Michael Doolan’s solo exhibition ‘Cautionary Tales’ will feature a selection of small-scale hand modeled ceramic sculptures that explore themes of childhood fantasy and fictional tales. Ten small still life groupings present narratives that highlight key elements in a range of cautionary tales. These groupings include animal figures such as: deer, horses, rabbits, raccoons, owls and squirrels juxtaposed with motifs such as a candle, castle and witches house, portraying different scenarios. The works will have smooth matt finishes in a variety of vibrant colours. Each configuration will convey a moment where a cautionary tale unfolds. Doolan toys with the original ending of many childhood stories and fairytales by upsetting, changing and twisting their outcomes visually. In this way the tales are manipulated and degraded, producing unexpected and unforeseen endings.
Doolan’s works exist on the borders of the imaginary and the realistic, as proportion, fantasy and intricate detail via scientific investigation are explored, allowing for a tension between potential threat and the distance of the impossible. The exhibition will also include two large-scale freestanding works in a high gloss automotive finish.
Michael Doolan was born in 1959, Melbourne, Australia and currently lives and works in Melbourne. Michael completed a Bachelor of Arts (Ceramic Design) at Chisholm Institute of Technology, Melbourne (1981), and graduated with a Master of Arts at Monash University, Melbourne (2001) where he is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Fine Art.
Doolan has held various solo exhibitions throughout Australia, most notably: Supermaker: Michael Doolan, Craft Victoria at the Atrium Federation Square, Melbourne (2010), for now and for ever, Karen Woodbury Gallery (2007); Never Ever Land, Academy Gallery, University of Tasmania, Launceston (2005); Good as Gold, Brisbane City Gallery, Queensland (2003); The Good, The Bad and The Cuddly, Faculty Gallery, Monash University, Melbourne (2000).
He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions, including: Your Move: Australian Artists Play Chess, Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo (touring) (2011); Gold Coast International Ceramic Art Award, Gold Coast City Gallery, Queensland (2010); Zen to Kawaii: the Japanese affect, QUT Art Museum, Brisbane (2010); Korero, Ceramics in conversation, Taiwan Ceramics Biennale, Taipei County Tingge Ceramics Museum, Taipei (2010); CLASH: Contemporary sculptural ceramics, Newcastle Region Art Gallery, Newcastle (2010); Deakin Small Sculpture Award, Melbourne (2009); Trouble in Toyland, Counihan Gallery, Melbourne (2009); McClelland Sculpture Survey & Award, McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park, Langwarrin, Victoria (2007); the prestigious by invitation only Trans Ceramic Art, Third World International Ceramics Biennale, Korea (2005); Strange Cargo: Contemporary Art as a State of Encounter, Newcastle Region Gallery, touring regional galleries (2006/2008) and Snap Freeze: Still Life Now, TarraWarra Museum of Art, Victoria (2007).
Among his various achievements, Doolan has been the recipient of the Out of Time Grant, Australia Council for the Arts (2005); a London Studio Residency, Australia Council for the Arts (2002); the Sidney Myer International Ceramics Award (2002); and in 1995, was awarded a gold medal at the 14th International Biennale, Ceramique d’Art, Vallauris, France. Doolan was a finalist in the McClelland Sculpture Survey and Award 2007, McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park, Langwarrin, Victoria. Doolan’s work features in many significant private and public collections that include: the Shepparton Art Gallery, Victoria; Newcastle Region Gallery, New South Wales; Gold Coast City Gallery, Queensland; Ipswich Art Gallery, Queensland; and the Chateau Museum, Vallauris, France.
