VMG launches new exhibitions in VMG Art Series showcasing Australian artists
VMG has launched two new exhibitions this week as part of its VMG Art Series at the Yakkazoo Melbourne HQ, showcasing emerging and established Australian artists.
The announcement:
Australian-owned media company VMG has stepped up its commitment to the arts with new exhibitions as part of its VMG Art Series at the VMG-owned Yakkazoo Melbourne HQ. The series showcases a diverse collection of emerging and established Australian artists, with two new exhibitions opening this week.
Yakkazoo managing director, Mark Barrett has partnered with Melbourne-based art advisor, Catherine Asquith for the VMG Art Series. Together they have developed an exhibition series that supports a diverse collection of artists while enabling a continuously evolving creative environment that fosters inspiration and creativity for the Yakkazoo agency team.
Two exhibitions in the VMG Art Series, Rehgan De Mather’s “Chase the Sun” and Adrian Corke’s “Trace” opened this month and will show until June.
De Mather, a Melbourne-based artist considers his approach to his art as being serious and humorous, and purposeful and deliberately haphazard. Painting allows Rehgan to make sense of the world allowing him “pull everything apart, decipher it and put it back together, both physically and metaphorically”. Central to his practice is the creative process where he reuses and recycles works, cutting them up and casting them amongst new landscapes.
Corke’s practice comprises art making processes which are a synthesis of fragments of the artist’s memory and experience – the juxtapositions of time, culture, and place. His time in Vietnam and Hong Kong has been instrumental in the underlying thematic constructs of his work. He works across a range of media including, drawing, print and painting. High-key colours, shapes, pattern, and texture (visual and actual) are used to create artworks that explore visual space and ideas of memory, sensuality and place.
The VMG Art Series has hosted five shows since opening in early-2021, including Kate Briscoe’s Geologica series. Inspired by the landscape of the Kimberley in Western Australia, the series was an expression of a long and amazing geological history. With the exposure of the exhibition, Kate not only sold one of her pieces, but also secured a gallery in Melbourne for her show last year.
Barrett said the VMG Art Series plays a dual role in supporting emerging artists, whose industry was hugely impacted by the pandemic, as well as inspiring the agency team with a constantly changing and inspiring creative environment. The exhibitions are housed in a purpose-built area of Yakkazoo’s South Yarra office.
“I have a real passion for the arts and the role it plays in inspiring creative industries. I’ve been quite vocal about the need for our industry to do more to support Australian arts and culture, particularly after it was largely overlooked in terms of corporate and government support at the peak of the pandemic,” he said.
“For Yakkazoo, the VMG Art Series is about us practicing what we preach by supporting emerging and established artists without representation in Melbourne, while also fostering a truly creative environment for our team. I am extremely proud of how we have brought to life our VMG Art Series in our new HQ in Melbourne.”
Art advisor Catherine Asquith said it was great to see VMG throwing its support behind the arts industry while also creating an enhanced work environment that fosters a real sense of creativity and culture for staff.
“I’m very proud to be working with VMG to bring its Art Series to life for underrepresented visual artists within an innovative space and purpose-designed environment. It creates a unique opportunity for them to showcase their work and their art practice to a new audience – from the staff and clients inhabiting this space, through to interior designers, curators, collectors and Victorian-based gallerists. It really is an incredible opportunity and initiative,” Asquith said.
With support from the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Arts Internship program, and supervision by Catherine Asquith, VMG has also appointed an intern who will be provided with experience on managing the end-to-end life cycle of an exhibition.
The VMG Art Series is creating a platform for artists to showcase their work and are on display at Yakkazoo Melbourne HQ. Viewing is by appointment only.
Source: Third Avenue Consulting
