Angela Louise Valamanesh AM (née Carter; born 1953) is an Australian visual artist, especially known for her ceramic art and sculpture that are based on forms found in the natural world. Based in Adelaide, South Australia, she is also known for her past large-scale public art collaborations with her husband Hossein Valamanesh. Her work has been represented in several solo exhibitions and many group exhibitions, and are held in public and private collections around the world.

Early life and education

edit

Angela Louise Valamanesh,[1] was born as Angela Carter in Port Pirie, South Australia, in 1953.[2][3][4]

She graduated from the South Australian School of Art in 1977[5] with a Diploma in Design (Ceramics).[6][7]

In 1993 she received an MA in Visual Arts from the University of South Australia (UniSA).[3][6]

In 2012[4][6] Valamanesh completed a studio-based PhD, "focusing on early scientific illustrations drawn with the use of microscopes".[8]

Art practice and career

edit

Based in Adelaide, South Australia,[9] Valamanesh started out focusing on ceramics,[5] but expanded into mixed media and sculptural objects.[7] The 1995 exhibition Birds have fled, at UniSA, was her first major exhibition as an artist,[3] and featured art installations.[7]

While at the Glasgow School of Art in 1997, she created For a Long While There Were Only Plants, in which her love of shape and form became apparent, particularly those with their origins in biology.[10]

She works in many different mediums. Her practice focuses on nature as well as the associations between art and science, and is often based on research she has undertaken during various residencies.[5] She is fascinated by scientific illustrations, and her artworks often make reference to scientific specimens of plant, humans and animals.[11]

In her early ceramics, Valamanesh used unglazed ceramics in earthy tones, reflecting the natural colours of the clays used. her 2000 series About Being Here (also the title of a 2009 book by Cath Kenneally), Later, in the 2017 series Insect/Orchid, which was inspired by the botanical illustrations of Rosa Fiveash, she uses darker tones and gloss glazes to create her "oversized biomorphic creatures", which represent a cross between an orchid and a beetle.[10] Other series by Valamanesh include her Natural History Collection and A Little Bit of Everything series, the latter consisting of 11 wall-mounted works in pale plaster.

 
Australian Monument to the Great Irish Famine at Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney

She has also created watercolour paintings, including a series called Observations (2009–19), which she started while doing her doctorate at the University of Adelaide, inspired by discoveries of early botanist Nehemiah Grew and natural philosopher Robert Hooke. She has also worked in fabric and film, including a video collaboration with her husband, Hossein Valamanesh (1949–2022). What Remains in 2012.[10]

 
14 Pieces (2005) by Angela and Hossein Valamanesh, in front of the South Australian Museum

She is also known for her large-scale public art collaborations with her husband Hossein.[12][13][10] Among the commissions completed with Hossein are:[6]

Other activities

edit

In 1994, Valamanesh lectured in ceramics part-time at the North Adelaide School of Arts[6] From 1995-96 she was a part-time tutor at the Faculty of Aboriginal & Islander Studies at UniSA, and from 1995-98 part-time lecturer in Visual Arts Studies, at UniSA[6]

From 2010 until 2013 Valamanesh was a member of the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council for the Arts.[6]

Recognition and honours

edit

Exhibitions

edit

Selected solo exhibitions

edit

Selected group exhibitions

edit

Collections

edit

Among many institutional collections and private collections around the world,[6] Valamanesh's work is held by the following:

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Ms Angela Louise VALAMANESH: Member of the Order of Australia". Australian Honours Search Facility. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia). 14 June 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2024. For service to the visual arts as a ceramicist and sculptor.
  2. ^ "Angela Valamanesh, b. 1953". Design and Art Australia Online. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "Angela Valamanesh, b. 1953: Biography". Design and Art Australia Online. 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "Anglea Valamanesh". GAGPROJECTS. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "The Bettison & James Award". Adelaide Film Festival. 25 September 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab "Angela Valamanesh: CV" (PDF). Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  7. ^ a b c "1996: Angela Valamanesh". Home. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "Artists reinterpret rare Adelaide collections of bugs and fungi". Copyright Agency. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  9. ^ a b Siemienowicz, Rochelle (17 September 2024). "Adelaide Film Festival 2024: full program". ScreenHub Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Spiers, Liv (23 August 2019). "Angela Valamanesh: About Being Here". Artlink. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  11. ^ a b c "Angela and Hossein Valamanesh". AGSA - The Art Gallery of South Australia. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  12. ^ McIntyre, Perry (May–June 2013). "Traces". Inside History (16). Ben Mercer: 36–37. ISSN 1838-5044.
  13. ^ "Australian Monument to the Great Irish Famine". Sydney Living Museums. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  14. ^ a b c d "Angela Valamanesh: Events". Design and Art Australia Online. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  15. ^ "JamFactory Icon 2019" (Photos). InDaily. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  16. ^ Gent, Charles (25 July 2014). "Art gives scrapped microscopes a second life". InDaily. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  17. ^ "The Microscope Project – Moving Poems". Moving Poems – poetry in video form. 4 October 2024. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  18. ^ "The Microscope Project: Education Resource. Flinders University City Gallery, 26 July - 21 September 2014" (PDF). Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  19. ^ Noble, Kelly (18 January 2022). "Hossein Valamanesh remembered as a powerful and poetic international artist". Glam Adelaide.
  20. ^ "Angela Valamanesh, b. 1953 :: collections". Design and Art Australia Online. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2024.

Further reading

edit
edit