KATE BERGIN Royal Gala Performance - Arthouse Gallery
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KATE BERGIN Royal Gala Performance
KATE BERGIN
Royal Gala Performance
22 October – 6 November 2021
The virtuosic paintings of artist Kate Bergin take the viewer on a playful expedition
through the absurd and the profound. Strange gatherings of animals and objects are
configured in impossible scenarios on the brink of collapse atop tables draped with
white cloth, alluding to the conventions of seventeenth century Dutch and Flemish
still life painting. Yet Bergin’s compositions are far from ‘still’. They pulsate with
movement as animals prepare to leap from the canvas and birds take flight, and yet
these moments are frozen in time like mimetic dioramas. ‘As a still life artist the
idea of bringing life back to the tabletop is an irresistible one’, Bergin explains. It is
in this dialogue between stasis and motion, stability and precariousness, that the
artist seeks to find.
The still life has become un-still and the noise of the creatures
reflects our own noisy lives full of juggling and balancing acts –
our everyday royal gala performances.
The title for this exhibition, ‘Royal Gala Performance’, is inspired in part by the royal
gala apple. The motif of the peeled apple – often used in early still lifes as a sign of
artistic virtuosity – signifies Bergin’s drive to challenge herself as the apple must be
painted in one sitting before it begins to decay.
For this collection Bergin builds each painting around a central character, the tabletop
acting as a stage upon which she moves creatures around to create a believable
space with convincing relationships. Together, the works in ‘Royal Gala Performance’
conjure the old world charm of the annual Royal Variety Performances that began in
London in 1912. Each painting brings a cast of characters ready to delight their
audience with spectacular acts and remind them of the eccentric joys our world has
to offer.
Juggling Act oil on canvas 133 x 153 cm (framed) $54,000 ⬤
Palette for Juggling Act
oil on wood palette
44 x 51 cm (framed)
$3,500
On my way out of the Auckland Zoo after a very long day
documenting birds and animals I saw in the distance a young
zebra frolicking on the ground. As the zebra was rolling in the
sand I could already see it juggling objects. The idea of
performance and showmanship was forming. – Kate Bergin
Photograph by Annette O’Brien for The Design Files
Call to Action oil on canvas 113 x 93 cm (framed) $36,000 ⬤
Australia is one of the most important nations on Earth for biodiversity. More than
80% of Australia’s wildlife is found nowhere else in the world, making its
conservation even more critical. Here the red emergency telephone is requesting a
response to engage our attention and consider the future of our very unique
inhabitants. The dial on the red phone reads, “In Case of Emergency, Dial 170” but
hopefully the calls to action we’ve already placed will avoid the crisis...
While all may look well on the surface we must understand
the true situation of some of our creatures. The swan
metaphor is particularly relevant. The perception of calm,
control and grace whilst under the waterline, out of our
view, there is manic paddling.
The term "black swan" was first credited to the Roman poet Juvenal in the late 1st
century as something impossible or unknown. When Europeans finally sighted one in
Western Australia in the 17th century the term had to be slightly reworked and
metamorphosed to the idea that a perceived impossibility might be later disproven.
It’s hard to imagine that the spectacularly coloured Gouldian finch, currently
endangered, could one day disappear entirely. The koala, perhaps our most loved
marsupial is also in serious decline. Just like the perceived impossibility of a black
swan so too is the thought of a loss of this scale.
I had thought the red phone would be a difficult object to formally balance within the
composition until I placed it opposite the red beak of the swan and then added the
Gouldian finch across from it with its dash of red feathers on its head which then
allows the eye of the viewer to move back across and up to the Gouldian finch on top
of the kookaburra. In the same way small touches of pink in the penguin feet, finch
bills and tinting on the koala face also allow the eye to move around the entirety of
the picture plane.
Contemplating the Sublime and the Beautiful (featuring George Stubbs’, A Lion Attacking a Horse, c 1765) oil on canvas 153 x 153 cm (framed) $60,000 ⬤
GEORGE STUBBS As a still life artist the idea of bringing life back to the the tabletop is an irresistible
A Lion Attacking a Horse (c. 1765)
one and art history offers a rich tradition of merging genres. The Dutch 17th century
oil on canvas
69 × 100 cm
artists such as Frans Snyder and Melchior de’Hondecoeter painted exotic birds and
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne – Felton Bequest, 1949 animals within an idealised European landscape considered beautiful in the same
way that George Stubbs painted “a lion attacking a horse” in a landscape that is an
actual and spectacularly sublime place called Cresswell Crag, a limestone gorge
between Derbyshire and Nottingham shire, England. This shifting between birds,
animals, landscape and figurative modes and abandoning the perceived hierarchies
of art is captivating, particularly as a realist artist.
