Helen Eager facts for kids
Helen Eager (born 27 September 1952) is an Australian artist. She has been showing her art for over 40 years! One of her famous artworks, 'Tango', was chosen for a special wall at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) in Sydney in 2011. At first, 'Tango' was a temporary artwork made for that specific spot. But now, it's a permanent display at the MCA in a new place. You can find Helen Eager's paintings, drawings, videos, and prints in important art collections across Australia. These include the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of NSW, the National Gallery of Victoria, and the Art Gallery of South Australia.
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Helen Eager's Art Education
Helen Eager started her art journey at the South Australian School of Arts in Adelaide. She studied there from 1972 to 1975. Later, she received a special grant from the Visual Arts Board to study art in Europe and the United States. She went to the Kala Art Institute from 1981 to 1982. In 1990, she earned her Masters of Visual Arts degree from the College of Fine Art in New South Wales. She also spent time as an artist-in-residence at the Greene Street Studio in New York in 1988.
Early Artworks by Helen Eager
Helen Eager first became known for her paintings of everyday things. She painted objects like chairs, teacups, and vases. She was very good at using color and light in her art. People said her art made them look at normal indoor scenes in a new and interesting way.
From 1988, Helen Eager's art started to change. She began to focus more on abstract art. Abstract art uses shapes, colors, and lines instead of showing things exactly as they look. For ten years, she often used triangles in her abstract works. Now, her shapes have many sides! The way she uses color and light is still very important in her abstract paintings. In 2021, a special exhibition showed how her drawing style had grown over 40 years.
Helen Eager's Art Exhibitions
Helen Eager has had many solo art shows. She showed her work at Sydney's Watters Gallery between 1977 and 1991. Since 2009, she has shown her art at Utopia Art Sydney. She has also had solo exhibitions in other big Australian cities like Brisbane, Melbourne, and Adelaide. In total, she has had 33 solo exhibitions and been part of 146 group shows with other artists.
Early in her career, Watters Gallery represented Helen Eager. Since 2009, Utopia Art Sydney has represented her. Helen Eager will have a new exhibition with Utopia Art Sydney in September and October 2024.
As both a print-maker and a painter, Helen Eager has been in many group exhibitions. These include the Tokyo Print Biennale in Japan in 1979, and Sydney Contemporary at Carriageworks, Sydney, in 2019.
Helen Eager is one of ten artists taking part in the Dobell Drawing Biennial 2024. This event will be held at the AGNSW New England Regional Art Gallery. The gallery will also host a big exhibition in October 2024 that looks back at her entire career.
Helen Eager's Art at Vivid 2022
Helen Eager was chosen to create a special light artwork for the Vivid Light Festival. This artwork was projected onto the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) building. The festival was planned for 2021 but was postponed to 2022 because of the Covid pandemic. It opened on May 27, 2022.
Her artwork was called New York Sunday. It was an 8.5-minute-long show that constantly changed and moved. It showed different parts of Helen Eager's art career. Electronic music by Peter Mac played along with the light show. People described it as "a sure crowd pleaser" and "one of the highlights of the Festival."
Images for kids
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Eager in her studio painting.
