Martin Browne Contemporary is delighted to present Mongrel the first solo exhibition with the gallery by Sue Ryan
Ryan’s technical facility is formidable. For each dog she wrangled heavy galvanised wire into an elegant sub-stratum to support finer wire mesh which, in turn, was robust enough to take the punishment of thick fishing line wrenched into stitches that fixed an outer layer of retrieved ghost net as dog hair. Beyond any pedestrian feat of repurposing, Ryan’s canine radar for feral runts, tip scroungers and wily, crook companions elevates her project to a meditation on the grim survival strategies of feral creatures and how implicated we are.
Amusing and serious, tough and tender, Ryan is an artist with heart and generous talent. Collaboration with indigenous artists and the ghost net movement over the past six years confirmed her commitment to community and cultural development. Now Sue Ryan’s sculptural gift is at the front and centre of Mongrel.
A seasoned artist working in northern Australia for many years, Ryan’s sustained commitment is to record the more eccentric but sometimes metaphysical dimensions of tropical life in far north Queensland. Her achievement in Mongrel is to have nailed a raw and real aspect of the term ‘companion animal’, albeit one less recognised in metropolitan settings. She noted, ‘I was talking to rangers and one of them said, “that ghost net is a real mongrel”. I thought it funny he said that when I'd been making dogs, hence the show’s title.’
Martin Browne Contemporary is dedicated to showing the finest in Australian and International modern and contemporary works of art. The gallery combines a program of new work by its exhibiting artists with curated exhibitions of selected works from the secondary market.
Complementing its exhibition program, Martin Browne Contemporary produces an extensive range of publications. The gallery's comprehensive mailing database ensures these publications reach all major Australian and New Zealand public museums and private institutions as well as over 3000 private collectors in Australia and abroad.
