Lost in Palm Springs – Artistry of American and Australian Design

The Art Gallery of Ballarat presents Lost in Palm Springs, curated by artist and curator Dr Greer Honeywill in an initiative developed by HOTA, Home of the Arts, Gold Coast.

The multidisciplinary exhibition brings together fourteen creative minds who respond to, capture, or re-imagine the magical qualities of the landscape and the celebrated mid-century modern architecture of Palm Springs, California and across Australia.

“In an era of radical transformation, it is calming, inspiring, and reassuring to lose yourself in the art and architecture of a dream,” says Dr Honeywill.

Including internationally recognised photographers and thinkers from America and Australia, the artists are all curious, drawn to unbridled beauty, intense landscapes, and romantic notions of isolation, equally drawn to where ideas of place and home shape society and the architecture in which we live. Post-war Australia and America shared a dream, naming it here ‘the great Australian dream’ the idea was the same across the two nations—to create as many affordable homes as possible for the developing middle class in order to reinvigorate the post-war economy.

Works by Australian artists Kate Ballis, Tom Blachford, Anna Carey, Sam Cranstoun, Paul Davies, Rosi Griffin, Vicki Stravrou, Robyn Sweaney and Gosia Wlodarczak will be on display alongside works by Darren Bradley, Jim Isermann, Troy Kudlac, Lance O’Donnell and Kim Stringfellow from the United States.

Art Gallery of Ballarat Director Louise Tegart invited admirers of mid-century modern works and pop culture to witness a taste of summer as Ballarat heads into its coldest season.

“This vibrant and inspiring exhibition will take visitors on an excursion through the great Australian dream, providing insight and connection between America and Australia and post-war architectural imaginings.

We’re excited to have our favourite curators of pop culture, OK Motels, taking over the Gallery to continue our popular Art Late series featuring great bands, a local Palm Springs-inspired menu, curated drinks and access to the entire Gallery after dark, this is a late-night encounter and all immersive event that you will want to be a part of!” said Louise.

A constant design influence, the brilliance of Palm Springs in California continues to fascinate. Palm Springs—its history, beauty, and extraordinary collection of mid-century modern homes set within a magical desert landscape—maintains its allure today as strongly as ever, actively stimulating creative minds and inspiring the exploration of the art of architecture and the architecture of art. While in Australia, we are becoming more active in the preservation of mid-century modern architecture and the remembrance of the architects who inspired us.

On a chance visit to Palm Springs, Dr Honeywill, artist, curator, and writer, was immediately drawn to the desert gardens and the clean lines of the modernist houses from the post-war era. At once, she fell in love with the desert city while simultaneously becoming lost in the sheer immensity of the famed mid-century modern homes. It was then that she realised that being lost was the beginning of an idea.

The exhibition grew in response to three annual residencies in Palm Springs, as Dr Honeywill brought together creative minds from both sides of the Pacific to reimagine the magical qualities of mid-century modern domestic architecture set within the desert landscape of the Coachella Valley.

Art Late: OK Motels x Lost in Palm Springs 

Art Late is Art Gallery of Ballarat’s new, curated series of late-night encounters. For Lost in Palm Springs, Art Late will collaborate with OK Motels for an all-immersive music, food and California-style experience in the depths of a Ballarat winter.
Art Late: OK Motels x Lost in Palm Springs – Saturday 11 May, Saturday 15 June, Saturday 13 July.

Lost in Palm Springs is a touring initiative developed by HOTA, Home of the Arts, Gold Coast in partnership with Museums & Galleries Queensland. Museums & Galleries Queensland is supported by the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation and receives funds from Creative Partnerships Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund.

For more information, visit magsq.com.au