So Far by Minna Gilligan
'Then again, no' 2015
acrylic, ink, bleach, spray paint and collage on found fabric
image courtesy of dainesinger.com
If you don’t live in Melbourne to see Minna Gilligan’s colourful
being on the gallery scene you might have seen
her equally colourful Instagram feed or her daily
thoughts on Twitter or her blog.
She is a young visual artist with a proactive agenda.
She never stops working!
Working across painting, drawing and collage her work
exudes contrasts of exaltation and sadness, love and loneliness.
All achieved in a dreamy, psychedelic, technicolour kind of way.
Minna has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (First Class Honours) from the VCA
and is represented by Daine Singer Gallery in Melbourne.
She has held many solo exhibitions including Daine Singer, Melbourne Art Fair,
Spring 1883, West Space, the NGV, the NGA, Heide, Alt Space NY,
Ontario College of Art & Design Canada, Space 15 Twenty LA, PICA,
Papermill ARI, Knight Street Art Space, TCB Art Inc, George Paton Gallery
Minna has contributed to Rookie Mag since 2012 and also teaches at Monash University.
In 2015 she published her first book called Time After Time, a fashion
themed honest visual diary of both contemporary and vintage curated outfits with illustrations.
In this journey, Minna references pop-culture from songs and movies in a way
that is filled with nostalgia but is also is very Minna present and current.
Also in 2015, Minna was commissioned by the NGV to publish an artist book
called Poems, Prayers and Promises which is a selection of poems paired
with painterly collages.
Minna has just launched a new book at the recent New York Art Book Fair
called So Far, which is a collection of around 70 collage works that the
artist produced over that last 5 years.
Here is a short film made by Acclaim where the artist describes her work -
Limti'd Editions: Minna Gilligan from Hype DC on Vimeo.
So Far is limited to only 500 copies and you can order a signed copy of the book
along with Time After Time and Poems, Prayers and Promises through
her website here.
Thea X
Thea Basiliou
Author