Ann Thomson

Ann Thomson (born 1933) is an Australian painter and sculptor. She is best known for her large-scale public commissions Ebb Tide (1987) for the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre and Australia Felix (1992) for the Seville World Expo.[1][2] In 1998 she won the [Art Gallery of New South Wales' Wynne Prize.[3] Her work is held in national and international collections, including: the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra;[4] Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney,[5] Newcastle Art Gallery, Newcastle, Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Madrid and Villa Haiss Museum, Germany.[6]

Ann Thomson
Born1933 (1933)
EducationNational Art School
Known forPainting, Sculpture
MovementModernism, Abstract art
AwardsWynne Prize (1998)

Early life and education

Ann Thomson was born in 1933 in Brisbane. She went to Somerville House, a private school in Brisbane also attended by Margaret Olley, Betty Churcher and art historian Joan Kerr.[1] After school, she took painting classes with Richard Rodier Rivron and Jon Molvig.[1][7] In 1957, Thomson moved to Sydney where she studied at the East Sydney Technical College (now the National Art School), graduating in 1962.[7][8] She focused on drawing, sculpture and painting. During her education, she was taught by Godfrey Miller, John Passmore, John Olsen, Lyndon Dadswell, David Strachan and Dorothy Thornhill.[1][9] While a young artist she also visited leading Australian modernist Ian Fairweather on Bribie Island, Queensland.[2]

Career

Thomson sold her first painting through Clune Gallery, in Sydney.[8] Her first commercial exhibition in 1965 was with Watters Gallery,[8] Sydney, a significant venue for experimental works. In 1977, Thomson had a solo exhibition at the Institute of Modern Art in Brisbane.

In 1983, Thomson's work Pentaplain was a finalist in the Art Gallery of New South Wales' Wynne Prize for landscape paintings.[10] The work is part figurative, with references to built structures, and part abstract with large areas of blue and green. It combines aerial and horizontal perspectives. 15 years later, she won the Wynne Prize with her work Yellow sound.[3] This brilliant yellow oil on canvas combines various mark-making techniques including drips, layering and erasure. Her major commission Australia Felix was the central sculptural installation for the Australian Pavilion at the 1992 World Expo in Seville.[11] The 11-metre wide work was subsequently installed at Sydney Darling Harbour.[12] She has also won the Geelong Contemporary Art Prize (2002), and the Tattersall's Art Prize, Brisbane (2016).[13]

In 1989, Thomson was one of 12 artists who participated in Mike Parr's But Now I Would Like to Speak as an Artist. The work involved the artists digging holes in the ground to bury their heads in for as long as possible.

In 2015 she was honoured with a Fellowship by the National Art School, Sydney.[14] NAS followed this with an exhibition titled Ann Thomson and Contemporaries.[9] The two-level gallery dedicated the upper floor to Thomson.[9] Craig Judd favourably reviewed the exhibition, writing: "Ann Thomson and Contemporaries is a richly enjoyable exhibition". It "confirms without doubt the stature of Ann Thomson within the canons of Australian abstract art as teacher, mentor and leader".[9]

In 2020, Thomson was among 500 artists calling on the Australian Government to support creatives through COVID-19.[15]

As of 2012, Thomson was painting every day, generally working on multiple canvases at once and painting from memory, rather than directly from real life. Her earlier works were aligned with Abstract expressionism, while her later works oscillate between abstraction and figuration, taking inspiration from the landscape. Thomson says: "I don't feel as though I am totally abstract" and "I might abstract something but I don't just paint shapes".[2]

Thomson continues to exhibit, making for a career of solo exhibitions that extends beyond half a century.[16]

Recognition and awards

Major exhibitions
  • 1965: Watters Gallery, Sydney[8]
  • 1973: Gallery One Eleven, Brisbane
  • 1974: Gallery A, Sydney
  • 1977: Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane
  • 1977: Gallery A, Sydney
  • 1979: Gallery A, Sydney
  • 1980: Monash University, Melbourne
  • 1982: Gallery A, Sydney
  • 1988: Australian Galleries, Melbourne
  • 1989: Australian Galleries, Melbourne
  • 1992: Australian Galleries, Sydney
  • 1993: Australian Galleries, Melbourne, in conjunction with Meridian Sculpture Gallery
  • 1993: Art Gallery of NSW Sculpture 'Australia Felix'
  • 1994: Australian Galleries, Sydney

References
  1. Johnson, Anna (2012). Ann Thomson. Woollahra: Tim Olsen Editions. p. 36. ISBN 9780987269904.
  2. "Real riches to be found in an enduring and abstract vision". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  3. "Archibald Prize Wynne 1998 finalist: Yellow sound by Ann Thomson". Art Gallery of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  4. "NGA collection search results". artsearch.nga.gov.au. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  5. "Works matching "ann thomson" :: The Collection :: Art Gallery NSW". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  6. "Ann Thomson – Mitchell Fine Art, Brisbane". www.mitchellfineartgallery.com. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  7. Fridemanis, Helen (1989). Contemporary Art Society: Queensland Branch. A study of the post-war emergence and dissemination of aesthetic modernism in Brisbane. Thesis submitted to the Department of History, Queensland University. pp. 14–16.
  8. "Ann Thomson". Artist Profile. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  9. "Ann Thomson and Contemporaries". Artlink Magazine. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  10. "Archibald Prize Wynne 1983 finalist: Pentaplain by Ann Thomson". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  11. "Ann Thomson". Charles Nodrum Gallery. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  12. "Sculpture called Australia-Felix at pier seven Darling Harbour..." Getty Images. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  13. "Ann Thomson". Charles Nodrum Gallery. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  14. "Fellows". National Art School. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  15. "Open letter: Australia's artists call for Government action". NAVA. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  16. "Ann Thomson". Charles Nodrum Gallery. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  17. Eva Breuer, art dealer, Ann Thomson Biography Archived 2004-07-13 at archive.today, retrieved July 2007
  18. "Ann Thomson :: biography". Design and Art Australia Online. 15 July 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  19. "Artrave". Artlink Magazine. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
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