described as "playful and fanatical" as she invites the audience to participate with her works and draw their own conclusions.[4] Dwyer is known for her use of everyday materials such as plastics, metal, wood, fabric, paint, plants and other found objects.[5]

In 1992 Dwyer was amount the first group of young Australian artists selected to have their work exhibited in the first Primavera exhibition, held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. Curated by Linda Michael, the exhibition included James Angus, Dwyer, Gale Hastings, and Constance Zikos.[6] In 2000 Dwyer had a major solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. The exhibition included the recent works from Dwyer's practice as well as site specific pieces tailored to interact with the gallery space.[7] In 2010 Dwyer created an installation titled Square Cloud Compound on Cockatoo Island for the Biennale of Sydney. Dwyer's work deals with the island's ominous history in a playful manner.[1] In 2016 Dwyer was awarded a National Association for the Visual Arts Visual and Fellowship grant, which was funded by the Copyright Agency's Cultural Fund.[8] In 2017 Dwyer had another major solo exhibition held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales titled A Shape of Thought. The exhibition explored Dwyer's investigation of "the consciousness and liveliness of matter surrounding us" and was composed of current artworks which included Square Cloud Compound (2010), The letterbox Marys (2015–17), and The silvering (2017).[9] In 2018 Dwyer and Justene Williams, with curators Susan Best and Ann Stephen, were shortlisted to represent Australia at the 2019 Venice Biennale.[2] Although their proposal was not selected, it was later remodelled into "Mondspiel" part of the Bauhaus Now exhibition. In 2019 Ann Stephen curated Bauhaus Now, an exhibition that was held at the Buxton Contemporary, Melbourne for the 100th anniversary celebration of the Bauhaus. Mikala Dwyer and Justene Williams collaborated to create installations focusing on the "Bauhaus legacy in Australia".[10][11]

Dwyer has lectured at Sydney College of Art, the University of Sydney, as well as being an associate professor at RMIT University, Melbourne City Campus.[8][12]

Dwyer has work in the following collections: the Cruthers Collection of Women's Art, University of Western Australia; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; University of New South Wales, Sydney; Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney; UQ Art Gallery, University of Queensland, Brisbane; Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne; Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart; Auckland City Gallery, New Zealand.[3][13]

Solo exhibitions
  • In the Manger, Chapel of Love, Sydney, 1982
  • Drunheart, performance, ANZART, Old Mail Exchange, Hobart, 1983
  • Poor Bare Forked Animal (with Mary Rose Sinn), Chelsea College of Art, London, 1985
  • Becalmed, City Artists Gallery, London, 1986
  • Untitled Installation, First Draft, Sydney, 1987
  • Boot, KSK Gallery, Sydney, 1988
  • Untitled Installation, 338 Gallery, Sydney, 1988
  • Untitled Installation, Window Gallery, Sydney, 1989
  • Ringing, First Draft, Sydney, 1989
  • Wall to Wall: Ceiling to Floor, 200 Gertrude Street, Melbourne, 1990
  • Untitled Installation, First Draft West, Sydney, 1990
  • Untitled Installation, First Draft West, Sydney, 1991
  • Untitled Installation, 200 Gertrude Street, Melbourne, 1991
  • Untitled Installation, BLACK, Sydney, 1992
  • Henle's Loop, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, 1993
  • Whoops, Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, 1994
  • Jean's OK, Regents Court Hotel, Sydney, 1994
  • Collaboration With Gale Hastings, CBD Gallery, Sydney 1994
  • Sad Songs, Artspace, Sydney, 1995
  • Voodoo Lambchop, Teststrip, Auckland, 1995
  • Vincent (Aires), Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin, 1995
  • Nail-Polish Paintings, Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington, 1995
  • Recent Old Work, Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, 1996
  • New Work, Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington, 1996
  • Tubeweight, CBD Gallery, Sydney, 1996
  • Hollowware and a Few Solids, Australian Centre of Contemporary Art, Melbourne, 1996
  • I.O.U, CBD Gallery, Sydney, 1998
  • Addon (Clothing Plan) (Closing Plan), Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington, 1998
  • A Work by Mikala Dwyer Done in Someone Else's Studio, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, 1998
  • Uniform, Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, 1999
  • Mikala Dwyer Solo Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney 2000
  • Indifinity Maybe; I Care Because You Do; The Loozer Planet; Sweetpotatosexpet Antenna; Hanging Eyes; I.O.U (a tile); My Home is Your Home; Floating Old Man; Selfshel, Chapel Art Centre, Cardiff, 2000
  • Iffytown, Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington, 2000
  • Mikala Dwyer, Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, 2001
  • Mikala Dwyer, Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington, 2001
  • Art Lifts, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2002
  • Flowers, Flies and Someone Else, Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne, 2004
  • Some More Recent Old Work, Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney, 2004
  • I Maybe We, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, 2005
  • The Addition and Subtractions; The Hanging Garden, Kunstraum, Potsdam, 2007
  • Moon Garden, Aratoi Museum, Masterton, 2008
  • Costumes and Empty Sculptures, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, 2008
  • Outfield, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, 2009
  • Square Cloud Compound, Biennale of Sydney, Sydney, 2010
  • Square Cloud Compound, Hamish Morrison Gallery, Berlin, 2010
  • Swamp Geometry, Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne, 2011
  • The Silvering, Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne, 2011
  • Drawing Down the Moon, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, 2012
  • Panto Collapsar, Arts Project, Berlin, 2012
  • Divinations for the Real Things, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, 2012
  • Goldene Bend're, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne, 2013
  • Hollowwork, Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne, 2014
  • The Garden of Half Life, University Art Gallery, The University of Sydney, Sydney, 2014
  • Pantocollapsar, Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray, Ireland, 2014
  • Underfall, Mildura Arts Centre, Mildura, 2014
  • The letterbox Marys, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, 2015
  • Mikala Dwyer: MCA Collection, Curated by Natasha Bullock, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2015
  • In the Head of Humans, Hopkinson Mossman, Auckland, 2016
  • Square Cloud Compound, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2016
  • A Shape of Thought, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2017
  • Soft Relics, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, 2018

