The light fades but the gods remain by Bill Henson
Monash Gallery of Art, City of Monash Collection, courtesy of the artist,
Tolarno Galleries (Melbourne) and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery (Sydney).
The light fades but the gods remain is a major exhibition showcasing two key series by Bill Henson, one of Australia's most eminent artists, exploring the suburb of Glen Waverley where he grew up. In celebration of MGA's 25th anniversary, Bill Henson was commissioned to revisit the suburb of his childhood and to produce a new body of work that reflects upon his earlier series, Untitled 1985-86, known by many as 'the suburban series'.
The commissioned works will enter the MGA collection, complementing the holdings of 12 works from the 1985–86 series.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a comprehensive publication, The light fades but the gods remain, co-published with Thames & Hudson Australia. Hardback and clothbound with a jacket featuring one of Bill Henson’s iconic photographs – plus a premium edition presented in a signed slipcase – this publication is more work of art than exhibition catalogue. $99 (jacketed hardback) / $150 (premium edition in signed slipcase).
Monash Gallery of Art, City of Monash Collection, courtesy of the artist,
Tolarno Galleries (Melbourne) and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery (Sydney).
About Bill Henson
After hischildhood in Glen Waverley and studying at Prahran College, Bill Henson had his first solo exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1975 at the age of 19. He has since exhibited extensively in Australia and overseas, including New York, London, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo, Montreal, Barcelona, Vienna, and Amsterdam. In 1995, Henson represented Australia at the Venice Biennale, with his celebrated series of cut-screen photographs.
In 2003, Henson’s work appeared in Strangers: the first ICP triennial of photography and video at the International Center of Photography in New York. In the same year, he had a solo exhibition at the Centro de Fotografia, University of Salamanca, Spain. In 2005, a comprehensive survey of his work was held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. This landmark survey show, titled Mnemosyne attracted record visitor numbers for a contemporary art exhibition in Australia and was accompanied by the substantial and important publication by the same name. In 2006, Henson exhibited a major body of work in Twilight: photography in the magic hour at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of NSW.
