Perth-based artists Norton Flavel, Fiona Gavino and Richie Kuhaupt have been announced as this year’s recipients of the Program, which commenced in 2020 and provides $30,000 a year in funding for West Australian artists. Each recipient will receive $10,000 to help cover the costs of making and transporting their sculptures.
Sculpture by the Sea Founding CEO & Artistic Director David Handley AM said, “The Bendat Family Foundation’s support for the artists of WA and for Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe is incredible. It is a great shot in the arm for all of us who look forward to bringing the exhibition to the people of WA each year. This is true philanthropy. At this time, we wish to acknowledge the extraordinary life of Dr Jack Bendat AM.”
Norton Flavel lives and works in Perth and has exhibited at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe five times previously. He was the recipient of the Western Australian Artist Scholarship Award at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe in 2015 for his work ‘Lucky Country’, and is well-known for ‘Bulk Carrier’, a towering inflatable wine cask bag affectionately dubbed by the public as the ‘Goon Bag’, which received considerable national and international media attention when he exhibited at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe 2014.
For Sculpture by Sea, Cottesloe 2022, he will exhibit a 2m-high aluminium sculpture titled ‘Figurative Abstraction’ which is an exploration of the relationship between the person and objects.
On receiving the subsidy, Flavel said: “I feel honoured to be invited to exhibit at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe 2022. It’s always a significant outlay in time and resources to produce work for the exhibition and the funds received alleviate a significant amount of financial pressure. This also gives me greater freedom to focus on my work without the normal financial confines. It’s a privilege to be a part of Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe 2022 and put some artwork out at Cottesloe again, especially during this time of Pandemania! Thank you to the Bendat Family Foundation for their support.”
Fiona Gavino is a nationally recognised fibre artist with Australian, Filipino and Māori heritage who has been described as an intercultural artist working the traditional into the contemporary. Basketry is the foundation to her practice, coupled with attentive conceptual ideas and intercultural dialogues. Exhibiting at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe for the third time, her work titled ‘From Chaos Comes Order’ is a 6m-wide, 4m-high sculpture made from cane.
Richie Kuhaupt has exhibited sculptures nationally and internationally for over 30 years, including seven solo shows in Western Australia and numerous group exhibitions. He has received a number of awards including the Waverly Acquisitive Award at Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 1999; the Sydney Water Sculpture Prize at Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2000; and the People’s Choice Award at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe 2005. For his sixth Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe exhibition, Kuhaupt’s mild steel and enamel paint work is titled ‘A Pathway Home’. He has exhibited at Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi four times since 1999 and at Sculpture by the Sea, Aarhus in 2009.
Sculpture by the Sea thanks the Bendat Family Foundation for its support as Perth Exhibition Patrons. The Foundation came on board as the Perth Exhibition Patrons for three years providing the largest annual philanthropic donation to date for the Cottesloe exhibition, after Sculpture by the Sea announced a substantial deficit for the 2018 and 2019 Cottesloe exhibitions.