Kath Fries Artwork

Web - new artist book

2012-01-24T14:25:00.000+11:00

Web is an open edition artist book of photographs documenting a collaborative project by installation artist Kath Fries and performance artist Patricia Alvarez.

This perforative installation explores Fries and Alvarez's dual interests in challenging voyeuristic dynamics and experimenting with the tactility of fibers to extend and entangle the body.

Presented at Gaffa Galleries Sydney, 24 February 2011, the event was titled Clothe the wold and meet the sky referencing Tennyson's 1833 poem, The Lady of Shallot.
Similarly the title of this artist book, Web, also relates to famous lines in The Lady of Shallot:

"out flew the web and floated wide

the mirror crack'd from side to side".

Web by Kath Fries

Recommended viewing in full screen mode

Kath Fries' immersive installation of nylon netting and synthetic hair strands, is characteristic of her site-responsive practice, situating everyday and domestic materials to seemingly grow out of the nocks and crannies of an exhibition space. Her exploration of materiality, spatiality, archetypal narratives is extended in this work to invite another person to step beyond the role of passive viewer and actively interact with her work.

The live performance lasted two hours and involved Alvarez singing whilst braiding her own hair into the netting and hair extensions. Her performance continued until she became too ensnared to physically turn her head. At that point when she tentatively shifted position she dragged the whole installation with her, threatening to pull down the entire cave of netting and trap the audience.

If you would like to read more about this collaborative project and see images of the 2011 exhibition, have a look at these earlier posts and critics' reviews:

http://kathfries.blogspot.com/2011/03/collaborative-installation-gaffa.html

http://kathfries.blogspot.com/2011/03/documentation-photographs-taken-by-joy.html

http://kathfries.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html

Strand installation at 4A Members Exhibition 2011

2012-01-17T22:50:00.000+11:00

Gallery 4A Annual Members Show 2011, exhibition invitation

The 4A Annual Members' Exhibition
4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art
181-187 Hay Street, Haymarket, Sydney

www.4a.com.au

15 - 23 December 2011

Each year 4A opens its doors and makes it's walls available to 4A members during the Annual Members' Exhibition. It's a way to thank members and for them to meet and share their creative talents with those who are part of the Asian-Australian cultural discussion.

4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art is Australia's peak national body for contemporary Asian and Australian art and culture. 4A believes that Asian cultural thinking will have an important impact in the future. We are passionate about creating opportunities for artists and facilitating networks between Australia and the Asia-Pacific Region.

Kath Fries, Strand, 2011, nylon synthetic hair extensions, electric cord, light bulb, and plinth. Dimensions variable. Detail view of top of work as installed at Gallery 4A

Kath Fries, Strand, 2011, nylon synthetic hair extensions, electrical cord, light bulb and plinth, dimensions variable. Detail view of bottom of work as installed at Gallery 4A.

"Strand is a tangled rope of apparently discarded hair ending in an illuminated light bulb. Human hair provokes polarized responses, in some circumstances it is a beautifying adornment, signalling seduction, but when shed becomes a revolting abject substance tangled in a bathroom drain. In Strand, nylon synthetic hair extensions bind an electrical current, forming a poetic metaphor about intimate connections between people. Like a lover's lock of hair traditionally kept as a memento, or the sense of intimacy (or repulsion), evoked when finding a strand of someone else’s hair on one's skin or clothing. Strand was created whilst artist-in-residence at The Lock-Up Newcastle in April 2011. The transience of existence and fragility of life are recurring themes throughout my art practice. My work explores materiality, spatiality and archetypical narratives by marking a personal immediate engagement with time, place and physicality. I use domestic materials and natural elements to create site-sensitive installations and soft sculptures linking present experience to boarder considerations of humanity, history and future continuation."

Kath Fries, Strand Artist Statement, December 2011

Aqua-librium exhibition documentation

2011-12-29T15:26:00.000+11:00

A selection of photographs by Joy and John from Lyrebird Photography taken of my work in the Aqua-librium exhibition at Primrose Park Gallery, Cremorne, 9 - 18 December 2011.

Aqua-librium exhibition gallery view, artwork by Kath Fries and Julie McConaghy.
Photograph by Joy and John from Lyrebird photography.

Kath Fries, Hanging gardens series, 2011, pantyhose, local weeds and objects, potting mix, water saving crystals and heritage ceiling beams.
Photograph by Joy and John from Lyrebird photography.

Kath Fries, Garden stakes, 2011, pantyhose, found wooden stakes and local weeds.
Photograph by Joy and John from Lyrebird Photography.

Kath Fries, Hanging gardens, 2011, pantyhose, weeds, potting mix, water saving crystals and decorative pink potting gravel.
Photograph by Joy and John from Lyrebird Photography.

Kath Fries, Spore gardens, 2011, pantyhose, ferns and potting mix.
Photograph by Joy and John from Lyrebird Photography.

Kath Fries, Slingshot rock garden, 2011, pantyhose and locally found rock and moss.
Photograph by Joy and John from Lyrebird Photography.

Gallery view of Kath Fries' work in Aqua-libirum, including Spore gardens, Strain series photographs and Hanging gardens, 2011.
Photograph by Joy and John from Lyrebird Photography.

Aqua-librium outdoor installations

2011-12-29T15:02:00.000+11:00

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, pantyhose, weeds, potting mix, water-saving crystals and heritage structures in Primrose Park, Cremorne.

As part of the Aqua-librium exhibition, 9 - 18 December 2011, I created an intervention installation on the heritage concrete cylindrical tanks, redolent from the 1890's sewage works. I used pantyhose as a contrasting texture that stretched across the concrete to lead viewers around the structures and support the hanging gardens of local weeds transplanted from around the area. The pantyhose linked back to the site's initial use as North Sydney's first sewage works in its suggestiveness of human skin and underwear.

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, pantyhose, weeds, potting mix, water-saving crystals and heritage structures in Primrose Park, Cremorne.

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, pantyhose, weeds, potting mix, waters-saving crystals and heritage structures in Primrose Park, Cremorne.

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, pantyhose, weeds, potting mix, water-saving crystals and heritage structures in Primrose Park, Cremorne.

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, pantyhose, weeds, potting mix, water saving crystals and heritage structures in Primrose Park, Cremorne.

Mosman Daily newspaper article

2011-12-14T22:41:00.000+11:00

"The work of artist Kath Fries is a playful comment on the gradual cycle of destruction and rejuvenation in the park."

Mosman Daily, 8 December 2011, page 15

Article by Kate Crawford and photo by Dave Swift

Strain gallery installations, Aqua-librium exhibition

2011-12-09T09:49:00.000+11:00

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, installation view Aqua-librium exhibition,
Primrose Park Gallery Cremorne, December 2011

My new series of artworks, Strain, has been developed over the past six months during my studio residency at North Sydney Council's Primrose Park artist studio. These works will be exhibited in Aqua-librium: to find a point of balance using the flow of water, at Primrose Park Gallery Cremorne, 9 - 18 December 2011.

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, installation view Aqua-librium exhibition,
Primrose Park Gallery Cremorne, December 2011

Strain is a series of site-sensitive installations that playfully comment on the gradual cycle of destruction and rejuvenation in Primrose Park. Despite grandiose human attempts to control and order natural elements, tiny weeds can be found growing in the widening cracks of the 1891 sewage works structures. Their roots seek out the natural flow of water that continues to seep down into the harbour, regardless of hundred-year-old efforts to contain and divert the watercourse through concrete canals and aqueducts.

