Image above: Inge King Forward Surge, maquette (Sculpture for a city plaza) 1972 painted steel 43.5 x 158 x 114 cm. Art Collection, Arts Centre, Melbourne. Image courtesy of Arts Centre Melbourne.
Works by Inge King and Lenton Parr are being shown in an exhibition focusing on the impact and legacy of Centre 5, a group of modernist sculptors influential in Melbourne in the 1950s and 1960s.
“Post-war Australian sculpture came of age in the 1960s with the advent of Centre 5. Sculptor Julius Kane instigated the group in Melbourne in 1961, formalising a collegial alliance that emerged in the mid-1950s with Inge King, Clifford Last, Vincas Jomantas, Teisutis Zikaras, and Melbourne-born Norma Redpath and Lenton Parr.
Lenton Parr Sagittarius 1964 steel painted black 91.4 x 193 x 30.5 cm. Collection of McClelland. Photo Christian Capurro.
“Deriving their name from a five-point program, Centre 5 aimed to bridge the gap between artist and public through exhibitions, lectures, and media interviews; seek better representation in public collections; foster a closer relationship with architects; promote a percent-for-the-arts scheme for public buildings; and lobby for sculpture-specific scholarships and fellowships.”
Lenton Parr Customs House Screen 1963-66 (detail) bronze over plastic-sheathed steel rods 870 x 581 x 35 cm. Collection of McClelland.
In a feature for The Age, critic Nadia Bailey underscores the importance of this exhibition, stating that: “The exhibition brings together what Eckett describes as the group’s “very best pieces,” most of which were produced during the 1950s and ’60s. While individual works have been regularly shown, Centre Five hasn’t been exhibited as a group since 1984.” Read the full feature here.
Inge King Wall Sculpture I 1968 ground steel and synthetic polymer paint with polyurethane lacquer 205 x 51 x 23 cm. Collection of McClelland. Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Victoria.
Visit our online Stock Rooms to view a selection of available works by Inge King here, and Lenton Parr here.
Centre 5: bridging the gap
McClelland Sculpture Park+Gallery
390 McClelland Drive Langwarrin VIC Australia 3910
12 November 2022 – 5 March 2023
Lenton Parr Astrojet Sculpture (Maquette for Astra) 1969 welded steel painted black 81 x 67 x 28 cm. Collection of McClelland. Photo Christian Capurro.