HANY ARMANIOUS
Much of Armanious’ practice of recent years can be traced to his fascination with the processes and problems of making sculpture – casting in particular. His latest bodies of work play out these processes in a fantastical cycle of self-referentiality forged from an acute awareness of the analogous morphologies of form, material, and cultural resource.
Hany Armanious was born in Eygpt and grew up in Australia, where he currently lives. He has participated in a wide variety of shows in Australisia and further afield over the past fifteen years including the Sydney Biennale in 1992, the Venice Biennale in 1993, the Johannesburg Biennale in 1995, Home and Away: Contemporary Australian and New Zealand Art from the Chartwell Collection at the Auckland Art Gallery in 1999 and Bloom at the Govett-Brewster Gallery, New Plymouth, in 2003. In 2001 his work was shown as part of a solo exhibition at the UCLA Hammer Museum in Los Angeles and later at the Ian Potter Museum in Melbourne. Armanious was awarded the prestigious Moet and Chandon Australian Art Foundation Fellowship in 1998. His work is held in most major Australian public and private collections as well as many overseas.
Hany Armanious currently lives and works in Sydney, Australia.
1962 Born
1984 Bachelor of Visual Arts, City Art Institute, Sydney, Australia
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2009
Double Hemisphere, Foxy Production, New York, USA (group)
Uncanny Valley, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydeny, Australia (solo)
2008
Front Room, Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri, USA (solo)
2007
Year of the Pig Sty, Foxy Production, New York
Castillo/Corrales and Galeries Balice with Foxy Production, Paris, France
Year of the Pig Sty, Michael Lett, Auckland, New Zealand
Morphic Resonance, Gallery of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
2006
Morphic Resonance, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia
Intelligent Design, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, Australia
The Frontiers Are My Prison, Michael Lett Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
2005
Turns in Arabba, Michael Lett at LISTE05, Basel, Switzerland
Hany Armanious Hany Armanious: Central Core Component from the Centre of the Universe, Ocular Lab Inc., Melbourne, Australia
2004
The Centre of the Universe (Central Core/Hard Core/Soft Core) Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Stopping the World, Michael Lett, Auckland, New Zealand
The Cult, Roslyn Oxley 9 Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2003
Art Nouveau Barbeque, Roslyn Oxley 9 Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Views of Space, Michael Lett, Auckland, New Zealand
2002
Selflok, Ian Potter Museum, Melbourne, Australia
Space Cake, First Floor, Melbourne, Australia
Datura (with Mary Teague), Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2001
Neo Phantom Thing (with Mary Teague), Lord Mori Gallery, Los Angeles , USA
Selflok, UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles , USA
The Disappearing I and Selflok, Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2000
Semi-Automatic, Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, Australia
1999
Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, Australia
1997
Testrip, Auckland, New Zealand
Thomas Taubert, Düsseldorf, Germany
1996
Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, Australia
CBD Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Circus (Three ring), CBD Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Side-On Studio, Sydney, Australia
1995
Well Water Under a Tree, David Pestorius Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
Second Hand Political, Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, Australia
F.A.C., CBD Gallery, Sydney, Australia
1994
Snake Oil, Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Worksheet, CBD Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Self-lok, David Pestorius Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
1993
The Frontiers are my Prison, CBD Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Daniel Johnstone Memorial Gallery, Cite des Arts Internationale, Paris, France
1992
Ripped in Peace, Julie Green Gallery, Sydney, Australia
1991
Legacy, Julie Green Gallery, Sydney, Australia
1989
Hex, EMR Gallery, Sydney, Australia
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2009