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, installation view Aqua-librium exhibition,
Primrose Park Gallery, Cremorne, December 2011

In the park, Strain is an intervention installation created from lengths of pantyhose stretched over the rough concrete surfaces to form contrasting textures. This sheer fabric ladders and tears like aging human skin, mimicking the cracks and ruptures across the heritage structures. Knotted and interlinked, disappearing and reappearing, the material leads the viewer around the site like a guiding thread; insinuating internal flows, movements and interconnections.

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, installation view, Aqua-librium exhibition,
Primrose Park, Cremorne, December 2011

In the gallery, Strain takes the form of sculptures that continue to stretch the pantyhose metaphor. These suspended fabric tubes support a collection of local weeds and objects to create small hanging gardens. Several are bursting at the seams with soaked water-saving crystals, much as the water flowing beneath the park's concrete facades gradually ruptures through to the surface.

Kath Fries, Hanging Garden, 2011, part of the Strain installation,
Aqua-librium exhibition, Primrose Park Gallery Cremorne, December 2011

Kath Fries has a Masters of Visual Arts from the University of Sydney. She was awarded a 2011 ArtStart Grant from the Australia Council and won the 2010 Japan Foundation New Artist Award. The transience of existence and fragility of life are recurring themes throughout her art practice. Fries’ work explores materiality, spatiality and archetypical narratives by marking a personal, immediate engagement with time, place and physicality. She uses domestic materials and natural elements to create site-sensitive installations linking present experience to boarder considerations of humanity, history and future continuation.

Kath Fries, Slingshot rock gardens, 2011, part of the Strain installation,
Aqua-librium exhibition, Primrose Park Gallery Cremorne, December 2011

Aqua-librium: to find a point of balance using the flow of water

An exhibition
by
Kath Fries (installation) & Julie McConaghy (painting)

Exhibition opening: Friday 9 December, 5pm - 8pm

Artist talks: Sunday 18 December, 2pm

Open daily: 10 to 18 December, 2 - 6pm

Location: Primrose Park Gallery, Matora Lane (off Young Street), Cremorne, NSW

Kath Fries, Hanging garden and Strain process documentation photograph in background,Aqua-librium exhibition, Primrose Park Gallery Cremorne, December 2011

Aqua-librium press release

2011-11-18T00:27:00.001+11:00

Aqua-librium

to find a point of balance using the flow of water

An exhibition of site-responsive works by

Kath Fries (installation) & Julie McConaghy (painting)

Exhibition opening: 5pm - 8pm, Friday 9 December

Artist talks: 2pm Sunday 18 December

Open daily: 10 to 18 December, 2 - 6pm daily

Location: Primrose Park Gallery, Matora Lane (off Young Street), Cremorne, NSW 2090

Over the past six months Kath Fries and Julie McConaghy have shared the Primrose Park studio. Although their practices are vastly different, the waterways and parklands surrounding the studio have influenced both artists' works.

Primrose Park was an estuarine bay until the early 1890s when the area was reclaimed and turned into North Sydney's first sewage works, then in the 1930s it was converted into the sports-oval and parklands that we see today. However, the streams that originally flowed across the area continue to seep through the ground and during heavy rainfall the concrete aqueducts and canals surge with storm water runoff.

Kath Fries has created a series of site-specific installations on the heritage concrete structures of the old sewage works. Her installations are positioned where weeds grow in direct response to the flow of water through the site. In other areas Fries has transplanted local weeds and used water-saving crystals and pantyhose to create tiny gardens, playfully commenting on what we consider to be waste in one situation and valuable in another.

Julie McConaghy has interpreted the waterways of Primrose Park by depicting movement and fluidity using gouache, oil paint, torn paper and collage. She mixes varying paint thicknesses and uses colour and texture to represent the changing tones and forms of the water. Observing a range of weather conditions, seasons and changing daylight, McConaghy has made a series of sketches and small studies as a key part of her process in creating larger paintings.

Biographies

Kath Fries

Kath Fries recently graduated from Sydney College of the Arts with a Master of Visual Arts. Last year she won the 2010 Japan Foundation New Artist Award and is a recipient of a 2011 ArtStart Grant from the Australia Council. She has been an exhibiting finalist in the 2011 Fauvette Loureiro Memorial Artists Travel Scholarship; 2011 David Harold Tribe Sculpture Award; 2007 Redlands Westpac Art Prize and 2003 Gosford Regional Gallery Emerging Award. She has been an artist-in-residence at The Lock-Up Newcastle in 2011, at Laughing Waters Eltham VIC in 2009 and has exhibited in various national sculpture festivals.

Julie McConaghy

Julie McConaghy studied painting at National Art School and Charlie Sheard Studio School. She has been an exhibiting finalist at Drawing Week National Art School 2006, Dobell Prize for Drawing Art Gallery NSW 2008 and Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize 2009. She has exhibited at Charles Hewitt Gallery, National Art School and Mosman Art Gallery.

For more information and images please contact Kath Fries kathfries@gmail.com

Strain, site-specific installations in Primrose Park

2011-11-17T19:32:00.000+11:00

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, nylon pantyhose and heritage site,
installation work in progress November

The Aqua-librium exhibition, 9 - 18 December 2011, will feature works from my Strain project, developed over the last five months whilst a studio artist at Primrose Park.

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, nylon pantyhose and heritage site,
installation work in progress October

My installations take the form of interventions and site-specific responsive works located on and in the park's aging concrete industrial structures; heritage listed sewage works' former engine house, aqueducts, tunnels and canals.

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, nylon pantyhose and heritage site,
installation work in progress November

Ferns, weeds and mosses have been collected and transplanted short distances within Primrose Park then carefully combined with domestic gardening materials to form micro futuristic landscapes. Some hang suspended from the ancient rusted hooks of the sewage works’ structures, whilst others follow undulations under the aqueduct arches. I have also worked with weeds growing naturally in crumbling fault-line cracks in the concrete walls.

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, nylon pantyhose, water-saving-crystals and weeds
installation work in progress October

Stain reflection on human relationships with nature, focusing on the past and present attempts to control the flow of water in Primrose Park. The site was originally a food bowl for the Cammeraygal people, a fertile estuary bay where a number of streams converged to enter the harbour.

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, nylon pantyhose and heritage site,
installation work in progress November

In 1891 the tidal marshland was filled in and ‘reclaimed’ to house North Sydney’s first sewage treatment works. Water was an intrinsic part of these early waste management strategies so natural streams were redirected through the concrete aqueducts, canals and industrial structures. A generation later the area was converted into a sports-ground and still today, during heavy rainfall, masses of storm-water flushes through the site and weeds run rampant.

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, nylon pantyhose and heritage site,
installation work in progress November

Strain explores what we value about water and plants, contrasting what we waste and consider to be waste. Water is highly valued when it in short supply, but when there is too much we can’t get rid of it fast enough. The movement of water is both a creative and destructive force, eroding and forcing its way through concrete surfaces, spreading fertile topsoil and weeds.