Including these paintings that I admire within my own
compositions creates a continuing dialogue across the centuries
and allows me to step outside the confines
of the still life genre.
Standing in front of George Stubbs’, A Lion Attacking a Horse at the National Gallery
of Victoria with my primary school class I didn’t realise that Stubbs had painted
seventeen versions of this theme over a span of 30 years. I also didn’t realise the
extent of theoretical thought and ambition that went into this long project and his
very deliberate confusion of genres combining landscape with animal painting which
allowed Stubbs to demonstrate his virtuosity in both.
When George Stubbs started his series in 1762 the philosopher Edmund Burke’s
famous treatise, A Philosophical Enquiry into the Sublime and Beautiful had already
been written just a few years earlier in 1757 and was to have an enormous influence
on Stubbs and his desire to introduce a powerful visual experience through his
paintings.
Decades after my school excursions to the NGV I photographed this very thoughtful
looking lion at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans and began thinking about presenting
it in a different context, perhaps a reflective looking back at a painting that has
stayed in my mind for so many years.
Dance Ensemble oil on canvas 143 x 153 cm (framed) $56,000
I’ve been lucky to travel and watch flamingos nest, march and
flag. This image, a kind of stretch and shake, is so quick that the
very good fortune of having captured it already defines itself as a
painting. It’s that moment that entices me to undertake weeks
and weeks of negotiation with an image trying to bring it back to
life, back to that moment. – Kate BerginThe Debonairs oil on canvas 103 x 123 cm (framed) $44,000 ⬤
Palette for The Debonairs Many years ago my husband and I lived down a dirt track in a storybook cottage on
oil on wood palette
the northern side of Mount Macedon which had stunning views out to Hanging Rock.
44 x 51 cm (framed)
$3,500
As you made your way along the track to our house you had to pass Frederick
McCubbin’s summer house, Fontainebleu. The track was called Glover Road named
no doubt after the landscape painter John Glover.
McCubbin may have given us the monumental painting The Pioneer as a grand
statement of aspiration but I find it fascinating that he also painted the most delicate
of landscapes on gum leaves. I wonder whether some of those leaves he sourced
were from near our cottage.
Since seeing one in an exhibition I’ve been curious about painting on something
other than the conventional stretched canvas. While painting on a palette is not a
new idea it remains an interesting one for me and I decided to paint a royal gala
apple and some spoons on one just to begin the experiment.
I noticed that as the palette I was using for mixing paint became
too heavy I’d just hang it on a nail in my studio. I liked them
hanging there, marking time. It’s such an interesting object as its
functionality is laced with the intimacy of the artist’s touch,
moments of decision and indecision.
This painting (and palette) takes its title from the band, The Debonairs who
performed at London’s Royal Variety Performance in 1950. The combination of a
Chilean flamingo, a mandrill (an Old World monkey) from the Congo, a squirrel
monkey (a New World monkey) from South America along with an Australian Major
Mitchell, Galah and Gouldian finches make this an interesting and international
‘band’ of debonairs.
While painting I also started to notice that each palette had a slight variation in
colour depending on the painting. Perhaps an obvious observation but I started to
think how each palette belonged to its particular painting.The Australian Flying Club oil on canvas 153 x 223 cm (framed) $78,000 ⬤
I watch these extraordinary pelicans awkwardly bouncing along a
sand bank like a jumbo on a runway as they heft their weight into
the sky. Then the next one in the group follows, and then the next
until the sand bank is empty and they’ve all flown off to another
meeting point. The perfect balance between lightness and
heaviness, alone time and togetherness, freedom and
commitment. – Kate Bergin
Photograph by Annette O’Brien for The Design FilesThe Bergin Handbag oil on canvas 68 x 58 cm (framed) $18,000 ⬤
The Bergin Handbag (details) oil on canvas 68 x 58 cm (framed) $18,000 ⬤
Royal Gala Duet oil on canvas 113 x 153 cm (framed) $50,000 ⬤
The first time we ventured off to the Toowoomba Zoo we were laying bets that there couldn’t possibly be a zoo in this place and then it appeared like a mirage, a special place created just for us. We drove in and it was completely deserted. If people or deers were there they were not at all interested in showing themselves. A walk around the huge parkland eventually revealed a massive group of deers and it is from this group that I found my inspiration. The main intention from these crazy excursions is not just to get the great shot but also to watch the animals, see how they interact with each other and get a sense of their individual personalities. It’s this insight that I take back to the studio and continues to feed into the painting. As I was photographing them I saw the table top on their very straight and level backs. I could see a new painting emerge...a new variation. I think this is the elusive element that all artists chase...the variation. The thing that is the same but slightly different. The legs of the deer became the table legs. Their joined backs became the table top and that allowed the room to open up. The floor became a necessary element to show where the tablecloth fell. And then that allowed edge cropping where only half of an apple is revealed at the edges of the painting suggesting the image stretches beyond the canvas. In this work there is also a sense of looking back and re-evaluating the visual language and elements I’d created for myself. It’s a curious thing where inspiration emanates. We look back, we project forward.
