Between December 6-15, the National Art School (NAS) is showcasing the talent of Australia’s next generation of artists.
The highly anticipated 2024 Grad Show features the work of 155 students from the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree, including a program of painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking and more.
Visitors are invited to explore the exhibition and discover the best new talent breaking onto the art scene. Exhibited in the NAS Gallery and Rayner Hoff Project Space, each work is intended to evoke emotion and spark questions, asking all of us to think a little deeper about the world we inhabit. Visitors are also encouraged to meet the artists and explore their studios, for a deeper insight into the creative process.
As part of opening night, the exhibition was host to a pop-up bar by Archie Rose, as well as several inspiring artist talks and studio tours.
Program highlights
While each and every piece in the exhibition is worth mentioning, there are some standout hits for the TrulyAus team.
Artist Chile Bainbridge explores new perspectives on gender through abstraction and materiality. With a focus on queer identities, they seek to invite important conversations about trans experiences using sculpture, photomedia, text and installation.
Maram Hassan Al-Zaidi explores their struggle with language by using art as a form of communication. They use sculpture as a way of expressing thoughts and feelings so often lost in words, each piece part of a larger narrative about transformation across time.
Informed by her heritage, Marine Kawabe explores the Japanese female experience through her ceramic pieces by appropriating contemporary aesthetics. Each hand-built sculpture is intended to echo the anime style, placing these child-like figures in confronting contexts to prompt viewers to reassess their understanding of Japanese popular culture and the corroding effects of Orientalism.
The work of Adrick Lui centres around the ideas and practices of figurative painting. Drawing from the whole of art history spanning the Italian Renaissance to German Expressionist movement, Adrick seeks to paint figures which embody the embarrassment, tension and passion of the human experience.
Ceramicist Megan McKenzie creates minimalist sculptures which require the viewer to project their own life experiences to create meaning. She is interested in how space, form, colour and texture interact to create new meaning, subconsciously sparking thought in an onlooker.
Sevgi Yilmaz is a Turkish Australian painter using art as a medium to understand her cultural roots. She adopts symbols from Turkish Rugs to step out of her comfort zone with installation work. Each piece delves into ideas of culture, the mother-daughter relationship, and tradition. Colourful and bold, they experiment with different aesthetics to grab viewers’ attention.
About the National Art School
The National Art School is Australia’s leading contemporary fine arts school, dedicated to studio-based learning and unique industry opportunities.
The Bachelor of Fine Art course is designed to foster creativity, experience and independence for a successful career practicing arts. Over three full-time years, students engage with art history and theory, while also participating in studio-based work in their preferred fields.
To read about the best arts and cultural experiences in the country, click here.