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, nylon pantyhose, water-saving-crystals and weeds,
installation work in progress November

Most weeds were originally introduced to fill out decorative domestic gardens, but when they have escaped the picket fence, our view of them changes from 'plant' to 'pest'. However, there is something about the tenacious character of these fugitive plants that appeals to me. Primrose Park has an abundant supply of weeds, thanks to the inexorable natural flow of water from the elevated suburbs down into the harbour below and the fertile soil redolent of the sewage works. My locally relocated weeds are playfully combined with the domestic gardening practice of using stockings and pantyhose to direct the growth of plants, gently binding seedlings to stakes as they grow.

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, nylon pantyhose and heritage site,
installation work in progress October

This material is closely associated with human skin, as pantyhose are usually worn against the skin clinging to the bumps and lumps of our legs, thighs and bottoms. Like our skin, pantyhose sheer nylon ages and tears, wrinkling and sagging as it loses its elasticity.

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, nylon pantyhose and heritage site
installation work in progress October

The staging of pantyhose as artwork in this public place is akin to publicly airing dirty underwear, almost a violation of social norms verging on infringement of taboos. My use of this material within the historic sewage works, metaphorically comments on our avoidance of discussing the specific environmental impact of our ever increasing human natural waste – sewage.

Kath Fries, Strain, 2011, nylon pantyhose and heritage site,
installation work in progress October

Historical photographs of Primrose Park Cremorne

2011-11-17T17:54:00.000+11:00

Primrose Park Engine House, circa 1900

I've been researching former uses of the Primrose Park area, where I'm currently one of two artists sharing the studio space for six months. Interestingly, our studio is located in the basement of the former sewage works engine house.

The history of the area and remaining industrial concrete structures are pivotal to my current site-responsive works. These works will be exhibited as part of Aqua-librium 9 - 18 December 2011 at Primrose Park Gallery, Young Street, Cremorne.

Primrose Park, circa 1901

Primrose Park septic tanks, circa 1905

Primrose Park in 1918

Primrose Park, waterfall, circa 1878

Primrose Park outfall works, circa 1910

Primrose Park, circa 1937

To see more historical photographs of the Primrose Park area go to the online North Sydney Council Stanton Image Library

Quagmire - documentation of site-specific works in progress at Primrose Park Cremorne

2011-11-17T17:05:00.000+11:00

Kath Fries, Quagmire, 2011, work in progress August

I've been sharing the studio space at Primrose Park Cremorne over the last few months and observing the changing climate and weather conditions.

Kath Fries, Quagmire, 2011, work in progress August

My first series of site-responsive installations and interventions focused on the weeds growing the cracks of the aging concrete edifices of the site. Using 'water saving crystals' (a domestic gardening substance that you can buy in most hardware stores and nurseries) and tiny mosses, ferns and weeds collected around the site.

Kath Fries, Quagmire, 2011, work in progress September

These materials are carefully constructed into micro futuristic landscapes - like tiny zen gardens, following the cracks and undulations of the concrete horizontal surfaces of the aqueduct arches of Primrose Park.

Kath Fries, Quagmire, 2011, work in progress September

Weeds naturally grow in crumbling and fault-line cracks in the concrete, as water naturally permeates and seeps from higher ground towards the ocean. The water-saving-crystals respond and change as the amount of water in the concrete and atmosphere ebbs and changes.

Kath Fries, Quagmire, 2011, work in progress September

I tentatively titled these initial works Quagmire. I like the dual meaning of the word: - a soft marshy area of land that gives way when walked on; and an awkward, complicated, or dangerous situation from which it is difficult to escape. Both meanings of the title Quagmire add layers of meaning to the installations.

Kath Fries, Quagmire, 2011, work in progress September

The Primrose Park area was originally a marshy, mangrove estuary bay where a number of streams converged to enter the harbour. Despite human efforts to change this marshy area by "reclaiming" it from its natural state (becoming North Sydney's first sewage works in 1981, then in the 1920's when urbanisation outgrew those facilities the area was turned into sports-grounds) storm-water naturally continues to run along the same old routes down to sea level. Heavy rainfall causes the 1890s concrete spillways to gush with storm-water overflow. Even in dry weather small pockets of marshy bog remain.

Kath Fries, Quagmire, 2011, work in progress September

Aqua-librium exhibition invitation

2011-11-07T21:37:00.000+11:00

Strand, installed at Gallery Eight, Millers Point

2011-11-06T12:24:00.000+11:00

Kath Fries, Strand, 2011, nylon (synthetic hair extensions), electrical cord, light bulb,
detail view, part of Affinity group exhibition, Gallery Eight, Millers Point Sydney

Strand explores connections between memory and the body, by manipulating the viewer’s visceral reactions to a common everyday substance - hair. A person's hair can provoke polarized responses, in some circumstances it is a beautifying adornment, signalling seduction. But when discarded, hair strands become a revolting abject substance, tangled in a bathroom drain. In Strand, nylon (synthetic hair extensions) bind an electrical current, forming a poetic metaphor about intimate connections between people. Like a lover's lock of hair traditionally kept as a memento and the sense of intimacy evoked when finding another person's strand of hair on one's skin or clothing.

The transience of existence and fragility of life are recurring themes throughout my art practice. My work explores materiality, spatiality and archetypical narratives by marking a personal, immediate engagement with time, place and physicality. I use domestic materials and natural elements to create site-sensitive installations linking one’s present experience to boarder considerations of humanity, history and future continuation.

Kath Fries, Strand, 2011, nylon (synthetic hair extensions), electrical cord, light bulb,
installed at Gallery Eight, Millers Point Sydney, as part of Affinity group exhibition

Strand is currently being shown as part of Affinity group exhibition at Gallery Eight. Affinity explores intimacy in all its forms and incarnations involving relationships with the self, the other, places or objects, the physical and the emotional. Artists have called into question the notion of closeness through a wide range of practices and mediums. Loneliness, sexuality, the home, touch and emotional vulnerability are all themes explored by the artists involved.

Artists: Amanda Humphries, Amy Gardner, Becky Gibson, Celine Roberts, Danielle Tam, Isabella Andronos, Jessica Tse, Kath Fries, Mandy Schöne-Salter, Maz Dixon, Yvette Marie Tzalias

28 October - 17 November, 2011

Gallery Eight, 12 Argyle Place, Millers Point, Sydney NSW 2000

www.galleryeight.com.au

Kath Fries, Strand, 2011, nylon (synthetic hair extensions), electrical cord and light bulb,
detail view, part of Affinity group exhibition at Gallery Eight, Millers Point Sydney

Tokyo - hanging gardens

2011-10-31T22:25:00.002+11:00

Kath Fries, Tokyo hanging garden, 2011, photograph

My research in Japan was made possible by the Japan Foundation and ArtStart grant program

Aso - views

2011-10-31T22:10:00.001+11:00

Kath Fries, Aso view i, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Aso view ii, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Aso view iii, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Aso view iv, 2011, photograph

My research in Japan was made possible by the Japan Foundation and ArtStart grant program.

Aso - water

2011-10-31T22:03:00.001+11:00

Kath Fries, Aso spring, 2011, photograph

From the crater of an ancient volcano

the most delicious water

springs from under the ground

bubbling to the surface

sustaining beautiful natural landscapes

healthy agriculture and happy locals.

People travel for miles

to slack their thirst

at these traditional sources

of healing and cleansing.

Kath Fries, Aso water i, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Aso water ii, 2011, photograph

My research in Japan was made possible by the Japan Foundation and ArtStart grant program.