The Situation Room oil on canvas 153 x 223 cm (framed) $78,000 ⬤
Palette for The Situation Room
oil on wood palette
44 x 51 cm (framed)
$3,500
The Situation Room perhaps goes a little further to suggest a crisis point. The
flamingo holds a pair of spectacles that are hanging by a string. The spectacles are a
nod to Norman Bryson’s 1990 collection of 4 essays on Still Life called Looking at
the Overlooked. In a world where the biggest and loudest may sometimes take over
the stage it’s good to be reminded that the smaller, quieter creatures may need our
attention too.
Painting on such a large scale requires an understanding of how the viewer will
approach the work. By creating a circular motion of a colour such as pink can seduce
the viewer around the entirety of the canvas by subconsciously moving from the
flamingo to the pink tongue of the tiger down to the Major Mitchell parrot and across
to the pink face of the owl to the red face of the finch then back to the flamingo
creating a visual rhythm that connects the viewer to the painting. In a sense I’m
trying to draw the viewer in with the formal arrangements so they can be enticed to
think beyond the aesthetics to the more powerful ideas that lay beneath.
Animals have been used as symbols for centuries. The hornbill being a symbol for
prestige, honour and good fortune while the owl is generally considered a symbol of
wisdom and knowledge. These are things we know. The Situation Room however is
all about the unknown. It’s this apex between the known and the unknown where art
exists.The Situation Room (detail) oil on canvas 153 x 223 cm (framed) $78,000 ⬤
Call Centre oil on canvas 73 x 53 cm (framed) $16,000 ⬤
To pay my way through art school I was working in a call centre.
This was before we all had the internet, email and smartphones.
It was the women there over the years who guided me through my
early 20’s from graduating to getting married. Those wise women
who knew a thing or two about life offered up their friendship and
experiences so generously and always with humour and grace
that I remember. I hope in some way this painting reflects their
wisdom, our desire for balance in our lives and a love of
storytelling. – Kate Bergin
Photograph by Annette O’Brien for The Design FilesCasanova's Dream & Other Stories oil on canvas 65 x 110 cm (framed) $24,000 ⬤
Casanova's Dream & Other Stories (details) oil on canvas 65 x 110 cm (framed) $24,000 ⬤
Royal Gala Performance with Spoons oil on canvas 23 x 28 cm (framed) $4,500 ⬤ Royal Gala Solo Performance oil on board 23 x 18 cm (framed) $3,200 ⬤ Intermission oil on board 23 x 18 cm (framed) $3,200 Royal Gala Opening oil on canvas 23 x 28 cm (framed) $4,500
Royal Gala Performance on a Palette oil on wood palette 44 x 51 cm (framed) $4,500
Royal Gala Performance on a Palette
oil on wood palette
44 x 51 cm (framed)
$4,500
After the time consuming and often monumental large paintings
it’s a real joy to take a break and focus on a small piece. Being
able to handle it and move the canvas around to paint awkward
angles is a completely different feeling but at the same time
every little detail requires intense focus and delicacy as each
brushstroke is much more visible. What at first was a bit of a
playful moment in the studio starts to become more challenging.
