Award-winning artists involved in interstate collaboration!

The Drawing Exchange 2018 is the latest instalment of an ongoing collaboration between the nation’s top art schools. Six artists from have been paired with six artists from to make new collaborative works informed by shared ideas, materials, and approaches to drawing. The works will be displayed in concurrent exhibitions at Adelaide Central Gallery and Rayner Hoff Project Space at the National Art School, Sydney.

Collaborative duos: Louise Haselton (SA) & Damian Dillon (NSW) Bernadette Klavins (SA) & Toni Warburton (NSW) Michael Kutschbach (SA) & Marian Tubbs (NSW) Mary-Jean Richardson (SA) & Chelsea Lehmann (NSW) Hossein Valamanesh (SA) & Gary Deirmendijan (NSW) Laura Wills (SA) & Kirtika Kain (NSW)

The exhibition will comprise a diverse range of projects which blur the lines between drawing, painting, , printmaking and installation. According to The Drawing Exchange 2018 co-curator Luke Thurgate, “this ambitious initiative builds on the hugely successful exhibition co-developed in 2017 by Adelaide Central School of Art and the National Art School in Sydney. This time, drawing will become a means of communication, a way of sharing and generating ideas. It will cross state-lines, generational divides, and cultural backgrounds.”

“We are excited to be working with senior practitioners like Hossien Valamanesh and Louise Haselton, as well as promising emerging artists like Bernadette Klavins. We are also thrilled to continue our exchange with the National Art School. Our shared ambition is to establish a nationally significant biannual program that explores drawing practices in .”

The Drawing Exchange 2018 will be opened concurrently at Adelaide Central Gallery and the Rayner Hoff Project Space at the National Art School, Sydney on Tuesday 18 September from 6pm – 8pm. Roy Ananda, Head of Drawing, Adelaide Central School of Art and Dr Maryanne Coutts, Head of Drawing, National Art School will officially open the exhibition.

About the artists and artworks

Louise Haselton (SA) and Damian Dillon (NSW) are working together for the first time. Their project is informed by a shared fascination for Japanese culture and the nuanced formalism of ‘Ikebana’ flower arranging. In 2019, Haselton will be celebrated as the South Australian Living Artists (SALA) Festival feature artist and her work will be the subject of a Wakefield Press monograph.

Bernadette Klavins (SA) and Toni Warburton (NSW) represent an exchange between artists at different stages of their careers. Bernadette is an emerging artist and recent graduate of Adelaide Central School of Art. Her work playfully explores interaction between human agency and natural forces. Warburton is an established practitioner and academic based in Sydney. Her ceramic works have been widely collected by galleries and institutions across Australia.

Michael Kutschbach (SA) and Marian Tubbs (NSW) will present works which discuss the nature of collaboration, gesture and resolve. Their project is full of the poetic ambiguity and playful approach to materials each brings to their own practice.

Mary-Jean Richardson (SA) and Chelsea Lehmann (NSW) are friends and former colleagues, having taught together in the Painting Department at Adelaide Central School of Art. They have been sending drawings back and forth between Adelaide and Sydney, experimenting with the physical and conceptual tension of developing works in direct partnership.

Hossein Valamanesh (SA) and Gary Deirmendijan (NSW) began their exchange long before the project officially commenced. Their initial interest in each other’s practice has developed into a rich conversation about memory, space, and connection. String operates in both their works as a drawn line which interweaves personal belongings with gallery architecture.

Laura Wills (SA) and Kirtika Kain (NSW) share an interest in art’s social capacity. Both are experienced collaborators and have used shared material and conceptual concerns as a starting point for their works.