Teshima - art island

2011-10-31T21:04:00.000+11:00

Kath Fries, Teshima curl, 2011, photographer

Kath Fries, Teshima fence, 2011, photographer

Kath Fries, Teshima Art Museum cafe, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Teshima net, 2011, photograph

My research in Japan was made possible by the Japan Foundation and ArtStart grant program.

Naoshima - unravelling tree

2011-10-31T20:48:00.000+11:00

Kath Fries, Naoshima unravelling tree i, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Naoshima unravelling tree ii, 2011, photograph

My research in Japan was made possible by the Japan Foundation and the ArtStart grant program.

Naroshima - architecture details

2011-10-31T20:35:00.000+11:00

Kath Fries, Naroshima - architecture details ii, 2011, photograph

On Naroshima art island

Tadao Ando's fabulous architecture

was breath-taking

and the contemporary artworks were astounding

But it was the small details of nature

against vast minimalist concrete surfaces

that drew my lens

Kath Fries, Naroshima - architecture details i, 2011, photograph

My research in Japan was made possible by the Japan Foundation and ArtStart grant program.

Kyoto - rope and wood

2011-10-31T20:13:00.000+11:00

Kath Fries, Kyoto rope and wood i, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto rope and wood ii, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto rope and wood iii, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto rope and wood iv, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto rope and wood v, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto rope and wood vi, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto rope and wood vii, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto rope and wood viii, 2011, photograph

My research in Japan was made possible by the Japan Foundation and ArtStart grant program.

Kyoto - bandaged trees

2011-10-30T23:01:00.000+11:00

Kath Fries, Kyoto bandaged tree i, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto bandaged tree ii, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto bandaged tree iii, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto bandaged tree iv, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto bandaged tree v, 2011, photograph

My research in Japan was made possible by the Japan Foundation and ArtStart grant program.

Kyoto - stones and moss

2011-10-30T22:51:00.000+11:00

Kath Fries, Kyoto meticulous gardening i, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto moss shadow i, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto moss shadow ii, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto stone's throw, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto meticulous gardening ii, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto encroaching shadows i, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto moss shadow iii, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto encroaching shadows ii, 2011, photograph

My research in Japan was made possible by the Japan Foundation and ArtStart grant program.

Kyoto - lotus ponds

2011-10-30T15:54:00.001+11:00

Kath Fries, Kyoto lotus pond i, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto lotus pond ii, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto lotus pond iii, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Kyoto lotus pond iv, 2011, photograph

My research in Japan was made possible by the Japan Foundation and ArtStart grant program.

Koyasan - temple gardens

2011-10-29T23:30:00.000+11:00

Kath Fries, Koyasan - rock garden and pine needles i, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Koyasan - rock garden and pine needles ii, 2011, photograph

Koyasan serene mountain temple town

housing meticulously maintained gardens

inviting calm contemplation

offering glimpses of ways

to patiently approach

an understanding

of transience and existence

Kath Fries, Koyasan - Mottled wall, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Koyasan - fringe of moss and sand, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Koyasan - message stick, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Koyasan - tree brace i, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Koyasan - tree brace ii, 2011, photograph

My research in Japan was made possible by the Japan Foundation and ArtStart grant program.

Koyasan - Okunoin cemetery

2011-10-28T17:11:00.000+11:00

Kath Fries, Okunoin trees and headstones, 2011, photograph

Cradled high in the misty mountains

is the secluded temple town of Koyasan.

At the eastern end of which

encased in mossy peaceful shadows

lies the expansive Okunoin cemetery.

A revered and sacred site

marking both the beginning and the end

of an ancient Buddhist pilgrimage,

like the ensō circular nature of existence.

Kath Fries, Okunoin giant tree brace, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Okunoin hollow tree and stones, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Okunoin miniature world, 2011, photograph
(the bib was placed on the tiny Buddhist deity statue
in a prayer ritual relating to child mortality)

Kath Fries, Okunoin fallen tree and headstones, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Okunoin spider webs, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Okunoin logs ringed with moss, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Okunoin charcoaled fence, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Okunoin growth rings and wishing coins, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Okunoin weight of time, 2011, photograph

Kath Fries, Okunoin void, 2011, photograph

My research in Japan was made possible by the Japan Foundation and ArtStart grant program.

Oyama - leaves and shadows

2011-09-21T08:52:00.000+10:00

Kath Fries, Oyama, 2011, photograph

Another very hot day in Japan.

At Oyama a branch grew over the top of a bamboo fence.

The bright midday sun created beautiful shadows.

Kath Fries, Oyama, 2011, photograph

Japan

2011-09-20T23:41:00.000+10:00

I'm writing this from Tokyo - my return flight is thanks to the 2010 Japan Foundation New Artist Award, which I won with my Facetnate exhibition Grove. I've just begun a three week journey around Japan to see art and be inspired. As well as Tokyo, I plan to visit Kyoto, Kyo-San, Naoshima, Hiroshima, Mt Aso and Yokohama Triennale... zooming around the country on the super speedy shinkansen bullet trains, with a JR (Japan Rail) pass thanks to the ArtStart grant program.

A map of Japan

Applications for Facetnate 2012 close on 30 September - all artists and curators who can see an element of Japanese influence on their practice should consider applying. I highly recommend this chance to work with the Japan Foundation, for me it was a great experience and an valuable learning curve in my professional practice.

Hold dear, 2011, bronze magnolia branch version

2011-09-18T23:44:00.000+10:00

Kath Fries, Hold dear, 2011, bronze magnolia branch, nylon netting and charcoal,
dimensions 200 x 600 x 300 cm

Hold dear reflects on the grieving process; particularly the challenge of letting go of loved ones after they pass away. The work focuses on a magnolia branch cast in bronze alluding to our human attempts to render permanent a tree’s natural state of flux - to grow, bloom, die-off, disintegrate and regenerate. The bronze magnolia branch protrudes out of the wall, it’s shape conjures associations with the aging human body, gnarled joints and textured skin - a visual record of a life lived, challenges endured and experiences weathered. As such, the nylon netting dragging the mound of charcoal across the floor suggest our human attempts to resist death and the anticipated prior natural course of aging.

Kath Fries, Hold dear, 2011,
bronze magnolia branch and nylon netting (detail view)

Hold dear, is a new version of a work by the same name first exhibited at Hidden Sculpture Walk in Rookwood Cemetery earlier this year. This version, with the bronze branch, was created specifically for the Fauvette Loureiro Memorial Artists Travel Scholarship Finalists Exhibition, on show until 23 September 2011 at SCA Galleries Rozelle.

Kath Fries, Hold dear, 2011, detail view of bronze magnolia branch

This magnolia branch cast directly into bronze, marks my first venture into the world of bronze casting. Many thanks to Matt Crawford and the team at Crawfords Casting for being enthusiastic about my project and allowing me to watch the bronze branch be constructed and finished in the foundry.

Kath Fries, Hold dear, 2011, detail view of netting and charcoal on gallery floor

Swash - rope, feather and high-tide installation

2011-09-18T22:33:00.000+10:00

Swash was created for Strand Ephemera, a ten day sculpture walk event in Townsville, Queensland Australia, September 2 - 12 2011.

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011,
rope, feathers and high-tide mark, 200m long

The work spanned 200m tracing the area just above the high-tide mark across the sandy beach between two small headlands.