Double Hemisphere, Foxy Production, New York, USA
Uncanny Valley, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydeny, Australia
2008
Zero..., Zero Gallery, Milan, Italy
Jesuvian Process, Elizabeth Dee Galley, New York, USA
2007
Nueva Dimension, organised by Dick Evans, Hats Plus, London, UK
Surface Wave, Foxy Production, New York, USA
Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Group Show!, Michael Lett, Auckland, New Zealand
Strange Cargo: Contemporary art as a state of encounter, Newcastle Region Art Gallery, Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery, Bendigo Art Gallery, Orange Regional Gallery, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery and Tweed River Regional Gallery, Australia
2006
Stolen Ritual, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Before the Body-Matter, Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne, Australia
Examples, Peloton, Chippendale, Sydney, Australia
Busan Biennale, Busan, Korea
Adventures with form in space, Balnaves Foundation Sculpture Project, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Selekta, West Space, Melbourne, Australia
Uncanny Nature, curator Rebecca Coates, Australia Centre of Contemporary Art, Melbourne, Australia
2004
Art & Industry Urban Arts Biennial , Christchurch, New Zealand
Every Day Minimal, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
Lights > Camera > Action: Critical Moments from the Govett-Brewster Gallery Collections 1969 – 2004, Govett -Brewster Gallery, New Plymouth
Fantasy Island – A Block Project, Michael Lett, Auckland
2003
Surface Tension, BLOCK, Sydney, Australia
Hany Armanious, Jason Markou, Robert Pulie, Mary Teague, BLOCK, Sydney, Australia
Hany Armanious, Steve Carr, Stuart Shepherd, Michael Lett, Auckland
MCA Unpacked II, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia
Islands in the Stream, Artspace, Sydney, Australia
Bloom, Govett-Brewster Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand
2002
Necessary Fictions, DeChiaria Gallery, New York, USA
Line Up, The Happy Lion Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
2001
Painting: an arcane technology, Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne, Australia
A Century of Collecting: 1901-2001, Ivan Doherty Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Necessary Invention, Artspace, Sydney, Australia
2000
Verso Süd, curated by Franz West, Palazzo Dorio Pamphilly, Valmonte
GOLD!, Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Moet et Chandon fellows exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Drive, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, Australia
Plastika, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, Australia
1999
The Queen is Dead, Stills Gallery, Edinburgh, UK
Opening Exhibition, Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Home and away, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1998
Moet and Chandon Touring Art Prize (1998 Fellow), National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and touring all state galleries, Australia
EAT!, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia
1997
On Dialogue, Haus am Waldsee, Berlin, Germany
Child Bride, Artspace, Auckland, New Zealand
Contempora 5, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
1996
Raindrops on Roses, Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Unpainting, David Pestorius Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
33 1/3, Armanious, Cerkez, Dashper, Gordon, curated by Trevor Smith, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Canberra, Australia
Occular, Pendulum, Sydney, Australia
Rapport: Eight Artists from Singapore & Australia, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore: Monash University Gallery, Melbourne
Flagging the Republic, Sherman Galleries Goodhope, Sydney, , Australia
1995
Volatile Colonies, Johannesburg Biennale, Museumafrica, Johannesburg, South Africa
Smells Like Vinyl, Roger Merians Gallery, New York, USA
Discovering the Feminine?, David Pestorius Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
1994
Virtual Reality, Australian National Gallery, Canberra, Australia
Localities of Desire, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia
Paperwork, Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, Australia
White, Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Jeden Tag, Christine Konig, Vienna, Austria
