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Tough & Tender

Previous exhibition

from Friday 15 July until Sunday 16 October 2016

Tough & Tender reveals emotional vulnerability and yearning for connection. Art by a group of American and Australian artists from the 1960s to now explore the complexities of personal relations and individual expression – their work is intimate and raw.

Spencer 2016, by Warwick Baker

Photographs by Warwick Baker, Larry Clark, Rozalind Drummond, Nan Goldin, Robert Mapplethorpe and Collier Schorr reflect the formative identity of young adulthood and complexities of masculinity and gender, composed with sensitivity and candour. In ground-breaking performance art documented on video, Chris Burden’s physical trials strip back his own persona and the mythic ethos of manhood.

Specific works have been selected from broader oeuvres to create an atmosphere of revelation of subtle emotion and bodily sensation in portrait-related work.

18 portraits
view all

Untitled (42nd Street Series), 1979
by Larry Clark

Nan and Brian in bed, New York City 1983 by Nan Goldin

Koko & Kiko (42nd Street Series), 1980 by Larry Clark

Video still from Documentation of Selected Works, 1971-74 by Chris Burden

Untitled (42nd Street Series), 1979–80 by Larry Clark

Benny (42nd Street Series), 1979–80 by Larry Clark

1 Untitled (42nd Street Series), 1979 , by Larry Clark. 2 Beno 2016 by Warwick Baker. 3 Nan and Brian in bed, New York City 1983 by Nan Goldin. 4 Koko & Kiko (42nd Street Series), 1980 by Larry Clark. 5 Video still from Documentation of Selected Works, 1971-74, by Chris Burden. 6 Vy (Cowsill) 2016 by Rozalind Drummond. 7 Untitled (42nd Street Series), 1979–80, by Larry Clark. 8 Hugh 2015, by Warwick Baker. 9 Benny (42nd Street Series), 1979–80, by Larry Clark.

Rozalind Drummond

Tough & Tender

The photographs in Tough & tender by Rozalind Drummond evoke individual freedom and personal reflection.

Nan Goldin

Tough & Tender

The photographs by Nan Goldin in Tough and tender are warm images of heartache and hope.

Warwick Baker

Tough & Tender

The photographs in Tough and tender by Warwick Baker reveal intimate connections and moments of closeness.

Larry Clark

Tough & Tender

Larry Clark's black-and-white documentary images of young outsiders reveal raw feelings.

Dominik, First Tour, Backnang 2000 by Collier Schorr

Collier Schorr

Tough & Tender

This is the first time Collier Schorr's photographs, which explore gender and identity, have been shown in Australia.

Chris Burden

Tough & Tender

In the video in Tough and tender Chris Burden narrates his performance artworks characterised by focused attention to mind over physical body.

Follow curator Chris Chapman on Instagram

Dr. Chris Chapman's Instagram account is inspiration for the exhibition Tough & Tender.

Related people

Dr Christopher Chapman (curator)

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