Joan Grounds

Joan Grounds (1939 – ) is an American-born artist. She has been exhibiting in Australia and internationally from 1967. Her solo and collaborative art work is held in the National Gallery of Australia (ceramics), the National Gallery of Victoria ( both film and ceramics) and in the Powerhouse Museum of Arts and Applied Sciences (ceramics). Her hybrid practice incorporated ceramics, sculpture, sound art, film and performance art.

Joan Grounds
Born1939
Atlanta, USA
EducationBachelor of Arts (Tulane University)
Master of Arts (University of California)
Known forSculpture, ceramics, performance art, film
MovementMulti disciplinary

Early life and education

Grounds was born in Atlanta USA in 1939.[1] She obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Tulane University in 1962 and a Master of Arts from the University of California in 1964.[1] She exhibited in Ghana and the US before coming to Australia in 1969, she currently lives in Melbourne

Career

Grounds's first major installation work was a fire sculpture on a beach in Ghana in 1968, later repeated on deserted beaches in New South Wales. [1] She would continue to engage with nature in later site specific installation work including the "Four Quartets" in 1987-1988.

Grounds was the director of the "Tin Sheds" from 1976 to 1979. It was officially called the University of Sydney Fine Art Workshop. It was a hub for politically focused students and artists and supported many sub-groups.

Collaborations

Grounds collaborated with Alex Danko on several film projects and had a 10 year collaboration with Sherre Delys, producing sound sculpture and public art installation. Other collaborators were N.S. Harsha, Rik Rue, Margaret Dodd, Steve Wishhart and Jane Finlay.

Themes

"Joan Grounds' work....engages with nature, with the placement of women, with the body of women, with memory and with ways of exploring all of these." (Julie Ewington, 2001)[2]

"The installations are as formal and elusive as music. And you are the music while the music lasts." (George Alexander, 1989)[3]

Work

Major exhibitions
  • 1985 "Four Quartets" The Performance Space, Cleveland St.,Sydney.
  • 1997 (with N.S.Harsha) Art Gallery of NSW[1]
  • 1995 Solo Show Annandale Galleries, Sydney[1]

Public collections
  • National Gallery of Australia (10 works, including Red-green duration: from the portfolio "Rare birds with sticky wings")[4]
  • National Gallery of Victoria (4 works, including We should call it a living room and Package)[5]
  • Powerhouse Museum, Sydney (several, including Ceramic parcel)[6]

Awards and nominations
  • 2002 ASIALINK Residency, Chiang Mai, Thailand
  • 1996 ASIALINK Visual Arts and Crafts Residency Exchange between INDIA and Australia
  • 1995 Australia Council Residency Tokyo, Japan
  • 1981 Australia Council Residency Greene Street New York, USA.

(Source VisualArts, Queensland)[1]

References
  1. APT (2002). "APT: Joan Grounds". Visualarts.qld.gov.au.
  2. Ewington, Julie (2001). "In The Wild: Nature, Culture, Gender In Installation Art". In Geczy,A.; Gennochio, B. (eds.). What is Installation? An Anthology of Writings on Australian Installation Art. Power Publications. pp. 38–39. ISBN 978-1864874303.
  3. Alexander, George (1989). "The Dancer Snared: The Poetics of Joan Grounds". Eyeline. 09: 20–21.
  4. Grounds, Joan. "Red-green duration: from the portfolio". Item held by National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  5. "Joan GROUNDS | Artists | NGV". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  6. "'Ceramic Parcel' sculptural form by Joan Grounds". collection.maas.museum. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
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