INDONESIAN TEXTILES FROM THE COLLECTION

OF DR. JOHN YU AC & DR. GEORGE SOUTTER AM

ENCOUNTERS

WITH BALIA collector’s journey

PUBLIC PROGRAMS

MOSMAN ART GALLERY | 3 MAY - 13 JULY 2014

FORUM

THE ART OF COLLECTING INDONESIAN TEXTILESSaturday 10 May 20142pm - 5pmMosman Art Gallery, Cnr Art Gallery Way and Myahgah Road, Mosman 2088Admission is free, however RSVP is essential by Friday 9th May: www.trybooking.com/81474

SPEAKERSDr. Robyn Maxwell (National Gallery of Australia) The Yu and Soutter Collection in context

Dr. Chris Reid (Australian Museum) Lampung textiles - where are we now?

Ross Langlands (Nomadic Rug Traders) Weaving business with pleasure - how to have fun in the market place

The vital role that private collectors play in the development of public collections may be an uncomfortable reality for museum professionals and academics. Speakers will discuss key textiles from the Yu & Soutter collection and offer their perspectives on textile research, authenticity and the overlapping relationships between collectors, museums and the art market.

Dr. Robyn MaxwellRobyn Maxwell is Senior Curator of Asian Art at the National Gallery of Australia. She has published and lectured widely on Asian art, particularly on the history of Southeast Asian textiles. Her publications include Sari to Sarong: 500 years of Indian and Indonesian textile exchange, National Gallery of Australia, 2003 and Textiles of Southeast Asia: Tradition, Trade and Transformation, Oxford University Press, 1990 and Southeast Asian Textiles: The State of the Art, Monash University, 1987.

Dr. Chris ReidChris Reid has a doctorate in beetle systematics but no formal education in textiles, anthropology or material culture. He first became interested in textiles through the gift of a Savunese cloth by an Indonesian student in 1990, an interest which has developed through collecting, travel and marriage. Chris lived in Kalianda, Southeast Lampung, for a month in 2010.

Ross LanglandsRoss Langlands is a dealer in antique oriental rugs and textiles. He began working in the oriental rug business in 1970 in Zurich, Switzerland and in 1975, returned to Australia with his wife Irene to establish Nomadic Rug Traders, a firm specialising in antique oriental rugs and incorporating Central Asian and Southeast Asian textiles and tribal art. Ross is a past president of the Art and Antique Dealers Association of NSW and the Oriental Rug Society of NSW, a Governor of the Art Gallery of NSW, an Associate of the Powerhouse Museum and a Founding Member of The Asian Art Society of Australia (TAASA).

Sun 25th May, 2.30pm ‘In conversation’, an exhibition floortalk with collector Dr. John Yu AC and curator Dr. Siobhan Campbell

Sun 29th June, 2.30pm ‘A background to Indonesian Textiles’, an exhibition floortalk with curator Dr. Siobhan Campbell

MAN’S JACKET (baju pilih) Sarawak, BorneoCotton, natural dyes, Supplementary weft weavingEarly 20th century60 x 43 cm

In this dialogue between collector Dr. John Yu and exhibition curator Dr. Siobhan Campbell, the pair will discuss how Dr. Yu was drawn into the world of Indonesian textiles, identify his favourite pieces, and contemplate what the textiles might tell us about the histories and cultures of our nearest neighbour. Free admission, RSVP by Friday 23rd May : www.trybooking.com/82344

Dr. Siobhan Campbell has developed specialist knowledge of the art and culture of Indonesia and Bali over many years of intense and sustained engagement with this region.

Siobhan’s doctorate research was closely associated with the Australian Museum, which houses one of the most significant collections of Balinese paintings from the village of Kamasan – the ‘Forge’ Collection.

In 2013 Siobhan was awarded a six-month fellowship to conduct further research on the collections of Balinese art and textiles at the International Institute for Asian Studies in Leiden, the Netherlands. Siobhan is also a NAATI accredited translator of the Indonesian language.

In this tour through the Yu & Soutter collection, curator Dr. Siobhan Campbell will describe some of the different approaches of textile scholars to understanding Indonesian material culture, and look at how visual archives can offer a range of historical insights about how textiles were made and worn. Free admission, RSVP by Friday 26th June: www.trybooking.com/82346

CEREMONIAL SKIRT CLOTH (saput songket or kampuh songket), BaliSilk, coloured cotton and silver thread, Supplementary weft weavingEarly 20th century, 100 x 86 cm

Mosman Art Gallery - the home of Australian Art and Innovation

MOSMAN ART GALLERYCnr Art Gallery Way & Myahgah Road, MOSMAN 2088

T: (02) 9978 4178 F: (02) 9978 4135www.mosmanartgallery.org.au

Opening hours: 10am-5pm, 7 days. Closed public holidays.

This project is supported by Arts NSW’s Curatorial Support Initiative grant, a devolved funding program administered by Museums & Galleries of NSW

on behalf of the NSW Government.