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011, rope, feathers and high-tide mark, 200m long

'Swash' is a meandering path of feathers tracing the high-tide mark. The word 'Swash' means splash or spray area above the high-tide mark but it is not a fixed demarcation, it moves with the littoral drift affected by weathering, human coastal development, storms and the passage of time. This line of feathers fluttering in the breeze, vulnerably dwarfed by the length of beach and nervously just out of reach of the enormity of the ocean, compels viewers to anthropomorphically see the feathers embedded in the sand as themselves standing so small against the forces of nature and the passage of time.
Kath Fries, artwork statement 2011

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011, rope, feathers and high-tide mark, 200, long

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011,
rope, feathers and high-tide mark, 200m long

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011, rope, feathers and high-tide mark, (detail)

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011,
rope, feathers and high-tide mark, 200m long

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011, rope, feathers and high-tide mark, 200m long

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011,
rope, feathers and high-tide mark, 200m long
(detail view of section where the tide washed over the work)

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011, rope, feathers and high-tide mark, 200m long

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011, rope, feathers and
high-tide mark, 200m long, (early morning)

Kath Fries, Swash, 2011, rope, feathers and
high-tide mark, 200m long, (sunrise)

2011 Fauvette Loureiro Memorial Artists Travel Scholarship - Finalists Exhibition

2011-09-06T20:20:00.000+10:00

I'm one of five finalists in the Fauvette Loureiro Memorial Artists Travel Scholarship. Our work is being exhibited at Sydney College of the Arts Galleries, 8 - 23 September 2011.

The scholarship celebrates a bequest of the late Renee Fauvette Erdos in memory of her mother Fauvette Loureiro, the eldest daughter of artist Arthur Loureiro. Recent Sydney College of the Arts graduates can apply for a scholarship of $28,000 to further their visual arts practice and professional development in international environment.

http://sydney.edu.au/sca/alumni/scholarships/fauvette.shtml

Swash - installation for Strand Ephemera, QLD

2011-08-16T21:42:00.001+10:00

Strand Ephemera Exhibition Catalogue, Swash, Kath Fries, page 11

'Swash' is a meandering path of feathers tracing the high tide mark. The word 'Swash' means splash or spray area above the high tide mark but it is not a fixed demarcation, it moves with the littoral drift affected by weathering, human coastal development, storms and the passage of time. This line of feathers fluttering in the breeze, vulnerably dwarfed by the length of beach and nervously just out of reach of the enormity of the ocean, compels viewers to anthropomorphically see the feathers embedded in the sand as themselves standing so small against the forces of nature and the passage of time.

(Kath Fries, Swash artwork statement 2011)

Strand Ephemera Kid's Education Program, Swash, Kath Fries, page 11

Strand Ephemera is an 11 day festival of contemporary art, 2 - 12 September 2011, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. Presented along the length of the Strand, Townsville's idyllic beachfront, this is the sixth incarnation of Strand Ephemera.
“Ephemera” is a creative element to be interpreted by artists in any possible way. It can simply refer to the short life span of the exhibition, or as an encouragement to be innovative in the use of materials – accessible, organic, or as some artists interpret the brief, to produce work that disintegrates over the period of the exhibition.
More info

Congratulations Sanné Mestrom - JFMP2011 winner

2011-08-12T11:37:00.000+10:00

Congratulations Sanné Mestrom - winner of the John Fries Memorial Prize 2011 for emerging visual artists. Mestrom was announced as the winner of the $10,000 prize at the finalists exhibition opening, Tuesday 9th August, at Viscopy’s contemporary art space in Chippendale, Sydney. The prize was presented by benefactor Vivienne Fries and acclaimed Sydney artist, Lindy Lee, who commented on the excellence of each of the finalists artworks and the consistently high standard of the exhibition.

The finalists and the winning entry were selected by a panel of judges including Anna Davis (Museum of Contemporary Art curator), Hannah Bertram (artist and John Fries Memorial Prize winner 2010), Danie Mellor (artist and Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award winner 2009) and Kath Fries (artist, Viscopy Board member and John Fries' daughter).

Sanné Mestrom, Thinking Props, 2010, 120x100x100cm, Mixed media sculptural installation, (wood, bronze, resin, found broom stick, copper). Image courtesy the artist.

Mestrom's sculptural installation Thinking Props plays with the idea of a physical prop designed to promote cerebral and psychological contemplation. Made from everyday found objects, the work consists of three components: a table, a cluster of door handles and a “joy prop”. Her table is tailored to one assuming the classic position of Auguste Rodin's The Thinker, with elbow placed on table enclave and chin on cupped hand. It is a physical prop that encourages cerebral revelation. A grid of door handles below the table suggests opening doors, that endless possibilities and zones of discovery are just a simple action away. In front of the table sits a “joy prop” constructed of a cast bronze mould hypothetically designed to be fitted into the mouth to force a smile.

Danie Mellor says of the Mestrom’s artwork: Through her interest in human intimacy ... she presents playful and thought provoking arrangements of objects that recall Modernist engagements with the readymade... (but) an intimacy is invoked that allows a bodily interaction with form, if only through the viewers’ realisation that in fact "this is what you (can and are supposed to) do" with the objects. They are both familiar and out of reach as fragile objects in a gallery space, a temptation for the curious. The complexity of the potential interaction that the installation suggests, and its resolution as an intricate and multi-layered object, lends this work its intrigue and place as a well deserving winner.

Mestrom's winning artwork, Thinking Props features in the exhibition with the other fourteen finalists: Cyrus Tang, Erica Molesworth, Eva Hampel, Heath Franco, Jennifer O'Brien, Karl Khoe & Tessa Zettel, Keiko Matsui, Kristel Britcher, Kurt Sorensen, Nathan Taylor, Pauletta Kerinauia, Sanné Mestrom, Susie Nelson, Wade Marynowsky and Walter Brecely. Curated by Venita Poblocki, runs until 30 September and is open between 1pm and 5pm from Wednesday to Friday. 1 Blackfriars Street Chippendale NSW 2008 Australia.

The John Fries Memorial Prize for emerging visual artists is an annual prize donated by the Fries family in memory of former Viscopy director and honorary treasurer, John Fries, who made a remarkable contribution to the life and success of Viscopy. The competition is open to emerging Australian and New Zealand artists of all ages and disciplines who are not currently studying and whose work has not yet been collected by a regional, state, territory or national public gallery.

For more information about Sanné Mestrom's practice please see her website www.mestrom.org and for more information about the John Fries Memorial Prize 2011 please see Viscopy's website www.viscopy.org.au/current-exhibition

John Fries Memorial Prize Exhibition 2011

2011-08-03T11:44:00.000+10:00

John Fries Memorial Prize 2011 for emerging visual artists

Finalists exhibition: 9 August to 10 September 2011

The winner of the $10,000 award
will be announced at 7pm on Tuesday 9 August

Blackfriars off Broadway - Viscopy’s exhibition space

1 Blackfriars Street, Chippendale NSW 2008, Australia

Open 1 to 5pm Wed to Fri. (02) 9310 2018 http://www.viscopy.org.au/

The finalists are: Cyrus Tang, Erica Molesworth, Eva Hampel, Heath Franco, Jennifer O'Brien, Karl Khoe & Tessa Zettel, Keiko Matsui, Kristel Britcher, Kurt Sorensen, Nathan Taylor, Pauletta Kerinauia, Sanne Mestrom, Susie Nelson, Wade Marynowsky and Walter Brecely.

