‘Remember Me’ is a major exhibition that charts the exceptional, though relatively short, career of modernist Joy Hester and celebrates the centenary of her birth. Ruminating on varied themes, of love, sex, birth, and death, the artist was consistent in her use of brush and ink. Her oeuvre is distinct for its investigation of the human psyche represented most often by figures and the face. Hester’s expressive compositions offered fresh insights and have stood the test of time. Lesley Harding, Heide Artistic Director, says ‘She was avant-garde in the most literal sense of the term: experimental, unorthodox and original.’
Joy Hester, Face (with Yellow Background), c.1947, brush and ink and gouache on paper, 27.6 x 37.6cm. Gift of Barret Reid 1990. © Joy Hester/Copyright Agency 2019. Courtesy the Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne
Joy Hester, Girl, 1957, brush and ink on paper, 49.9 x 75.5cm (image), 49.9 x 75.5cm (sheet). National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Purchased 1972. ©Joy Hester/Copyright Agency 2019
Heide Museum of Modern Art
28 November 2020 to 14 February 2021
Melbourne
Listen to Senior Curator Kendrah Morgan in conversation with Namila Benson from ABC Radio National’s The Art Show about the life and work of Joy Hester here.
