Art Haps

Interview-Brie Ruais

by CORYDON COWANSAGE

In the last week of September I visited the Sunset Park studio of Brie Ruais as she prepared for her first solo show at Nicole Klagsbrun’s pop up space. Ruais works with clay, creating large, gestural reliefs that reference both the body and the landscape. Her current work is the result of a very physical, performative process. She uses her own body weight, and sometimes that of a collaborator, to sculpt a comparably-sized mound of clay—pushing, kneading, and spreading the material. The ensuing pieces act as a record of these actions, and sometimes document behaviors in a given space itself. During the studio visit Ruais told me about her process, her relationship to the medium, some of the ideas behind this particular body of work, and what she’s planning for her upcoming solo show, XO……

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Backflip: Feminism and Humour in Contemporary Art

April 26 - May 25, 2013

This exhibition, featuring work by Australian and international artists, seeks to critique the often held belief that feminists – and in turn feminist art – are not funny. While feminist practice often continues to be represented as earnest and authoritative, humour has always been an important and potent tool for feminist artists – in its ability to simultaneously disrupt and entertain, humour lends itself readily to one of the overarching goals that unites the many feminisms; to challenge and destabilize patriarchy. Backflip will present a range of strategies and approaches from slapstick to satire, detouring through irony and black humour.

Artists: Louise Lawler, Guerrilla Girls, Pipilotti Rist, Tracey Moffatt, Patty Chang, Mika Rottenberg, Pushpamala N, Melanie Bonajo, Frances (Budden) Phoenix, Christian Thompson, Brown Council, Nat & Ali, Hotham Street Ladies, Catherine Bell, Alice Lang, Hannah Raisin, Catherine or Kate and Paul Yore. Additional elements: Video lounge of funny feminist videos by VCA alumni made during their studies.

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Interstate Projects Where The Sun Don’t Shine

July 5-21

Heather Guertin, Elizabeth Jaeger, Meredith James Brie Ruais, Julia Sherman

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