Opening - Savanhdary Vongpoothorn: All that arises

You are cordially invited to the opening of this exhibition officially launched by Jackie Menzies OAM, lecturer at the Nan Tien Institute of Higher Education and emeritus curator of Asian Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales. Join us for the launch of the artist monograph and an artist talk with exhibition curator Chaitanya Sambrani and Jackie Menzies on Friday 16 August 12pm. Savanhdary Vongpoothorn’s deeply contemplative work is remarkable in sustaining creative and critical relationships with multiple influences. Marked by an enduring interest in her South-East Asian origins and their relationship to contemporary Australia, her work bridges contemporary realities with historical reference, advancing a practice that is inherently hybrid and polyvalent. Her practice has been recently extended through a collaboration with noted Japanese tanka poet and calligrapher Noriko Tanaka. The exhibition will feature a major new installation of handmade Japanese paper resulting from this collaboration, which originated in the precincts of the Todai-ji temple complex in Nara, Japan. The exhibition features more than 50 of Vongpoothorn’s works across nearly 25 years, ranging in scale from large triptychs on canvas to intimate works on paper. The Drill Hall Gallery 2019 program of exhibitions has been generously supported by the ANU Visual Arts Foundation. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.