Abstraction: Celebrating Australian Women Abstract Artists

Overview

If things seem a little impressionistic at QUT Art Museum for the next few months, that's by design — Australia's female abstract artists have taken over the gallery's walls. Until August 26, the CBD space will be highlight the significant contribution that women have made to the country's abstract and modern art thanks to touring exhibition Abstraction: Celebrating Australian Women Abstract Artists, which comes from the National Gallery of Australia.

Expect shapes, colours, lines and any other abstract representation you can think of, all as part of an array of paintings and sculptures. There's 74 works by 38 artists, to be specific, with historical greats such as Margaret Preston, Dorrit Black, Grace Crowley, Margo Lewers, Janet Dawson on display beside into contemporary artists like Virginia Cuppaidge, Elizabeth Coats, Melinda Harper and Debra Dawes — and Indigenous talents including Emily Kam Kngwarray and Sally Gabori.

If this kind of showcase sounds a little out of the ordinary, redressing that reality — and shining a spotlight on the country's creative ladies — is also part of the plan. The exhibition offers "a timely reminder of the role of women in the development of abstract painting, at a time when major art institutions have a tendency to applaud male artists," explains QUT Art Museum Curator Kevin Wilson.

Image: Grace Crowley. Abstract painting 1947, oil on cardboard. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Purchased 1959. Courtesy National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.