Adelaide Central School of Art Graduate Exhibition 2022
Adelaide Central School of Art and Adelaide Central Gallery

This exhibition celebrates the final-year work of the ACSA Bachelor of Visual Art and Honours students. It highlights their achievements and gives audiences the opportunity to see the potential art stars of the future, as well as to observe emerging trends and styles.

While the 2022 artists delve into a broad range of topics, there are some recurring themes throughout. Overall there is a general feeling of optimism emanating from the exhibition, perhaps a result of our shift to a post-pandemic society.

“This year there seems to be a focus on reflection and speculation,” explains ACSA CEO Penny Griggs.

“Each graduate has created a unique and engaging body of work, delving deeply into subjects as diverse as Adelaide’s lost architectural history and the world’s imagined dystopic future.”

Several of the artists from the 2022 cohort have chosen painting as their preferred medium and it’s a strong offering from these artists.

An artist to watch is painter Brenton Drechsler, who received the Hill-Smith Art Advisory Award for painting or drawing. His contemplative paintings depicting garments, uniforms and urban environments are informed by his past careers in fashion design and working as a flight attendant, as well as his lived experiences as a queer person.

Throughout Drechsler’s suite of works is the recurring motif of green and white stripes; in some instances it’s intrusive and takes over, while in others it’s subtle, but in all cases it’s grounding. The green stripes are somewhat of an alter ego for Drechsler as they attempt to blend in but be present at the same time.

ACSA 2022 Graduate Exhibition installation view, featuring paintings by Brenton Drechsler.

Another highlight is the series of paintings by Lara Kittel depicting scenes of the Australian landscape. In the current social-media-obsessed society, there is a tendency for tourists to travel through the country trying to get the perfect posed shot for Instagram. It’s this unnatural, awkward, staged moment that Kittel captures in her work.

The rural landscape in Kittel’s work is inspired by Australian colonial art, advertising and social media trends. The application of paint adds texture and aids in highlighting the harshness of the Australian landscape while at the same time celebrating its beauty.

ACSA 2022 Graduate Exhibition installation view, featuring works by Lara Kittel.

Other painters who stand out are Naomi McCann, whose subtle, delicate works on paper show an understanding of formalist elements such as colour and composition, and Hilary Stein, who is experimenting with fluid paints and pastels to create works that reflect memories of people and places.

In addition to the artists experimenting with painting, there is a variety of other media on display, including traditional weaving and embroidery, and performance and installation works.

Kirra Curtis, Walls Meeting. Photo: James Field

Honours student Georgia Button is a standout with her installation Forgotten, a series of old televisions which are accompanied by a description of where she sourced them. Button uses these obsolete domestic televisions as a way to express the concept of loss and, in particular, lost histories. This collection of clunky old screens reminds us how quickly technology has developed and how quickly things become outdated and forgotten.

Button received several awards, including the ACE Studio Residency, SUREWiSE Major Award and the Lee Family Award for a high-achieving Bachelor of Visual Art (Honours).

Other notable presentations include Judith Klavins’ immersive installation which explores the unpredictability of nature and her connection to the ocean (Klavins was awarded the Board of Governors and Guildhouse Award for Excellence), and Kirra Curtis’s graffiti-covered bathroom stall installation.

Marian Sandberg ­–  winner of the Praxis studio residency, the James Martin Award for a high-achieving BVA graduate and the FELTspace Graduate Award ­– has created a body of work that is playful and interactive as she explores what it means to be human in the age of technology.

In works such as Historical Quilt, a hand-sewn wall piece featuring Sandberg’s internet history, and Scroll Wheel, a spinning wheel designed to continuously scroll a smartphone, the artist blends the traditional with the contemporary.

Marian Sandberg’s Scroll Wheel – found spinning wheel, wood, conductive fabric, leather, iPhone, motor and microcontroller; 85cm x 85cm x 36cm.

The 2022 Graduate Exhibition is an impressive line-up of artists creating inspiring work that suggests a bright future for the visual arts. It demonstrates the commitment of the ACSA in nurturing the creative talent of tomorrow.

“The school prides itself on teaching the concepts, methods and techniques through practice,” says Griggs.

“By level three of the program, each student is equipped to develop their own unique visual language with an emphasis on the relationship between making and meaning. We are very proud of all our graduates.”

Adelaide Central School of Art 2022 Graduate Exhibition is showing at ACSA (7 Mulberry Roadd, Glenside) until December 23, and will re-open from January 2 to 6.