Archibald Prize 2015 Finalist Entry
Kim Leutwyler’s subject, Ollie Henderson, is an activist, designer and one of Australia’s top models. Aged just 26, she has received global recognition for founding the fashion label and youth empowerment project House of Riot, which uses fashion as a vehicle for encouraging young people to start productive conversations about social change in Australia.
Henderson is a friend of the artist’s. ‘I typically create paintings of LGBTQI-identified and queer-allied women, most recently focusing on those who have impacted my life in some way,’ says Leutwyler.
‘My work explores the line between glorification, objectification and modification, using patterns and abstractions from each subject’s local and social environment as a subtle vernacular to portray the fluidity and complexities of identity. As a feminist member of the LGBTQI community, Ollie speaks openly about the objectification inherent to a career in modelling, and the unrealistic modification of images that set unattainable standards of beauty.’
EXHIBITION HISTORY
Art Gallery of New South Wales: 18 Jul – 27 Sep 2015
Ballarat Art Gallery: 2 Oct – 15 Nov 2015
New England Regional Art Museum: 20 Nov – 10 Jan 2016
Tweed River Art Gallery: 15 Jan -28 Feb 2016
Manning Regional Art Gallery: 5 March – 17 April 2016
Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery: 23 April – 5 June 2016
Blue Mountains Cultural Centre: 11 June – 24 July 2016