The John Fries Memorial Prize 2011 finalists’ exhibition showcases the diversity of mediums being used by current emerging artists. The exhibition includes site-specific interactive works and responsive installations involving robotics, touch, movement and sound as well as paintings, glass, porcelain, photography, sculpture and video. However, regardless of medium, the works represent contemporary artistic preoccupations including the nexus between object and process, self and culture, interactivity and audience, technology and viscera, nostalgia and time.

The exhibition has been curated by Venita Poblocki. The finalists and the winner have been selected by the judging panel: Anna Davis - Museum of Contemporary Art Curator, Hannah Bertram - John Fries Memorial Prize 2010 winner, Danie Mellor - National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award winner 2009, and Kath Fries - artist and Viscopy board member.

The John Fries Memorial Prize for emerging artists is open to Australian and New Zealand artists of all ages and disciplines, who are not currently studying and whose work is not yet included in a public art collection. The John Fries Memorial Prize is an annual non-acquisitive prize, donated by the Fries family in memory of John Fries, former Viscopy director and honorary treasurer who made a remarkable contribution to the success of Viscopy.

For more information visit www.viscopy.org.au/current-exhibition

ArtStart Grant Recipient

2011-06-28T13:11:00.001+10:00

www.artstartgrant.com.au

I'm thrilled to be a recipient of an ArtStart Grant from the Australia Council for the Arts. This grant will invest $10,000 over the next twelve months in my career as a visual artist.

This money will go towards the design, development and promotion of my new professional artist website; promotion, documentation and marketing of my artwork; my studio rent at Primrose Park Studio July to December 2011 supported by North Sydney Council, and Parramatta Artists Studios January to July 2012 supported by Parramatta Council; and a bullet train pass for my research and development trip to Japan in September, with flights supported by the Facenate Program at the Japan Foundation.

Over these next twelve months I will continue to exhibit my work, first at Strand Ephemera in Townsville QLD in September and at Primrose Park Cremorne NSW in December. Next year, in march I will present a solo exhibition at Gallery Eight in Millers Point, Sydney and in April I will also be exhibiting whilst artist-in-residence at 'ACE in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Throughout this time I will remain on the board of Viscopy and involved in the John Fries Memorial Prize for emerging artists, as well as continuing to be the co-ordinator of the Gunyah artist-in-residence program in North Arm Cove, Port Stephens NSW.

A big thank you to Lindy Lee for agreeing to mentor me and also to the staff at Gaffa Gallery and Megan Robson for their on-going interest in and support of my work.

I will continue to keep this blog updated with my art projects relating to my ArtStart Grant as they develop - so stay tuned!

Strand, 2011

2011-06-28T11:37:00.000+10:00

This work, Strand, was one of nine finalist entries selected for The David Harold Tribe Sculpture Award at Sydney University, exhibited at Sydney College of the Arts Gallery, June 2011.

Kath Fries, Strand, 2011, synthetic hair extensions,
electrical cord and light bulb, dimensions variable

Strand was created recently whilst I was artist-in-residence at The Lock-Up in Newcastle. It is one of several works I developed as part of my explorations of the confines of the old dark cells of the historic jail, considering how one would dream of escape and perhaps find it internally within one’s mind. The fabrication of Strand suggests deranged pulling and twisting of hair, the disturbed mind increasingly unbalanced by incarceration and disconnection from the world. Hair - an apparently abject bodily material conjures strong visceral responses, as well as associations with narratives and histories where hair is a focal point, such as the practice of shaving prisoners’ heads and the Rapunzel fairytale.

The David Harold Tribe Sculpture Award Exhibition

2011-05-31T22:11:00.000+10:00

The aim of the David Harold Tribe Sculpture Award is to promote interest in sculpture and to encourage the creation of sculpture in Australia, to help and give incentive to sculptors and to provide them with additional monetary amounts thus enabling them to further their education in the field of sculpture and enabling them to improve their creative skills and through the above means to improve the general public appreciation of sculpture.

The Award of $12,000 will be announced at the exhibition opening Wednesday 1 June 2011, 6 -8 pm. Sydney College of the Arts Galleries, Balmain Road, Rozelle, NSW.

More info here

Twilit melodrama

2011-05-07T21:06:00.001+10:00

Kath Fries, Confine v, 2011, hessian rope and shadows, The Lock-Up Cell E

"...In the old prison cells surrounding the main gallery, artist in residence Kath Fries uses nets, cords, rope and reflections to further enhance the atmosphere of sombre oppressiveness.

Rarely have the prison ambiences of the complex been so dramatically realised. It is a strange experience to go from the clean spaces of the main exhibition into a twilit melodrama..."

(Jill Stowell, Newcastle Herald, Saturday 7 May 2011, page 18)

Confines, The Lock-Up, 29 April to 15 May 2011

2011-04-29T09:51:00.001+10:00

Confines, a series of site-sensitive installations by Kath Fries

29 April to 15 May 2011

The Lock-Up, 90 Hunter Street, Newcastle, NSW 2300

Open: Wednesday to Sunday 10am – 4pm

www.thelockup.info

Confines is a series of site-sensitive installations by Kath Fries, the current artist-in-residence at The Lock-Up, Newcastle. In these works Fries has used tactile everyday materials to explore and describe the perimeters and penetrations of each space, consciously leaving room for the viewer’s own personal associations, interpretations and narratives to be developed. Whispers of ghost stories permeate these spaces, manifesting in Fries’ installations as a sense of tension, balancing on an edge between the immediate present and unfurling possibilities of the unseen.

Confines: the boundaries, limits, or scope that restricts somebody or something

Confine: to keep within certain limits or boundaries, to keep somebody or something from leaving an enclosed or limited space

“My installation practice begins with the premise of responding to the location of each work in a site-sensitive manner. But, in a building as heavily laden with a sense of historical presence as The Lock-Up, it has been all the more challenging to respond to the dynamics of these spaces and enhance their sensibilities without sidetracking or detracting from what they are. Working on an intuitive level and focusing on my gut reaction to being in each of the spaces (forcing myself to remain there for hours at a time whilst making the works), I explored the physical boundaries of the cells particularly the permeation points. Not just the doors for human access, but more particularly how light, air and sound came into, out-of and move around each of the spaces. Tactile everyday materials are used in Confines to track and enhance these potential paths of movement. During the process of developing these works the notion of art as escapism became particularly apparent and the possibility of escaping in any form was very appealing.” (Kath Fries, April 2011)

Locations of Kath Fries' Confines installations in The Lock-Up

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Confine i, 2008 - 2011

Mirrors, DVD and audio loop, projector, found wire and tangled vine

(Cell F: Women’s Cell)

A small barred window allows a little light in and the expansive imagination out – it becomes the passageway for dreams and longing, a focal point within the cell to access the world outside. On the cell floor, the window grid is repeated in an arrangement of mirrors, onto which is projected video footage of a leaf filament caught in a spider’s web. This skeletal silhouette slowly flutters in the wind, caught in limbo between heaven and earth but unable to connect with either.

Kath Fries, Confine i, 2008 – 2011

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Confine ii, 2011

Synthetic hair extensions, power cord and light bulb

(Cell G: Women’s Cell)

The deranged pulling and twisting of hair forms a disturbing image of incarceration and disconnection from the world. Here the use of an apparently abject bodily material conjures strong visceral responses as well as associations with narratives and histories where hair is a focal point, from the practice of shaving prisoners’ heads to the Rapunzel fairytale.