This little series of small apple and spoon paintings demanded
my full attention. – Kate Bergin
Photograph by Annette O’Brien for The Design FilesMr Percival, His Mobile Phone and Other Stories (ed. of 40) The Venetian Room (ed. of 40) pigment print on German rag paper pigment print on German rag paper 104 x 101 cm (framed) 104 x 114 cm (framed) $3,000 $3,200
A Curious Pride and Other Wonders (ed. of 40) The Proposition (ed. of 40) pigment print on German rag paper pigment print on German rag paper 105 x 136 cm (framed) 104 x 123 cm (framed) $3,200 $3,200
Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast (ed. of 100)
pigment print on German rag paper
104 x 101 cm (framed)
$2,500
We start with a royal gala performance but exit through
different doors and discover other seemingly disparate ideas
that somehow come together like the crazy buzz of a call
centre. Tigers roar and birds squawk. It’s our noisy,
complicated and wonderful life. – Kate BerginKATE BERGIN
Born 1968, Melbourne, Australia
EDUCATION
1992 Victorian College of the Arts (BA painting) 1993 Alice Prize, Alice Springs, NT, Finalist
1991 VCA Art History Study Tour – Europe 1992 Alice Prize, Alice Springs, NT, Finalist
Mid Year Award, Victorian College of the Arts, VIC
AWARDS, GRANTS & RESIDENCIES 1991 Theodur Urbach Award, Victorian College of the Arts, VIC
2013 The Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize, SA Museum, Finalist Regional Arts Development Fund Project Grant, Arts Queensland, Solo
Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Finalist Exhibitions
2012 Gold Award, Rockhampton Art Gallery, QLD, Finalist
R&M McGivern, Maroondah Art Gallery, QLD, Finalist SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2011 Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Finalist 2021 ‘Royal Gala Performance’, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney, NSW
Arthur Guy Memorial Art Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery, VIC, People’s Choice Winner 2020 ‘The Pleasure of Your Company’, Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne, VIC
2010 Albany Art Prize, Vancouver Arts Centre, WA, Winner 2019 ‘Tabletop Variations’, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney, NSW
Calleen Art Award, Cowra Regional Gallery, NSW, Finalist 2017 ‘Make Believe’, Mossgreen Gallery, Australia
2009 Sunshine Coast Art Prize, Caloundra Art Gallery, QLD, People’s Choice Winner 2016 ‘Wild Life’, Mossgreen Gallery, Australia
Arthur Guy Memorial Art Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery, VIC, Finalist 2015 ‘The Company of Unlikely Travellers’, Sydney Contemporary, NSW
The Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize, SA Museum, Highly Commended 2014 ‘Unstill Lives’, Mossgreen Gallery, Australia
Eutick Memorial Still Life Award, Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery, NSW, 2013 ‘Tabletop Performances & Other Balancing Acts’, Mossgreen Gallery, Australia
Finalist 2012 ‘Strange Relations’, Melbourne Art Fair, VIC
Mt Buller Art Prize, VIC, Finalist 2011 ‘Wild Things’, Mossgreen Gallery, Australia
Corangamarah Art Prize, VIC, First Prize 2010 ‘The Spoon Collectors’, Hill Smith Gallery, SA
Flannagan Art Prize, Ballarat, VIC ‘Tabletop Variations’, Mossgreen Gallery, Australia
R&M McGivern, Maroondah Art Gallery, QLD, First Prize 2009 ‘Hunting & Collecting’, fortyfivedownstairs, VIC
2004 Fleurieu Peninsula Biennale, Art of Food Award, First Prize 2007 ‘The Collector’, Mahoney’s Galleries, VIC
2002 Shortlisted for Nillumbik Residency Program, VIC 2001 ‘Clockwise’, Australian Galleries, VIC
2001 Australian Artist Magazine Competition, First Prize 1999 ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’, Cairns Regional Gallery, QLD
1997 Australia Council Overseas Studio Residency, Besozzo, Italy 1996 ‘Still Life in Painting’, Gallery 101, VIC
Portia Geach Memorial Award, S.H. Erwin Gallery, NSW, Finalist 1995 ‘Square Paintings’, Crawford Gallery, NSW
1995 The Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Finalist 1994 ‘Recent Paintings’, Crawford Gallery, NSW
Keith & Elizabeth Murdoch Travelling Scholarship, VCA Gallery, VIC, 2nd Prize 1993 ‘Recent Paintings’, Crawford Gallery, NSW
