10th Palmer Sculpture Biennial
19th March - 17th April 2022
An exciting selection of sculptures by twenty three outstanding artists will be on display in the Palmer Sculpture Landscape, opening on March 19th. The Landscape is a hilly 400 acre property near to the township of Palmer on the way to Mannum. Strolling over a rise in a setting that includes escarpments, rocky outcrops and open countryside and suddenly encountering a striking sculpture is an unforgettable experience. In such a setting, works of sculpture have much greater impact than they could achieve in a Gallery.
The artists include six from interstate and one from overseas. Amongst their ranks are leading sculptors with widespread reputations as well as exciting visionary newcomers.After the opening, the Biennial will be open to the public on weekends and Wednesday afternoons until Sunday April 17th.
The first of the Palmer Sculpture Biennials 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. A growing number of people who have experienced past biennials now make a point of attending each new one. The biennial is run by the artists, and rather than aiming to show a large quantity of works, the emphasis is on quality, artistic merit, and how well 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, Sunday March 19th:
Opening day at Palmer is not like most art openings. Admission is free and time is scheduled for visitors to walk around the property and view the works at leisure. The property is open from 11:00, and the opening starts at 1:00. After the opening, the “Verandah music event” will begin at 3:00 and our leading musicians will be performing.
For those who have not been there before, the property is 3.5 km down the Davenport Road which starts opposite the Hotel at Palmer on the way to Mannum.
Greg Johns Permanent Sculptures... Engagement with the Australian landscape
The Palmer Sculpture Landscape is a 400 acre property in the South Australian Riverland. This is drier rain shadow country. Over the last 20 years Johns has placed over 45 sculptures in an intimate engagement with this archetypal Australian landscape. Of this project Johns' states:
"This is a new environment and situation for my mob, the recent invaders/colonizers, so different to Europe. In a place which contrasts so dramatically with Europe a different sculptural aesthetic should arise, one which is a hybrid of incoming European influences, as well as influences from Australia (both pre and post invasion/colonization).
I hope that the Palmer sculptures interwoven with the Palmer landscape contribute to the development of Australian sculpture. I also hope that the sculptures placed there add, both conceptually and visually, another new and different chapter to the extraordinarily diverse, ever changing, and ever emerging story of sculpture worldwide."