Aussemblage, Auckland City Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1993
Scrounge Time, Plimsoll Gallery, Centre for the Arts, Hobart, Australia
Plastic Fantastic, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia
Aperto, Venice Biennale 1993, Venice, Italy
Luminaries, Monash University Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Soaked, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia
Monster Field, Ivan Doherty Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Shirthead, Mori Annexe, Sydney, Australia
Adams, KUNST, Sydney, Australia
Wit's End, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (catalogue) , Australia
1992
The Boundary Rider, 9th Sydney Biennale, Sydney, Australia
First Group Show, Black, Sydney, Australia
3D, 200 Gertrude Street, Melbourne, Australia
1991
1991 Australian Perspecta, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
1989
Fresh Art, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney, Australia
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Before the Body-Matter, exhibition catalogue, Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne
Jacqueline Millner, `Review of Adventures with Form in Space: The Fourth Balnaves Foundation Sculpture Project', Eyeline, no. 62, Summer 2006/2007, p. 62
Palmer, Daniel, `Looking Back: Retrospectives', Frieze, mo. 104, December - January 2007, p. 132
Ashley Crawford, Preview of `Uncanny Nature', The Age, Sunday, September 3rd, 2006
Dougal Phillips, Review of `Adventures in Form and Space, Balnaves Foundation Sculpture Project 2006', Art and Australia, Vol. 44, No. 2, Summer 2006, p. 280
Morphic Resonance, Institute of Modern Art, exhibition catalogue, 2006
Andrew Frost, `In the heart of the wood', Australian Art Collector, Issue 38, October - December 2006, pp. 154 - 163
Sebastian Smee, `dot complimentary', The Weekend Australian, September 9 - 10, 2006, pp. 18 - 19
John Mc Donald, `Lights, action, entertainment', Review of Adventures with Form in Space: The Fourth Balnaves Foundation Sculpture Project, in Spectrum, The Sydney Morning Herald, September 9-10, 2006, pp. 16-17
Rebecca Coates, `Hany Armanious' in Uncanny Nature, exhibition catalogue, Australia Centre of Contemporary Art, Melbourne
Selekta exhibition catalogue, West Space, Melbourne
Jason Markou, `Hany Armanious', Adventures with form in space, Balnaves Foundation Sculpture project, exhibition catalogue, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
The Art Life, Review of Intelligent Design, http://www.artlife.blogspot.com/
Diana Simmonds, `Two artists showcase latest work', Inside Entertainment, THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, June 18, 2006 p. 3
Sunanda Creagh, Review of Totemistical and Intelligent Design, `Open Gallery', The Sydney Morning Herald, June 10-11 2006 p. 16
Betsy Brennan, `the alchemist', Vogue Living, Januar/February 2006 pp. 85 - 86
2005
Jason Markou, Turns in Arabba exhibition catalogue, Michael Lett Gallery, Auckland
Julie Gough, `Art in Review for 2005', Art in Australia, Vol. 43, No. 2, Summer 2005 p. 276
Alex McDonald, Where the Wild Things Are, 25 May 2005, www.stateart.com.au/sota/reviews/default.asp?fid=3497
John Daly-Peoples, “Eyeing the follies of insipid world culture,” Fine Arts, National Business Review, 21 January 2005, p. 42
Andrew Clifford, “Cosmic campground,” The New Zealand Herald, 19 January 2005, p. 6
Tessa Laird, “Thank you for recycling,” New Zealand Listener, 28 January 2005, p. 50
Sunday Star Times, About Town, the guide, January 16th 2005, New Zealand
Jane Davidson and Robert Leonard, “Hany Armanious,” Gallery News, Nov-Feb 04-05
Hany Armanious, “Hany Armanious” catalogue essay, National Sculpture Prize and Exhibition, 2005 p. 14
2004
Peter Hill, “Free installations,” Sydney Morning Herald (Spectrum), July 17-18, pp. 8-9
Anthony Byrt, “Art is a bunny rabbit,” Listener, March 27 2004, p. 62
Anthony Byrt, “The Creepy Contemporary Sublime,” Broadsheet, Feb-May, vol. 33 no. 1, pp. 53 - 55
“Bloom mutation, toxicity and the sublime”, (exh. cat) Govett Brewster Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand, curated by Gregory Burke
2003
Simon Rees, “Hany Armanious at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery,” Flash Art, vol. 36, no. 232, October 2003, p. 48
Michael Desmond, “Hany Armanious,” Broadsheet, vol. 32, no. 3, September - November, p. 35
Chris Piper, “Strange Magic,” Silver Limbo, Issue 1, p. 30
