Alpha60 X Brendan Huntley Present ‘Sense of Direction’ at Heide Museum of Modern Art
A collaborative exhibition between artist Brendan Huntley and fashion label Alpha60, Sense of Direction, will launch this March at Heide Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition is an installation of paintings, sculptures, monotypes, rugs, clocks and jewellery, which together explore the transience of personal transformation.
The show will be presented in the award-winning Heide Modern from 11 March to 10 April 2023. Heide Modern began life as the home of John and Sunday Reed in 1967 and today is one of five gallery spaces at Heide, with a special focus on site-responsive exhibitions by contemporary artists.
The centrepiece of the exhibition is a 32-metre-long carpet runner, custom-made to traverse the spaces of Heide Modern, spanning both floors and flowing from room to room. Brendan Huntley will also be unveiling his largest painting to date and recent sculptures, as well as archival artworks acquired by Alex and Georgie Cleary of Alpha60 over the years.
From the initial conversation about a collaborative rug back in 2019, the idea for the project grew through countless meetings. The synergy and excitement between Brendan, Alex and Georgie enabled the concept to evolve and the singular rug morphed into an ambitious immersive installation, with accompanying clocks and jewellery to mirror the rug’s motifs.
“The idea of creating something that will be shown in Heide Modern – with the house’s extraordinary history – inspired us to exaggerate the scale of a domestic item, to reflect how the space blurs the lines between house and museum,” said Brendan Huntley.
The rug features an array of Brendan’s bright motifs including faces, celestial beings, clocks, butterflies and eyes. They speak to Brendan’s musings on the often temporary nature of personal transformation; how the landscape of individual growth moves in random patterns; and how euphoric moments of understanding can be fleeting.
Alex, Georgie and Brendan began moving in the same circles when Brendan was gaining popularity as the frontman of rock band Eddy Current Suppression Ring.
Georgie Cleary said, “Our journey started with a friendship, became a desire to work together, sparked an idea, which has culminated in an exhibition.”
Georgie and Alex went to one of Brendan’s first exhibitions at Hell Gallery in Richmond and bought a painting of a pair of upside-down wine glasses with faces on them – the painting still hangs in Georgie’s bedroom today.
Throughout Brendan’s art career, Georgie and Alex have followed him through multiple galleries and collected many of his works.
For the duration of the exhibition the artworks, jewellery, clocks and rugs will all be available to purchase via Alpha60’s online store.
Brendan is represented by Tolarno Galleries and will be having a solo exhibition with the gallery later this year.
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
Sense of Direction, 11 March to 10 April 2023
Heide Museum of Modern Art, 7 Templestowe Road, Bulleen Victoria 3105
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