Kath Fries, Confine ii, 2011

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Confine iii, 2010-2011

Feathers, foam furniture stuffing and rope

(Cell B: Men’s Cell)

Just as humans may pull out their hair under intense stress, birds have similarly been observed plucking out their own feathers in states of extreme anxiety. Here a flotsam of feathers sits incongruously against the hard concrete cell. More feathers seemingly creep along a length of rope leading a way out of the space via an obscure corner drain and a high small window. Amongst the graffiti carved into the walls is the word FLY, surrounded by feathers it hints at fantasies of an Icarus* style escape. Outside the pigeons continue to coo insistently.

* In ancient Greek mythology Icarus and his father famously attempted to escape imprisonment by creating wings from feathers and wax to fly over the walls of the Cretan Labyrinth and across the sea beyond.

Kath Fries, Confine iii, 2010-2011

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Confine iv, 2011

Nylon netting and padded walls

(Cell C: Padded Cell)

One edge of netting is drawn taut across the diagonal of the cell before cascading to the doorway floor. Purporting to be a safety net, but just like the padded cell, this grid of thread is fallible, fragile and torn. The human psyche remains largely unpredictable and unknown, there is still no failsafe way to secure a person’s life or sanity or freedom.

Kath Fries, Confine iv, 2011

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Confine v, 2011

Hessian rope and shadows

(Cell E: Men’s Cell)

Shadowy grids score the floor with light and dark, echoing the cell’s barred windows. Hessian ropes hang suspended, reminiscent of hammocks swinging within a sailing ship’s wooden hull and colonial transportation.

Kath Fries, Confine v, 2011

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Confine vi, 2009 – 2011

Hand braided recycled fabric and concrete bathtub

(Exercise Yard)

The yard was constructed and concealed for male inmates’ exercise and ablutions, their view of the sky was restricted as was the post office worker’s view of the prisoners. Constructed by hand from torn rags, this work traces the flow of water into and out of one corner of the yard, pointing to the drains and hitherto unseen open expanse of sky above.

Kath Fries, Confine vi, 2009-2011

Kath Fries, Confine vi, 2009-2011

Artist-in-residence at The Lock-Up, Newcastle

2011-04-19T11:18:00.000+10:00

I'm about to start a three week residency at The Lock-Up in Newcastle. My installations in the cells will be opening in conjunction with the exhibition at the John Paynter Gallery on Friday 29th April.

“My site-sensitive installations in The Lock-Up will explore the duality of fibers, ropes and netting to link, tie and connect as well as to restrain and contain. The same length of rope has the potential to be both a lifesaver and a hangman’s noose. Whispers of ghost stories will permeate these works, manifesting in a sense of tension, balancing on edge between the immediate present and unfurling possibilities of the unseen.”

The Lock-Up was the Newcastle Police Station from 1861 until its closure in 1982. Listed in the NSW Heritage Register, the Lock-Up is believed to be the only example in NSW that includes the work of three of the State’s important early architects; Alexander Dawson, Mortimer Lewis Jnr. and Walter Vernon. Constructed in Sydney sandstone, the building is one of a row of four significant buildings that reflect the prosperity of early Newcastle. The Lock-Up now functions as a cultural centre housing a contemporary art gallery and artist residency as well as the heritage listed prison cells.

www.thelockup.info

John Fries Memorial Prize 2011 - current call for guest curator and call for entries

2011-04-14T16:07:00.000+10:00

The John Fries Memorial Prize is an emerging artist non-aquisitive award of $10,000. This annual prize is open to all visual artists resident in Australia and New Zealand who are not enrolled students and whose work is not represented in the collection of a regional, state, territory or national public art gallery. Artists of all ages and disciplines, whether members of Viscopy or not, are eligible to enter.

The prize has been donated by the Fries family in memory of former Viscopy director and honorary treasurer, John Fries, who made a remarkable contribution to the life and success of Viscopy.

Guest Emerging Curator EOI close 21 April 2011

This year Viscopy is looking to commission a guest emerging curator to assist with the John Fries Memorial Prize 2011.

Commissioning brief: http://www.viscopy.org.au/john-fries-prize

Entries for the John Fries Memorial Prize close 6 June 2011

The winner will be announced at the opening of the exhibition of the finalists’ work in August.

Entry form: http://www.viscopy.org.au/john-fries-prize

Last year Hannah Bertram won the inaugural John Fries Memorial Prize and Melanie Irwin was awarded a second prize. Their work is currently being exhibited in Trace Elements at Viscopy's Gallery - Blackfriars off Boardway until 27 May 2011

http://www.viscopy.org.au/current-exhibition

For more information please contact Viscopy's Gallery Co-ordinator Tegan Nichols:
t: (02) 9310 2018
e: tnichols@viscopy.org.au

w: www.viscopy.org.au

Gunyah artist-in-residence program

2011-04-09T13:18:00.000+10:00

The new Gunyah artist-in-residence program (North Arm Cove, Port Stephens NSW) is now open for applications.

Providing low cost self-contained accommodation for self-directed artist residencies Gunyah artist-in-residence program is open to applications from visual artists, writers, composers, performance artists, curators, new media and arts administrators. Gunyah artist-in-residence program runs from February to November and is suitable for solo, collaborative or group project. Artists are welcome to bring their families.

For more information see www.gunyah.blogspot.com or email kathfries@gmail.com

Gunyah

http://www.gunyah.blogspot.com

Hold dear, 2011, installation at Hidden

2011-03-22T22:22:00.001+11:00

Kath Fries, Hold dear, 2011,
nylon netting, charcoal and Moreton Bay Fig tree, 300 x 600 x 100 cm.
Hidden: Rookwood Sculpture Walk 2011

The transience of existence and fragility of life are recurring themes throughout my installation practice. Hold dear, 2011, is a temporal site-sensitive installation reflecting on the grieving process; particularly the challenge of emotionally letting go of loved ones after they pass away. My use of charcoal refers to cremation and the use of ash in various religious rituals around the world. Here burnt dead wood is bound in a net, one end of which is attached to a living tree and the other drags along the ground where the charcoal gradually disintegrates and is absorbed into the earth. Hold dear forms a poetic commentary on our human struggles to accept the natural cycles of death, decay and rejuvenation.

Kath Fries, Hold dear, 2011,
nylon netting, charcoal and Moreton Bay Fig tree, 300 x 600 x 100 cm.
Hidden: Rookwood Sculpture Walk 2011

Hidden: Rookwood Cemetery Sculpture Walk

2011-03-22T21:49:00.000+11:00

Sunrise to Sunset

7 March – 8 May 2011

Hidden: Rookwood Cemetery Sculpture Walk

ARTISTS: Cathie Alexander, Sandra Marker, Lee Bethel, Nerine Martini, Kylie Bowles, Mills & Morte, Pamela Lee Brenner, Ro Murray, Will Coles, Michael Needham, Cassandra Daw, Miguel Olmo, Kate Dorrough, Kay Orchison, Margaret England, Al Phemister, Benedict Ernst, Stephen Ralph, Kath Fries, Celine Roberts, Linda Galbraith, Sue Roberts, Anne Gaulton, Tracy Smith, Jenny Green, Petra Svoboda, Serena Horton, Jane Theau & Mandy Pryse-Jones, Melissa Laird, Peter Tilley, Ad Long, Annette Tzavaras, Dillon MacEwan, Jacek Wankowski, Jennifer Teo & Shannon O'Neill.

