Talks series celebrates the work of mid-century Australian designer Clement Meadmore
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The groundbreaking mid-century designs of Melbourne-born artist Clement Meadmore will be explored in a series of events featuring State Library Creative Fellows Jeromie Maver and Dean Keep, curators of The Ian Potter Museum of Art’s upcoming exhibition, Clement Meadmore: the art of mid-century design.
In a series of talks held at the Library and The Ian Potter Museum, Maver and Keep will share how the Library’s collection supported their research for the first major survey to focus on the industrial design practice of Meadmore, one of Australia's most internationally successful artists.
The result of 10 years of research and a State Library Victoria honorary fellowship, the exhibition will provide a rare opportunity for audiences to see more than 100 iconic pieces – many for the first time – including lighting and furniture, graphic design, ephemera and never-before-seen sculpture.
Co-curator Dean Keep said that during Meadmore’s short career as a designer in 1950s Melbourne, he produced arguably the most important designs of the mid-century period in Australia.
“Influenced by international modernism and the writings of Mondrian, Meadmore’s design practice combines art and design to create a unique body of work that sets him apart from his contemporaries,” Mr Keep said.
“We look forward to sharing our journey and the discoveries from the State Library Victoria collection that helped shape our research.”
The series of events, held in December 2018 and February 2019, will include a curators’ floor talk, a behind-the-scenes viewing of Meadmore treasures from the Library’s collection, and a panel discussion alongside other design experts reflecting on Meadmore’s enduring impact on Australian design.
High resolution images are available for download via this Dropbox link: https://bit.ly/2Dtc2hv
For more information or to arrange an interview with Dean Keep please contact Media Manager Natalie Silber on (03) 8664 7325
Exhibition and event details:
Clement Meadmore – the art of design
Saturday 1 December, 1pm
Curators’ floor talk
Location: The Ian Potter Museum of Art, Parkville
Free but bookings are essential. Call (03) 8664 7099
Clement Meadmore and mid-century Melbourne design
Thursday 6 December, 11am
Discover rare ephemera related to Clement Meadmore in this behind-the-scenes viewing of treasures from the Library’s collection.
Location: North Rotunda, State Library Victoria
Free but bookings are essential via Eventbrite or call (03) 8664 7099
Clement Meadmore and the modernist wave
Thursday 7 February, 6–7.30pm
Hear from artists, designers, collectors and dealers as they reflect on Clement Meadmore’s enduring impact on Australian design.
Location: Village Roadshow Theatrette, State Library Victoria
Free but bookings are essential. Call (03) 8664 7099
About Clement Meadmore: Clement Meadmore’s monumental public sculptures are displayed in cities around the world, and he is well known for his contribution to the language of Modernist sculpture in Australia. Meadmore started designing and making furniture in 1951 and throughout the following two decades produced a range of innovative furniture and lighting designs, popular with elite architects of the time.
About Dean Keep: Dean Keep is an academic at Swinburne University and a Course Director in the Department of Film and Animation. Dean is currently a PhD candidate at the ANU School of Art & Design, and has published in peer-reviewed academic publications, and presented at national and international conferences. Keep has appeared on the ABC TV program Streets of Your Town, and has written on collecting mid-century design for the NGV publication Mid-Century Modern: Australian Furniture Design. Instagram: @ausmodern
About Jeromie Maver: Jeromie Maver is a researcher and collector of Australian mid-century design. Along with Dean Keep, he has spent the last 10 years building an archive of print materials, ephemera and interviews relating to this period. While currently focused on the design practice of Clement Meadmore, he also has an interest in the émigré designers of the 1950s, and in particular the design oeuvre of Professor George Kóródy, producing a book chapter on Kóródy in Rebecca Hawcroft’s recently published The Other Moderns: Sydney’s forgotten European design legacy. Maver has also advised on Australian design history for the Powerhouse Museum, Ian Potter: NGV Australia, and the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest. Instagram: @modernistermister