This Friday, Louise Paramor’s solo exhibition will transform NGV Australia into an immersive and surreal landscape of more than 100 colourful sculptures. ‘Palace of the Republic’ will hero eight large-scale collapsible paper sculptures especially commission by NGV. Inspired by the structure of honeycomb, these employ a unique paper sculpture technique that Louise first pioneered in Berlin in 1999.
The artist fashions each sculpture by hand, cutting and gluing layer upon layer of vivid paper like a concertina. Next, she spectacularly pulls the design 360 degrees around a central axis to create larger-than-life forms, which tower over three metres!
This showcase takes its name from the now-demolished seat of the German Democratic Republic, Palast der Rebublik. This socialist building once stood opposite the Baroque-era Berlin City Palace. Louise has worked to reference both the pragmatism of modernist architecture and the ornateness of the Baroque, in her ‘absurd marriage between grandeur and pragmatism’.
‘Louise’s practice is at once playful and intellectual, often providing a thoughtful comment on design and architecture,’ says NGV’s Director Tony Ellwood. ‘It creates a sense of wonder for the viewer through its bold colours and impressive scale’.
Displayed alongside the eight monuments scores are colourful plastic sculptures, some merely 20 centimetres, others several metres! The collection highlights the past decade of the artist’s pactice and as such, is divided into five distinct sections, reflecting her whimsical experimentation with colour, volume and scale.
‘Palace of the Republic’ by Louise Paramor
November 17th to March 12th
Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square
Free entry
Exhibitions by Del Kathryn Barton, Helen Maudsley, and Mel O’Callaghan will also be opening concurrently at Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square.
