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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

So Fine by Linde Ivimey

Marilyn Ball, Albatross, 2018 (detail) by Linde Ivimey

So Fine

Contemporary women artists make Australian history

Previous exhibition
from Friday 29 June until Monday 1 October 2018

As conceptually thrilling as it is aesthetically rich, So Fine features new works from ten women artists reinterpreting and reimagining elements of Australian history. Forming part of the Portrait Gallery’s twentieth birthday celebrations, the exhibition enriches the contemporary narrative around Australia’s history and biography, reflecting the tradition of storytelling in our country.

So Fine’s contributing artists – of various ages and backgrounds, and hailing from different parts of Australia – have all created new works for the exhibition. Aside from gender, their common attributes are a meticulous approach to creation, driven by considered, nuanced thinking. Their works are intricate, refined and affecting objects that reconceive events, people and places from Australia’s past.

The artists involved are Shirley Purdie, Linde Ivimey, Bern Emmerichs, Leah King-Smith, Nusra Latif Qureshi, Nicola Dickson, Pamela See (Xue Mei-Ling), Fiona McMonagle, Valerie Kirk and Carol McGregor. Charged with these makers’ passionate, intensely individual takes, and incorporating themes from pre-history to the present, So Fine challenges and delights, as well as interrogating the boundaries of contemporary portraiture.

1 Marilyn Ball, Albatross, 2018 by Linde Ivimey. 2 Cross-Stitched (Centre panel), 2018 by Bern Emmerichs. 3 black seeds, 2017 by Carol McGregor. 4 Presenting Jean Piron, 1793 - Femme du Cap de Diemen, 2018 by Nicola Dickson. 5 Goollabal (Rainbow Serpent), 2018 by Shirley Purdie. 6 Ayrshire Slates, 2017 by Valerie Kirk. 7 The Scheme (5 works on calico - Girl 2), 2018 by Fiona McMonagle. 8 Refined Portraits of Desire (detail), 2018 by Nusra Latif Qureshi. 9 Reading, 2018 by Leah King-Smith.

Related people

Dr Sarah Engledow (curator)

Christine Clark (curator)

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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency