Image above: Greg Johns The Kiss (Buried Alive) 2022-23 Corten steel 140 x 486 x 18cm
“Congratulations to Greg Johns on what he has created at Palmer. This is a nationally important project with Australian sculpture in the Australian landscape. It is also a huge undertaking that brings joy to many and a wonderful opportunity for the artists.”
– David Handley AM, Founding CEO and Artistic Director, Sculpture by the Sea
The Palmer Sculpture Biennial takes place in a hilly 400 acre property near the township of Palmer on the way to Mannum. Strolling over a rise in a landscape that includes escarpments, rocky outcrops and open countryside and suddenly encountering a striking sculpture is an unforgettable experience. In such a setting, these works have much greater impact than they could achieve in a Gallery. It will include works from 22 leading artists, including 1 from overseas and three from interstate. 2 emerging artists are included and this year’s Honoured Artist will be Stelarc.
The Palmer Biennial is a unique event
The first Palmer Sculpture Biennial was held in 2004, and since then they have gained an impressive reputation both locally and internationally. The event is now one of the longest, continually running sculpture exhibitions in the history of sculpture in Australia. Many people who have experienced past biennials now make a point of attending each new one.
Curated by Adelaide sculptor Greg Johns and Robert Lindsay (former Director of McClelland Sculpure Park+Gallery), the biennial is aiming to show a large number of works, the emphasis is on quality, artistic merit, and the way they interact with an Australian environment. A high priority is that visitors should be able to engage with both sculpture and place.
Opening Day and Music Event, Saturday March 16th
Open to the public on weekends 11am to 5.30pm and Wednesdays 2 to 5.30pm until Sunday April 14th
To learn more about the event visit the website Palmer Sculpture Biennial
Email the Palmer Project; palmersculpturebiennial@gmail.com
or phone Greg Johns – 0438807860 or Bill Clifford (08) 8398 0868
Image above: Greg Johns Sit Down Fella (Contemplative) 2023 Corten steel and bronze 260 cm high
To view a selection of Greg Johns’ works in our online Stock Rooms, click here.
Congratulations to Greg Johns and Jimmy Rix whose works are currently showing in the Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe 2024 exhibition.
71 artists from 14 countries are participating in the 20th Sculpture by the Sea, held on Perth’s iconic Cottesloe Beach. The exhibition is featured from the sea wall, all the way along the sand towards North Cottesloe and on the surrounding grassed areas creating a beautiful sculpture park
To view a selection of Jimmy Rix’s works in our online Stock Rooms, click here
Exhibition Dates:
1 – 18 March 2024
Cottesloe Beach, Perth
To read more about this year’s exhibition and to view these fabulous works click here
Image: Greg Johns Sit Down Fella (Contemplative) 2023 Corten Steel, for Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2023.
We are delighted to announce that renowned sculptor Greg Johns has been awarded the 2023 Helen Lempriere Scholarship by Sculpture by the Sea, in the category of Senior Australian Sculptor.
Greg Johns, a full-time sculptor for nearly 50 years, has completed major commissions in Australia and internationally, as well as exhibiting annually in solo/major group shows in Australia, New York, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. A member of both the Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi and Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe Decade Clubs, Johns has participated at both exhibitions a combined 21 times.
Johns has run an independent sculpture and environmental landscape at Palmer in South Australia since 2001.
The Helen Lempriere Scholarship will fund new machinery and materials for Johns’ studio, and travel to Sydney and Melbourne to research sacred and contemporary sculpture.
Greg stated that, “I have worked 47 years full-time as a sculptor in Australia. The journey has been both a ‘hard fought’ and heartfelt one. I am genuinely grateful to receive the senior Helen Lempriere Scholarship, acknowledging my contribution to a sculptural sensibility, which reflects both the uniqueness of Australia and universal forces.”
To read more about Greg Johns and view a selection of the artist’s work, click here
Image above John Petrie with his winning work 23.5° in Marks Park, Tamarama.
Photograph by Jane Barrett
25TH EXHIBITION | 20 October – 6 November 2023
Sculpture by the Sea returns to the Bondi to Tamarama Beach coastal walk as the world’s largest free to the public sculpture exhibition in 2023. The spectacular coastal walk will once again be transformed into a 2km long sculpture park over three weeks featuring more than 100 sculptures by artists from Australia and across the world.
Congratulations to the following artists who are exhibiting in Bondi this year:
David Horton
Greg Johns
Michael Le Grand
John Petrie
Jimmy Rix
Ayako Saito
Ron Robertson-Swann
Visit the website to keep up to date with details including artist talks, tours and suggested walking routes.
WHEN
20 October – 6 November 2023
WHERE
Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk, Sydney, Australia
ENQUIRIES
+61 2 8399 0233 | info@sculpturebythesea.com
David Horton Cheryl’s Night Garden 2023 steel 380 x 400 x 289 cm. To view a selection of David Horton works visit our online Stock Rooms here
Greg Johns Sit Down Fella (Contemplative) 2023 Corten steel bronze 260 cm high. To view a selection of Greg John works, visit our online Stock Rooms here.
Michael Le Grand Ebb and Flow’ 2023 painted steel 200 x 500 x 150 cm.
To view a selection of Greg John works, visit our online Stock Rooms here.
To view a selection of Jimmy Rix works visit our online Stock Rooms here
To view a selection of Ayako Saito’s works visit our online Stock Rooms here.
To view a selection of Ron Robertson-Swann’s works visit our online Stock Rooms here.
Image above: The Bush Custodians bronze each figure 270 x 180 x 250cm. Photographed with the artist.
Congratulations to Camie Lyons, Greg Johns and Jimmy Rix who have been selected for inclusion in the 2023 Sculpture in the Valley, held at the Wilburra property on Smarts Road in Kangaroo Valley.
Sculptures by the three artists have been selected in both the Outdoor Sculpture and Indoor Sculpture categories. Camie Lyons’ Bush Custodians, Greg Johns’ Sentinel and The Observer, and Jimmy Rix’s Kangaroo and Honeyeater have been selected in the Outdoor Sculpture category. Lyons’ Wings, Johns’ Dry Country Mandala and Rix’s Kelpie and Home is where the heart is have been selected in the Indoor Sculpture category.
Greg Johns Sentinel 2022 corten steel 294 x 60 x 80 cm
Jimmy Rix Kelpie 2020 bronze 51 x 42 x 21.5 cm
Camie Lyons Wings Bronze 112 x 72 60 cm
Of her work, Lyons says: ‘A reminder of the vital role played by all winged creatures. In droves they clean the earth and spread the seeds and fertilize life in our wild spaces. The artist crafted these forms from branches, materials that owe their existence to insects, birds, and bugs. They too begin their journey with the help from winged things and grow into giants, providing food and shelter, and so continuing the divine cycle of growth and transformation.’
Sculpture in the Valley is part of the not-for-profit organisation Arts in the Valley, also known as the Kangaroo Valley Arts Festival. Sculpture in the Valley presents a biennial exhibition of sculptural works set in the dramatic escarpment surrounds of Kangaroo Valley. A selection of large outdoor sculptures take advantage of the site’s intimate rural setting and expansive valley views, while a selection of smaller works are available for view in the standard indoor exhibition space.
This year the show welcomes David Ball as the exhibition curator alongside Director Stuart McCreery, and judges Janet Laurence and Michael Snape.
Sculpture in the Valley 2023
Wilburra, 32 Smarts Road, Barrengarry NSW
View the online exhibition catalogue here
Image: Greg Johns Horizon Figure 2020 Corten Steel Pictured at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottlesoe 2023
We are delighted to announce that renowned sculptor Greg Johns has been awarded the 2023 Helen Lempriere Scholarship by Sculpture by the Sea, in the category of Senior Australian Sculptor.
Greg Johns, a full-time sculptor for nearly 50 years, has completed major commissions in Australia and internationally, as well as exhibiting annually in solo/major group shows in Australia, New York, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. A member of both the Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi and Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe Decade Clubs, Johns has participated at both exhibitions a combined 21 times.
Johns has run an independent sculpture and environmental landscape at Palmer in South Australia since 2001.
At Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2023, he will exhibit a Corten steel work titled Sit Down Fella (Contemplative), a work influenced by a rock formation on the Palmer landscape.
The Helen Lempriere Scholarship will fund new machinery and materials for Johns’ studio, and travel to Sydney and Melbourne to research sacred and contemporary sculpture.
Greg stated that, “I have worked 47 years full-time as a sculptor in Australia. The journey has been both a ‘hard fought’ and heartfelt one. I am genuinely grateful to receive the senior Helen Lempriere Scholarship, acknowledging my contribution to a sculptural sensibility, which reflects both the uniqueness of Australia and universal forces.”
To read more about Greg Johns and view a selection of the artist’s work, click here
Image above: Ayako Saito Lunar Shadow 2019. Installation view at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, 2023. Photo by Jessica Wyld.
Congratulations to Richard Goodwin, Greg Johns, Peter Lundberg, Ron Robertson-Swann and Ayako Saito, whose works were included in the recent Sculpture by the Sea, Cottlesloe exhibition.
Over 70 artists participated in this year’s SxS, staged on the beautiful Cottesloe Beach, Western Australia. The exhibition, now in its nineteenth year, featured from the sea wall all the way along the sand towards North Cottesloe and on the surrounding grassed areas, creating a beautiful sculpture park.
Sculpture by the Sea, Cottlesloe
Cottesloe Beach, Perth
Final day 20 March 2023
Richard Goodwin Turbulence aluminium, stainless steel, mild steel, plastic, concrete 441 x 225 x 225 cm
Photograph by B.Horgan @technicolour_vision
Greg Johns Horizon Figure 2020. Installation view at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, 2023. Photo by Michael Goh.