Select group exhibitions

References
  1. "Mikala Dwyer | MCA Australia". www.mca.com.au. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  2. "Australia Council for the Arts". Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  3. "Mikala Dwyer: Biography" (PDF). Anna Schwartz Gallery. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  4. "Australian Centre for Contemporary Art". acca.melbourne. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  5. "Mikala Dwyer | MCA Australia". www.mca.com.au. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  6. "Primavera 1992: Young Australian Artists | Exhibitions | MCA Australia". www.mca.com.au. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  7. "Mikala Dwyer | Exhibitions | MCA Australia". www.mca.com.au. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  8. "Mikala Dwyer". NAVA. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  9. "Mikala Dwyer: a shape of thought :: Art Gallery NSW". artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  10. Butler, Rex (Winter 2019). "Resurrecting Spirit: Mikala Dwyer in 'Bauhaus Now'". Art Monthly Australasia. no. 317: 54–58.
  11. "BAUHAUS NOW!". Buxton Contemporary. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  12. "RMIT University|Meet key people in the School of Art". rmit.edu.au. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  13. "Cruthers Collection of Women's Art : Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery : The University of Western Australia". lwgallery.uwa.edu.au. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  14. "Mikala Dwyer" (PDF). Retrieved 2 October 2019.

Further reading
  • Susan Rothnie and Mikala Dwyer. Mikala Dwyer in Conversation with Susan Rothnie. Eyeline, (spring 2004) Vol.55: 30–33.
  • Benjamin Genocchio. Alchemy with a Mischievous Touch. Sydney Morning Herald, 29 December 2000.
  • Sue Cramer. Colour Bazaar Exhibition Catalogue. Heide Museum of Art, Melbourne, 2011.
  • Sally Butler. Mikala Dwyer's Occult Constructivism. Eyeline, 2012 No. 77
  • Sally Butler. Mikala Dwyer's Occult Constructivism. Eyeline, (summer 2014) Vol.77: 46–51.
  • Susan Best. Mineral Nature: Mikala Dwyer Rocks. 2014.
  • Luke Parker. Mikala Dwyer: The Garden of Half-Life. The University of Sydney, 2014
  • Joel Meares. Mikala Dwyer 'jelly-legged' at art prize win. The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 March 2015.
  • Emma O’Neil. Mikala Dwyer: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia Collection. Art AsiaPacific (May/June 2016) Iss 98: 118.
  • Wayne Tunnicliffe. Mikala Dwyer: A shape of thought Exhibition Catalogue. Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2017.
  • Rex Butler. Resurrecting Spirit: Mikala Dwyer in 'Bauhaus Now'. Art Monthly Australasia, (winter 2019) no 317: 54–58.
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