Hidden: Rookwood Sculpture Walk is an on-site sculpture exhibition revealing artists’ responses to Rookwood, the largest cemetery in the Southern Hemisphere. Rookwood is a place rich in heritage, history and culture, its beauty and splendour distinctive and Hidden invites audiences to explore the iconic site whilst admiring the evocative works that feature amongst the graves. The 36 works are inspired by loss, memory, grief, death, mourning, spirituality, memorial and ceremony.

www.rookwoodcemetery.com.au/hidden

Documentation photographs taken by Joy Lai

2011-03-11T15:57:00.000+11:00

"Patricia Alvarez and Kath Fries’ collaborative installation performance 'Clothe the wold and meet the sky' is a human driven web of hair and fibres. It’s feminine, tactile and a little bit trippy. The artists’ treatment of their materials oscillates between unruly and controlled, resulting in an eerie 'wold' that is part intention, part imagination and part accident. The medium is message here I think. If weaving is about making connections between things, then this entangled cave is an apt analogy for the strangely beautiful mess we make when we interact/connect with others." Art Tart Review

These photographs of the Patricia's performance in my installation were taken by Joy Lai from Lyrebird Photography at the opening of Clothe the wold and meet the sky, Thursday 24 February 2011, Gaffa.

You can read more about the project here

Collaborative installation @ Gaffa Gallery Two

2011-03-02T20:53:00.000+11:00

Patricia Alvarez and Kath Fries, collaborative performance installation, Clothe the wold and meet the sky, 2011.

Mirrors, nylon bird netting, nylon hair extensions, human hair, Santeria doll, dvd loop projection and audio.

24 February to 8 March, 2011

Gaffa Gallery Two, 281 Clarence Street Sydney. www.gaffa.com.au

Collaborative exhibition - opening invitation

2011-02-24T08:02:00.001+11:00

Performer tangled in hairy situation

2011-02-20T17:30:00.001+11:00

Sun Herald Culture Column, Andrew Taylor, Sunday 20 February 2011, page 26. Photograph Simon Alekna.

WARNING: Kath Fries's art may make your stomach churn. Last year's Proliferation featured thousands of feathers erupting from the Gaffa Gallery, invading the space and getting stuck to the clothing and hair of those viewing it. "I'm always interested in how people move through and interact with my installations," she said. "But recently I've wanted to take it a step further than just friendly feedback and the occasional photograph where someone is looking a bit nervous about looking at art." Fries's latest installation, Clothe the wold and meet the sky, has the potential to cause anxiety in her collaborator, Patricia Alvarez. The artwork consists of hair extensions knotted into netting, in the middle of which will sit Alvarez. For two hours at Gaffa Gallery next Thursday she will sing and braid her hair into netting until she becomes too entangled to move. "I like how you can see through the netting so there aren't really any hidden surprises," Fries said. "But at the same time... you feel as though you could be engulfed by it." Fries said Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem The Lady of Shallot, with its narrative about a woman weaving, singing and interacting with the world through a mirror, inspired her work. Alvarez, for her part, has used hair extensions in performance art before, exploring how women adorn their bodies, and used her cut-off dreadlocks to create a Santeria doll, which will feature in the work. "The act of weaving hair has been a prominent dance I have found myself enacting over and over again. It has become a natural progression to also find hair growing in my art practice." (Andrew Taylor, Sun Herald, 19 February 2011, page 26)

Collaborative work in progress, 2011

2011-02-20T17:19:00.000+11:00

Patricia Alvarez and Kath Fries, Collaborative work in progress - Clothe the wold and meet the sky, 2011,

Mirrors, nylon bird netting, nylon hair extensions, human hair, Patricia Alvarez and her Santeria doll. Dimensions variable.

We were fortunate to be able to use one of the Arcade spaces at Gaffa to do a trail run of our collaborative project. Thanks to Kelly, Zoe and Penny at Gaffa.

Clothe the wold and meet the sky - collaboration

2011-02-11T16:13:00.004+11:00

Patricia Alvarez and Kath Fries

Clothe the wold and meet the sky, 2011

Opening night: 6-8pm Thurs 24 Feb 2011 (live performance)

installation & video documentation exhibited until Tues 8 March 2011

Gaffa, Gallery Two, 281 Clarence Street, Sydney, Australia

Gallery hours: Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 11-5

www.gaffa.com.au

Patricia Alvarez (performance artist) and Kath Fries (installation artist) present their new collaborative work Clothe the wold and meet the sky, 2011, at Gaffa Galleries Sydney. This live experimental, performative installation develops their overlapping interests in tactility, fibres, feminine archetypes and exposing the creative process.

The title, Clothe the wold and meet the sky, is taken from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s 1833 poem The Lady of Shallot. This famous ballad anchors several of Alvarez and Fries’ collaborative motivations; exploring weaving to extend and entangle the body as well as challenging voyeuristic dynamics of watching and being watched, "out flew the web and floated wide / the mirror crack'd from side to side".

Alvarez is a musician as well as a visual artist and has played with several Sydney bands. In her visual arts practice she has recently presented performance pieces exploring the mark-marking possibilities of artificial hair and eyelash extensions.

Fries is an installation artist who explores materiality, spatiality, narratives and archetypes in her work. Recently Fries won the Japan Foundation New Artist Award.

John Fries Memorial Prize 2010 Winners Exhibition

2011-02-10T10:57:00.002+11:00

Hannah Bertram and Melanie Irwin

1st and 2nd winner of the John Fries Memorial Prize 2010

present their new works in the

John Fries Memorial Prize 2010 Winners Exhibition

Trace Elements

22 February - 16 April 2011

Blackfriars off Broadway

Viscopy’s exhibition space

Open 1 to 5pm Wednesday to Friday

1 Blackfriars Street, Chippendale NSW, Australia

www.viscopy.org.au

In August 2010, Hannah Bertram won first prize and Melanie Irwin won second prize in the inaugural John Fries Memorial Prize at Viscopy, for their works in the Finalists Exhibition at Blackfriars off Broadway. Click here for more information

Visit the artists' websites

www.hannahbertram.com http://melanieirwin.com

There, 2010, installation Gaffa Gallery Sydney

2011-01-31T21:30:00.000+11:00

There, 2010, Kath Fries, bamboo, nylon netting, mirror panels, feathers, charcoal and wire, dimensions 300x400x200cm.

Gaffa Gallery Sydney, December 2010.

Installation, Dec 2010, Blackfriars off Broadway

2011-01-28T13:20:00.000+11:00

Kath Fries, Blackfriars off Broadway installation, December 2010, mirrors, bamboo, wire, inkjet prints on cotton rag, charcoal dust, mirror panels. Dimensions approx 300 x 400 x 100 cm.

Winning this award is no small Asahi...

2010-11-18T17:47:00.000+11:00

"The opportunity to travel to Japan to study contemporary arts is no small Asahi. The Sydney artist Kath Fries has that opportunity after winning the Japan Foundation's New Artist Award for her installation Grove. Inspired by the old Japanese fable The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, it turned the Japan Foundation Gallery into a bamboo forest in September. 'We have full confidence Kath will make the most of this opportunity and engage with many Japanese aritsts and institutions during her stay in Japan', said Tokiko Kiyota, the director of the Japan Foundation in Sydney."

Garry Maddox, 24 Hour Art Diary, The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 November 2010, page 16