Victorian Tapestry Workshop Design for Melbourne Town Hall, VIC, 2nd PrizeKATE BERGIN
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021 ‘Summer Salon’, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney, NSW Colac Area Health, VIC
‘Still Life’, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney, NSW Department of Education, QLD
2020 ‘Animalia’, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney, NSW Downlands College, QLD
2017 ‘130 Years of Collecting’, Bendigo Art Gallery, VIC Fleurieu Peninsula Biennale, SA
2015 ‘SNAP’, Rockhampton Art Gallery, QLD Genazzano FCJ College, VIC
2014 ‘ART in Embassies’, United States Embassy, ACT Hotel Sofitel, VIC
2013 ‘Animal Kingdom’, Gippsland Art Gallery, VIC Lowensteins Arts Management, NSW
2012 ‘The Gold Award’, Rockhampton Art Gallery, QLD Mercure Harbourside, NSW
2006 ‘Linden Postcard Show’, St Kilda, VIC Victorian College of the Arts, VIC
2002 ‘Art in Australia’, Works From the Collection, VCA Gallery, VIC
2000 ‘Seventh Australian Contemporary Art Fair’, Australian Galleries, VIC SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
1999 ‘Fine Painting & Sculpture’, Australian Galleries, VIC Still Life, Amber Creswell Bell, Apr 2021
1998 ‘Sixth Australian Contemporary Art Fair’, Gallery 101, VIC Sue Wallace, The Australian, Apr 2021
‘End to End – Six Far North Queensland Artists’, Gallery 101, VIC Prue Gibson, Artists – Kate Bergin, Art Collector, Special Edition Sydney
1997 ‘Fields of Vision’, Doggett Street Studios, QLD Contemporary, p.18-19, 2015
‘Gals Work, Recent Acquisitions by Female Artists’, St Kilda Town Hall, VIC Naomi Gall, Art Collector, Issue 70, Oct/Nov 2014
1996 ‘Artists of North Queensland’, Cairns Regional Gallery, QLD The Adelaide Review (cover image), Jul 2013
‘Fifth Australian Contemporary Art Fair’, Crawford Gallery, VIC Mikey Cahill, Weekend Livelist, Herald Sun, 27 Aug 2011
1994 ‘Gallery Artists’, Crawford Gallery, NSW Prue Gibson, Australian Art Review, Issue 23, May/Jul 2010
1994 ‘Fourth Australian Contemporary Art Fair’, Crawford Gallery, VIC Stephen Bevis, West Australian, 26 Mar 2010
1991 ‘Images of Women’, Gryphon Gallery, University of Melbourne, VIC Dr Christine Nicholls, Asian Art News, Hong Kong, Jul/Aug 2009
Patricia Anderson, Editor’s Choice, Australian Art Review, Issue 20, Aug/Oct 2009
SELECTED COLLECTIONS Artist Milestones, Australian Art Collector, Newsletter, 11 Aug 2009
Artbank, NSW David McKenzie, The Colac Herald, 10 Aug 2009
Art Gallery of New South Wales, gifted by Margaret Olley AC, NSW Sydney Morning Herald, 13 Jun 2009
Bendigo Art Gallery, VIC Canberra Times, 13 Jun 2009
Brisbane City Hall, QLD Vogue Living Magazine, Nov/Dec, 2008
City of Albany, WA Urbis Magazine, Issue 46, 2008
City of Port Phillip, VIC Melbourne Lawyer Magazine, Issue 05, Jul 2006KATE BERGIN SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Australian Art Review, Issue 8, Jul/Oct 2005 Update Magazine, Helpmann Academy, Dec 2004/Mar 2005 Mosman 2088 Magazine, Issue 16, Sep 2004 Macedon Leader, Nov 2003 Rob Serebro, The Canberra Times, Sep 2002 The Weekend Australian (image), 2–3 Feb 2002 The Australian’s Review of Books (image), 12 May 1999 Sandra Hodgson, Flying Arts Gazette, Jan 1999 Neville Drewery, Images 3: Contemporary Australian Painting, Craftsman House, Sydney, 1998 John Millington, The Courier Mail, 27 Mar 1998 Gordon Foulds, Craft Arts International, Mar 1998 Joan Winter, Gal’s Work, Catalogue Essay, Nov 1997 Robyn McKenzie, Gal’s Work, Catalogue Essay, Nov 1997 Peter Denham, Arts Nexus, Aug 1997 Lesley Shelley, Arts Nexus, Oct 1996 Nicola O’Hanlon, House & Garden, Aug 1996 Emily Ross, The Melbourne Weekly, Oct 1994 Bronwyn Watson, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 Sep 1994 Elwyn Lynn, The Australian, Feb 1994 Elwyn Lynn, The Australian, 7 Aug 1993 Bronwyn Watson, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 Aug 1993 Artwork Photography by Ross Eason
66 McLachlan Avenue Rushcutters Bay NSW 2011 +61 2 9332 1019 contact@arthousegallery.com.au www.arthousegallery.com.au
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