“This year, South Australian artist Greg Johns joins the Cottesloe Decade Club, with his work ‘Horizon Figure (2020)’, being the tenth work he has exhibited at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe since 2006. The large corten steel work is from a series which explores connections with the Australian landscape.” – Sculpture by the Sea Instagram page
Peter Lundberg Traveller. Installation view at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, 2023. Photo by Jessica Wyld.
Ron Robertson-Swann OAM The Sculptor’s Sketchbook 2020. Installation view at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, 2023. Photo by Michael Goh.
Ayako Saito Lunar Shadow 2019. Installation view at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, 2023. Photo by Jessica Wyld.
Greg Johns Monument to Jandamarra. Installation view at the 9th Palmer Sculpture Biennial, 2022. Photograph by Michal Kluvanek.
Submissions are now open for the Palmer Sculpture Biennial, taking place for four weeks in March/April 2024.
Steven Cybulka and Craige Andrae Second Fix. Installation view at the 9th Palmer Sculpture Biennial, 2022.
Approximately 24 artists will be chosen to exhibit at the remote Palmer Hills, 76 kms east of Adelaide.
Curated by Adelaide sculptor Greg Johns and Robert Lindsay (former Director of McClelland Sculpure Park+Gallery), the Biennial aims to display the works of chosen artists alongside an invited senior artist and two early-career sculptors. Artists from across Australia and overseas are invited to submit.
Chris Ormerod Fullers Gate. Installation view at the 9th Palmer Sculpture Biennial, 2022.
In 2001, Greg Johns purchased this 400-acre property with the intention of ecologically rehabilitating the landscape and displaying his works and the work of other contemporary sculptors, a concept which soon evolved into the Palmer Sculpture Biennial.
Commencing in 2004, the Biennial now stands as one of the longest running and leading sculpture events in Australia, and is the recipient of several awards and accolades. It has received significant publicity at a national and international level, regularly attracting artists from Europe and the United States.
David Jensz Pebble 2020. Installation view at the 8th Palmer Sculpture Biennial, 2020.
“For those accustomed to exhibiting within the confines of gallery walls it can be an exhilarating and a challenging experience to exhibit at Palmer. The space is vast, the horizon far distant in this very Australian landscape. How to compete? To lie low and embrace the earth? Or to dramatically rear up and confront the space? Palmer has its unique challenges – and great rewards.”
– Ken Scarlett OAM
Stephen King Pipeline. Installation view at the 9th Palmer Sculpture Biennial, 2022.
“When it comes to art, Palmer is a hostile environment. Each work sited here has to rely on its own wits to grapple with such demanding terrain rather than lean on each other for visual support in more curated surroundings. Importantly, they all have room to breathe.”
– John Neylon
Union Street Sculptors Under Wraps. Installation view at the 9th Palmer Sculpture Biennial, 2022.
Submissions are due by Thursday 1 June, 2023.
Submissions can be emailed to palmersculpturebiennial@gmail.com. For more information regarding submissions, please contact Greg Johns or Bill Clifford via the Biennial’s website page.
David Atkins Dead Tree II, Reconciliation. Installation view at the 8th Palmer Sculpture Biennial, 2020.
Image above: Seaing the Land – Feeling the Land (Bottle Tree) 2022 Corten steel, stainless steel, and bronze casting 350 cm. Seen installed at Lochaven Reserve, City of Casey.
Congratulations to Greg Johns, who has had his work Seaing the Land – Feeling the Land (Bottle Tree) installed at Lochaven Reserve, commissioned by City of Casey on 3 November 2022.
Greg Johns was chosen from a shortlist of sculptors to create this work for the City of Casey.
Johns says: “This work comes from drawings I’ve done of bottle trees in the interior. Included in the sculpture is a bronze casting of a bottle tree seed pod and a stainless steel boat form. The boat form symbolizes incoming European arrival while the bottle tree seed pod symbolizes what was here prior to colonisation. Both of these elements are formative constructs for contemporary Australia. At Lochaven, this sculpture softens the harsh lines of the housing development with its organic form.”
Visit the Australian Galleries online stockroom to view a selection of available works by Greg Johns here.
Seaing the Land – Feeling the Land (Bottle Tree), installation view at Lochaven Reserve, City of Casey.
M-fiftyfour 2022 stainless steel 170 x 225 x 187 cm.
Congratulations to James Parrett and Greg Johns who have been announced as finalists in the 20th anniversary of the Montalto Sculpture Prize, located at Montalto Vineyard & Olive Grove, for their respective works M-fiftyfour and Landing, Landlines, Songlines.
The Montalto Sculpture Prize is an acquisitive award that seeks to encourage artistic pursuit in a public forum. Now in its 20th year, the Sculpture Prize runs as an exhibition on the grounds of the Montalto Vineyard throughout summer.
2022 Montalto Sculpture Prize Exhibition
Montalto Vineyard & Olive Grove
33 Shoreham Road, Red Hill South VIC 3937
19 November 2022 – 30 April 2023
Greg Johns Landing, Landlines, Songlines red gum, jarrah, steel varying heights 220-290 cm, approx 600 cm diameter installation. (7 pieces).
