Bundanon opens newest season for 2023 'Fantastic Forms'

This newest exhibition is in recognition of Bundanon's 30 year anniversary, and celebrates the ritual of artmaking in all its forms and its connection to everyday life.

The exhibition is a mix of ceramics, sculptures and animation, with central works by Merric Boyd and three living Australian artists - Nabilah Nordin, Stephen Benwell and Rubyrose Bancroft.

Last weekend hundreds locally and from around the state made their way to Bundanon for the opening, which was comprised of guided tours of the exhibition along with a program of artist and curator talks along with family friendly workshops and performances.

Speaking on the weekend, Bundanon's head of curatorial and learning Sophie O'Brien said they have received great feedback from the general public about the opening.

"I think people were really happy," Ms O'Brien said

."It's very colourful and inventive showcase and it uses the collection in a new way that we haven't done before."

There has never been a full exhibition of Merric Boyd's work according to Ms O'Brien, with this season being a full celebration of the artist's work and practice.

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"We've chosen about 200 drawing ceramics from the collection, so it's a very big presentation," she said.

"It's exciting about getting it out to people and being able to show them a full picture as to what Merric's practice was like."

Merric Boyd (1888-1959), father to Bundanon co-founder Arthur Boyd, is heralded as the father of Australian Studio Pottery, with a lot of his work taking inspiration from his immediate environment often mixed with fantastical elements.

Ms O'Brien said its been a goal of hers since coming to Bundanon three years ago to put together a showcase of his work.

When looking for artists to be showcased alongside Boyd, the Bundanon team knew they wanted Australian artists with different practices but distinctively similar themes to that of Boyd's.

"We were thinking who's practices are really diverse but still connected to this idea of energy, creativity, imagination and exploration of the world around you," Ms O'Brien said.

"Merric's drawings are of the world around him, animals, landscapes, trees and people, but they're refashioned in a very imaginative way."

"It's the idea of taking the world around you and then creating fantasy from it or creating a sort of jumping off point for imagination."

The three living Australian artists chosen for this exhibition are large-scale sculptor Nabilah Nordin, ceramicist Stephen Benwell and stop-motion emerging Bundjalung artist Rubyrose Bancroft.

"All three approach the fashioning of material, and we think these were the perfect three artists to respond to the work of Merric's," Ms O'Brien said.

There are currently four different large rooms for the exhibition, held in the newly designed museum at Bundanon.

Three of the rooms are a mix of the chosen contemporary artists and Merric's work, while the fourth is a standalone room for Merric's drawings and sketchbooks so you can get a sense of what his world was like from only his perspective.

"This whole exhibition is about the world being made fantastic and how each of us make forms all the time, it's all based on stretching the boundaries of how we think about the world."

Fantastic Forms will run until June 18, more information can be found here.