The Strutts

'Kostüüme'

Exhibition dates: Wed 20 June to Sat 7 July 2007
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Folk musicians, Cape Breton step dancers, synaesthetes: The Strutts are as eclectic as their art. The Strutt Sisters are identical twins Catherine and Jennifer, who are artists based in Newcastle. They are well-known for their mixed media assemblages, with four sell out exhibitions at the Damien Minton Gallery. Their works consist of bricolage - tiny stages made of wood and tin, on which a cavalcade of characters snipped from old magazines, medical textbooks and postcards frolic. These works at times resemble nothing so much as the bric-a-brac shelf in a country town op-shop. The Strutts revel in the discarded and surreal, the whimsical and the absurd. Their works have been described as Joseph Cornell’s boxes turned inside out.

The collaborative nature of their work allows for cross-pollination of ideas, each twin bringing her own inspiration and making her own mark.

“All their busy references are beautifully contained within formal constructions of real assurance and a careful interweaving of pattern and colour”, writes art critic Sebastian Smee.

Alongside their artwork, the Strutts create and sell jewellery, which is sold from the style boutique Betty Mim in Newcastle and soon to dominate the world.

The new body of work titled 'Kostüüme', continues their tradition of eclectic themes (previous series have been based on cicadas; songs about birds; folk festivals).

This exhibition is inspired by a series of cards the sisters received as a gift, which featured Estonian folk dancers.

Also on display at the show will be jewellery hanging from a festive pear tree stencilled on the wall, including brooches, bracelets, earrings, rings and necklaces.

Solo Exhibitions (Collaborative)

2007 Kostüüme, Damien Minton Gallery, Redfern
2006 Festlig, Damien Minton Gallery, Redfern
2005 Greener Pastures, Damien Minton Gallery, Redfern
2004 Many Strutts Make Art Work, Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery
2004 Many Strutts Make Art Work, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery & Arts Centre
2003 The Cicada Series, ‘New Contemporaries’, QVB, Sydney
2002 Bird Songs, Damien Minton Gallery, Newcastle
2001 ‘The Gig’, Damien Minton Gallery, Newcastle
2001 Vessel Studio Project – a collaborative project with artist Peter Hardy, Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery
1996 Lake Macquarie Council Chambers, foyer
1995 ‘Keynote to Popularity’, Watt Space Gallery, Newcastle

Group Exhibitions (Collaborative)

2007 Muswellbrook Open Art Prize, Muswellbrook Regional Art Centre
2005 Art on Paper Prize, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery
2003 12 Artists from Newcastle in Sydney, Danks Street, Waterloo, Sydney, Sulman Prize, AGNSW
2002 Ten Artists from Newcastle in Sydney, Danks Street, Waterloo, Sydney
2001 Art on paper Prize, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery
1999-2001 Toys by Artist, New England Regional Art Museum Touring Exhibition
1998 PCL Exhibitionist Gallery, Sydney
1998 ‘It’s a Guitar Shaped World 3’, Tamworth Regional Gallery
1996 'Watt’s Next’, Watt Space Gallery, Newcastle
1995 Graduate Diploma Exhibition, University of Newcastle
1994 Exchange Exhibition with the University of Northumbria, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England
1994 Maitland Art Prize
1994 National Tertiary Art Prize, Wollongong
1994 A Pony for Tony, Watt Space Gallery, Newcastle

Awards

2007 prize winner Muswellbrook Open Art Prize, Muswellbrook Regional Art Centre
2005 finalists in Hazelhurst Art Award: Art on Paper
2003 finalists, Sulman Prize, AG NSW
2001 finalists in Hazelhurst Art Award: Art on Paper

Collections

Artbank