Rosalie Gascoigne (1917–1999)

Biography

1917 Born in Auckland, New Zealand
1937 Bachelor of Arts, Auckland University
1938-42 Taught at Auckland Girl's Grammar School in English, Latin, French and History.
1943 Arrived in Australia. Married Ben Gascoigne, a New Zealand born astronomer. Lived near Canberra.
1962 Enrolled in Ikebana classes. Began collecting abandoned farm machinery and fencing wire for use in Ikebana, then assemblages.
1963 Travelled overseas, including England and Sweden.
1967 The Japanese Shogettsu master, Sofu Teshigahara, known for his large scale sculptural approach, visited Australia and was impressed with Gascoigne's work
1970-73 Travelled overseas to England, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden and Japan. Developed as a practising artist and became increasingly aware of contemporary art. Began reading magazines such as Artforum, Art in America and Art International.
1975 Chosen for inclusion in the Artists' Choice exhibition at Gallery A, Sydney. Her work is a major success with critics and the public.
1981 Travelled to USA.
1982 First woman to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale (with Peter Booth).
1983 Has a studio built in her house
1999 Died in Canberra

Selected Exhibitions

1950s-60s Regular exhibitor in the Canberra Horticultural Society's annual shows for flower arranging
1974 First solo exhibition at Macquarie Gallery, Canberra
1975 Artists' Choice exhibition at Gallery A, Sydney
1976 Solo exhibition, Gallery A, Sydney
1977 Solo exhibition, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane (exhibits first large floor piece 'Pale Landscape').
1977 'Objects', Ray Hughes, Brisbane
1978 Major survey exhibition 'Survey 2. Rosalie Gascoigne', National Gallery of Victoria
1979 Third Biennale of Sydney exhibition 'European Dialogue', Art Gallery of NSW.
1979 Solo exhibition, Ray Hughes Gallery
1980 Adelaide Festival exhibition 'Drawn and Quartered – Australian Contemporary Paperworks', Art Gallery of South Australia
1981 'First Australian Sculpture Triennial', Melbourne
1981 'Australian Perspecta 1981 – A Biennale Survey of Contemporary Australia Art', Art Gallery of NSW
1981 Solo exhibition, Pinacotheca Gallery, Melbourne
1982 Venice Biennale (with Peter Booth)
1983 Solo exhibition, 'Rosalie Gasoigne: Sculpture 1975-1982', National Art Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
1983 'Continuum '83', Gallery Yamaguchi, Tokyo
1984 'Australia Sculpture Now: The Second Australian Sculpture Triennial', National Gallery of Victoria
1985 Solo exhibition, 'New Work', Tasmanian School of Art, Hobart
1986 'Four Sculptors in Australia', Wollongong City Gallery
1987 'Third Australian Sculpture Triennial', National Gallery of Victoria
1988 'Australian Biennale 1988', Art Gallery of NSW and NGV 'Creating Australia: 200 years of art 1788-1988', Art Gallery of South Australia, touring nationally
1989 'What is Contemporary Art', Rooseum, Malmo, Sweden
1989 Solo exhibition, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
1990 'Strange Harmony of Contrasts', Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery
1990 'Adelaide Biennale of Australian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia
1990 'Eighth Biennale of Sydney', Art Gallery of NSW
1990 'Rosalie Gascoigne – Colin McCahon. Sense of Place', Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney, Ian Potter Gallery, Melbourne, and 'L'Ete Australien a Montpellier', Musee Fabre, Montpellier, France
1992 'Conversions: Festival of Installation works', Canberra Contemporary Art Space
1993 'Clemenger Triennial Exhibition of Contemporary Art', National Gallery of Victoria
1993 'Identities: Art From Australia', Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan
1994 'Fourth Australian Contemporary Art Fair', Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
1994 'Aussemblage', Auckland City Art Gallery and City Gallery Wellington, New Zealand
1995 'Perceived Differently', Canberra National Sculpture Forum, Drill Hall Gallery
1996 Solo exhibition, Greenaway Art Gallery, Adelaide. 'International Art Fair – Art 27'96', Basel
1996 'Islands: Contemporary Installations from Australia, Asia, Europe and America', National Gallery of Australia
1996 'Fifth Australian Contemporary Art Fair', Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
1996 'Spirit and Place: Art in Australia 1861-1996', Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
1997 'In Place (Out of Time): Contemporary Art in Australia', Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, UK

Awards

1950s-60s Numerous prizes in the Canberra Horticultural Society's annual shows for flower arranging
1994 AM, Order of Australia 'for services to the arts, particularly as a sculptor'.
1994 John McCaughey Prize, Art Gallery of NSW.
1995 Grand Prize Award at Cheju Pre-Biennale in 'Island to Island: Australia to Cheju', Korea

Collections

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
Artbank
Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Regional gallery collections in Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Newcastle, Campbelltown,
Wollongong and Launceston
Private collections in Australia and overseas

Source:
Deborah Edwards, 'Rosalie Gascoigne: Material as Landscape', Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1998.

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