Maree Azzopardi
Born and based in Sydney, Maree Azzopardi's works are included in numerous private and public collections throughout the world, including Artbank Australia, the Collezione Farhad in Rome, Collezione De Cecco in Italy, the French Embassy in Malta and Marisa Del Rea Gallery in New York. She has had the honour of exhibiting alongside prominent female artists such as Cindy Sherman, Annie Leibovitz, Vanessa Beecroft and Tracey Moffatt.
Azzopardi's mixed media photographic works explore universal themes of religion, death and sexuality. The human body is often present, used as a contemporary metaphor for beauty, decay, glory and shame. Her photos are crumpled, lacquered and layered with tarnished gold, as though it is her technique that is damaged, rather than the people she portrays. Her aesthetic is recognisable through its combination of Camp and Neo-Baroque sensibilities which underlies her more recent work, particularly the Chaos and Revelry series. Her experience and memories of growing up as a girl in a Catholic, Maltese family also inspires her, influencing her identity and therefore her artistic practice.
Her Italian survey exhibition 'The Poet Assassinated' was exhibited at Galleria Zerotre, Orvieto in 2005 and 'The All Australian Show' was recently showing in Naples after being exhibited in Galleria Il Ponte Contemporeanea in Rome and Lipanjepuntin Arte Contemporanea in Trieste alongside the works of Tracey Moffatt and John McCrea and Paul Ferman, Matthew Griffin and Selina Ou. Azzopardi will be exhibiting a new exhibition project Bodies at Libby Edwards Galleries in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane simultaneously in early 2007.
In 2008 she was invited to create new work for Chaos and Revelry at Counihan in Brunswick Gallery in Melbourne, curated by Edwina Bartlem and was included in the Dubai Art Fair with Galleries Direct. She will be exhibiting at Galleria Il Ponte Contemporanea in Roma and Galleri Tapper-Popermajer in Sweden in 2008.
Recent Solo Shows
2008 The Humana Series & Chaos and Revelry, Galleri Tapper-Popermajer, Teckomatorp, Sweden
2008 The Humana Series - Shadow, Relic & Flesh, Il Ponte Contemporeanea, Roma
2007 The Humana Series - Shadow, Relic & Flesh, Libby Edwards Galleries, Sydney, Brisbane & Melbourne
2006 Vox Humana Galleries Direct, Sydney, Australia
2005 The Poet Assassinated, Galleria Zerotre, Orvetio
2005 Spiritland St James Cavalier, Valletta, Malta
2002 Celeste, Michael Carr Art Dealer, Sydney, Australia
Recent Group Shows
2008 Non-domestic: New Works by Maree Azzopardi, Myrian Laplante and Luana Perilli, Interno Ventidue Arte Contemporanea, Palazzo Taverna, Rome, Italy.
2008 Dubai Art Fair, Dubai
2008 Chaos and Revelry, Counihan Gallery, Melbourne.
2007 The Blake Prize, Finalist Show, National Art School, Sydney
2007 The Willoughby Prize, finalist, Willoughby, Sydney
2007 The Wayside Chapel Exhibition, Gallery 9, Sydney
2007 Shifting Ground, Red Gallery, Melbourne
2006 Beyond Lilith - The Scared Feminine, RosArte Scuderie Aldobrandini, Frascati, Italy
2006 The Hills Grammar Art Prize, Sydney
2006 The Willoughby Prize, Finalist Show, Willoughby, Sydney
2006 ART Sydney 06, Galleries Direct Stand, Sydney Showgrounds, Sydney
2005 The All-Australian Show, Il Ponte Comtemporanea Rome and Lipanje Puntin Arte Contempranea, Trieste, Italy
2004 Melbourne International Art Fair: Il Nudo (The Nude in Recent Photography) Palazzo Piancentini - Centro D'Arte Contemporanea, San Benedetto Del Tronto, Ascoli Picena
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