Sunday Arts Magazine

20 Feb 2023

Public Art Collection – Arts Centre Melbourne

Art Collection, Art Exhibition, Sunday Arts Magazine

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Public Art Collection – Arts Centre Melbourne

Five significant sculptures from Arts Centre Melbourne’s Public Art Collection will find temporary new homes at McClelland, Australia’s pre-eminent Sculpture Park and Gallery and Heide Museum of Modern Art during the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation.

Sculptures, Rhythms of Life, Family of Man I, Family of Man II, formerly located around Arts Centre Melbourne’s Theatres building, were today installed at McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery as part of a long-term loan as Arts Centre Melbourne undergoes significant updates to its buildings and public space. The sculpture Rhythms of Life was donated by the artist, Andrew Rogers while Family of Man I and Family of Man II by artist Cole Sopov were generously donated by John and Agita Haddad.

Sculptures Coming and Going, by artist Les Kossatz and Marathon Man II by artist Anthony Pryor are being loaned to Heide Museum of Modern Art and will be installed in early March.Coming and Going was donated by the William Angliss Art Fund and Marathon Man II was donated by Leon and Sandra Velik.

Since being removed from Arts Centre Melbourne in July 2022, the sculptures have been carefully stored, cleaned, and prepared for installation by J. K. Fasham, Melbourne’s specialist sculpture fabricators and installers.

“Arts Centre Melbourne’s Public Art Collection should be exactly that – public. Being able to bring these sculptures to new audiences, ensuring they continue to be enjoyed while the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation is underway, is a fantastic outcome. I’m looking forward to visiting them,” said Arts Centre Melbourne CEO Karen Quinlan AM.

The temporary relocation of the sculptures to these esteemed and popular galleries means they have the potential to reach new audiences who may not have visited them at Arts Centre Melbourne.

The sculpture loans are planned for five years with their host venues in Langwarrin and Bulleen.

McClelland Director Lisa Byrne said “these magnificent works are a perfect complement to our existing Collection.”

“The works by Cole Sopov, a post-war immigre artist will be exhibited alongside fellow post-war immigre artists including Inge King, Vincas Jomatas and Teisutis Zikaras. McClelland Collection already includes several Andrew Rogers works and Rhythms of Life will be a terrific expansion of this oeuvre. The loans initiative will provide greater cultural opportunities for the community of the outer SE of Melbourne,” Ms Byrne said.

Heide Artistic Director Lesley Harding said “We are delighted to have these much-loved public sculptures located at Heide for the next few years. Les Kossatz was a close associate of John and Sunday Reed and their son Sweeney and his sheep in Coming and Going deftly reference the agricultural history of the Heide site. Anthony Pryor’s Marathon Man II will be located nearby to Rick Amor’s Running Man and perfectly complements the figurative sculptures in the Heide parklands.“