Christine Abrahams Gallery facts for kids

The Christine Abrahams Gallery was an important art gallery in Melbourne, Australia. It showed modern Australian art from 1980 to 2008. It was first called Axiom Gallery before changing its name.

About Christine Abrahams

Christine Abrahams (1939–1994) loved art very much. She studied Fine Art at Melbourne University and finished in 1961. For several years, she worked as a guide at the National Gallery of Victoria. Later, she helped with research at Monash University.

Christine became a key supporter of modern Australian art in Melbourne. Artist Lenton Parr said she saw art as "a gift to the spirit." He also said it was a source of "pleasure and enlightenment." Betty Churcher, who directed the National Gallery of Australia, praised Christine's kindness and passion. She said Christine gave Melbourne a place for "interesting contemporary art." Before opening her own gallery, Christine managed the Powell Street Gallery from 1976 to 1980.

Axiom Gallery: The Beginning

In March 1980, Christine Abrahams helped open Axiom Gallery. It was located at 27 Gipps Street in Richmond, a suburb of Melbourne. This area became a popular spot for many art galleries. Other galleries like Pinacotheca and Niagara Galleries were also nearby.

Art critic Robert Rooney noted that Axiom Gallery continued to show "modernist abstraction." This style of art focuses on shapes, colors, and forms rather than realistic images. The gallery showed artists like Sydney Ball and Fred Cress.

Axiom's first show featured large abstract paintings. These paintings sold for prices between $700 and $9500. After this, they had a show of photographs by David Moore. By 1982, Christine was proud of how many women artists the gallery supported. She said, "Eight out of 16 artists we've shown this year have been women." She added that they chose them because their art was "really exciting."

Axiom Exhibitions

Axiom Gallery showed many different artists. Here are a few examples:

• 1980, July: Barbara Zerbini
• 1980, September: Helen Geier
• 1980, December: A group show with Lesley Dumbrell, Roger Kemp, and photographs by David Moore.
• 1981, March: William Kelly drawings.
• 1981, April: Gisèle Freund photographs.
• 1981, November: Lenton Parr
• 1982, June: Works by famous Italian artists like Enzo Cucchi and Francesco Clemente.
• 1982, December: Ceramic sculptures by James Draper and jewelry by former students of RMIT.

Christine Abrahams Gallery: A New Name

In December 1982, Axiom Gallery closed. It reopened on February 12, 1983, with a new name: the 'Christine Abrahams Gallery'. Christine was the director. The gallery showed a wide range of art. This included paintings, photographs, and works by architects. It also featured crafts like jewelry, ceramics, and furniture. Even Indigenous artists displayed their work here.

In 1987, Christine's son, Guy Abrahams, joined her as co-director. The gallery building used to be a clothing factory. Architect Daryl Jackson redesigned it in 1980. He kept the industrial look with exposed beams and concrete floors. This design made it a great place to show large paintings. The gallery also had a smaller space. This allowed them to show smaller works like drawings or photographs at the same time.

Christine Abrahams Gallery Exhibitions

The gallery continued to host many exhibitions under its new name:

• 1983, February: A show featuring eight artists, including Ann Weir.
• 1983, March: Sculptures by Fiona Orr and prints by Wendy Stavrianos.
• 1983, July: Paintings by Fred Cress and sculptures by Marcus Shanahan.
• 1983, August: Paintings and drawings by Sydney Ball.
• 1984, April: Architectural drawings by Daryl Jackson and photographs of his buildings by John Gollings.
• 1984, June: Paintings by Marion Borgelt.
• 1984, September: Bark paintings by Bulun Bulun, an Indigenous artist.
• 1985, February: Photography by Grant Mudford.
• 1988, September: Melbourne 1954 – 1964, photographs by Mark Strizic.
• 1994, July: Paintings by Mandy Martin.
• 1995, August: Melbourne in the '60s, another exhibition of photographs by Mark Strizic.

Closure

Christine Abrahams passed away in September 1994 at age 55. Her son, Guy Abrahams, continued to run the gallery. He had been co-director since 1987. The Christine Abrahams Gallery closed its doors in November 2008, after 28 years. The gallery's records were given to the State Library of Victoria.

Influence

Christine Abrahams had a big impact on the art world. She helped start the important Australian Contemporary Art Fair. This event is now known as the Melbourne Art Fair. She was also part of the planning committee for this fair in 1988, 1990, and 1992. Christine also served on the board of the Fifth Mildura Sculpture Triennial in 1993. She was a member of other important art groups, like the Visual Art Export Group of the Australia Council.