Peter Hill, “Zero Hour,” Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition `Spectrum,' 2-3 August, 2003, pp. 12 - 13
Dominque Angeloro, “Down the rabbit hole,” Sydney Morning Herald (Metro), July 25 - 31, 2003, p. 26
Margaret Plant, “The Journey from Field to Fieldwork 1968 - 2003,” eyeline # 51, Autumn - Winter, 2003, pp. 44 - 46
Stephen Naylor, “Getting into the Giardini di Castello: Australia's representation at the Venice Biennale,” Art & Australia, 40th Anniversary Issue, Winter, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 594 - 601
Mark Titmarsh, “Time and Tide: Decadal Shifts in Australian contemporary art,” Art Monthly Australia #160, June, pp. 16 - 19
Stuart Koop, “Fieldwork: Australian Art 1968 - 2002, Broadsheet, vol. 32, no. 1, March, April, May, pp. 8 - 11
Daniel Thomas, “S & D at NGVA,” Art Monthly Australia no. 157, March 2003, pp. 27 - 32
2002
Charles Green, “Into the 1990s: the decay of postmodernism,” Fieldwork: Australian Art 1968 - 2002, exh. cat., National Gallery of Victoria, Federation Square, Melbourne (November 2002 to February 2003), pp. 100 - 111
Alex Gowronski, “Dividing Lines”, Broadsheet - Contemporary Visual Arts + Culture Newspaper, vol 31, no. 1, March - May, p. 25
Andrew Frost, “Mea Culpa,” Australian Style, January, p. 28
2001
Eve Sullivan, “Hany Armanious: Prostrated offerings from a twentieth-century alchemist,” Art & Australia, vol. 39, no. 2, p. 230, 231
Fergus Armstrong and Amanda Rowell, Selflok, catalogue essay, UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles
“Hany Armanious Interview,” UCLA Hammer Museum, http://www.hammer.ucla.edu/exhibits/hanyarmaniousinterview.htm
Courtney Kidd, “Elfin Magic,” Sydney Morning Herald, 11 July
Natalie King and Bala Starr, “Suspended Animation,” Painting: an arcane technology (exh. cat.), Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne
Lara Travis, “Off with the pixies,” Like Art Magazine, no. 14
Lara Travis, “Hot Prospects,” Vogue Australia, February
Coutney Kidd, “Romance within barbarism,” Sydney Morning Herald, Wednesday, Jul 11
2000
Rex Butler, “Hany Armanious,” Artext, no. 68, Feb - Apr
Benjamin Genocchio, “From shock to schlock,” The Weekend Australian, Edition 1, Saturday 28 October, p. R19
William McAloon, “At the Wheel,” Listener, March 25, p. 36, 37
Greg Bourke and Hanna Scott, Drive catalogue essay, Govett-Brewster Gallery, New Zealand
Megan Dunn, “Auto Art,” Identity
Edward Colless, “Hany Armanious,” Like Art Magazine, no. 11, p. 50,51
Hanna Scott, “At the gallery,” 25.07.00 (journal source not known)
“The Subterranean Hany Armanious,” Vogue #2, p. 74
1998
Michael Fitzgerald, “Shifting Views,” Time Magazine, Oct 19, p. 76-78
Benjamin Genocchio, “Snake Charmer,” Broadsheet vol. 27, no. 3
Karen Pakula, “Funny? Moi?,” HQ, no. 59, July/August, p. 106 - 110
Susan Mooney, Wentworth Courier, Wednesday, Apr 1, p. 55
Giles Auty,”Too much fizz,” Weekend Australian, March 28-29, p. 25
John McDonald, “Laughing all the way to the Left Bank,” Sydney Morning Herald, Friday, Mar 20, p. 10,11
Catherine Taylor, “Moët comes of age,” The Australian, Wednesday, Mar 18
Bruce James, Arts Today, 18 March
Brook Turner, “A touch of snake oil uncorks Möet prize,” Australian Financial Review, Wednesday March 18
Angela Bennie, “Artist Hany Armanious has last laugh with a snake oil joke,” Sydney Morning Herald, Wednesday, Mar 18
1997
Michael Wardell, Moet et Chandon Touring Exhibition, catalogue essay, p. 10
D.J. Huppatz, “Contempora 5 Art Prize”, Globe E-Site, Issue 5
Andrew McNamara, “Unpainting,” Art & Australia, vol. 35 no 1
Natalie King, Rapport, catalogue essay
Trevor Smith, 33 1/3 catalogue essay, August
Donald Williams and Colin Simpson, Art Now: Contemporary Art Post 1970, Book 2
Artspace, “Child Bride,” http://www.artspace.org.nz/shows/97_1.html
1996
Rex Butler, An Uncertain Smile: Australian Art in the `90s, Artspace Visual Arts, Sydney, p.102 - 105
Trevor Smith, 33 1/3, exh. cat., Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Canberra
Donald Williams and Colin Simpson, “Hany Armanious,” Art Now: Contemporary Art Post - 1970 (Book 2), McGraw Hill Book Company Australia Pty Limited, Sydney, p. 185 - 188
Trevor Smith, 33 1/3 (catalogue essay), Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Canberra
Giles Auty, “Emblems that flag,” Weekend Australian, Feb 3-4
Sebastian Smee, “Flagging Passions,” Sydney Morning Herald (Metro), Feb 9-15, p. 23 (Arts)
Brook Turner, “The New Medicis,” Sydney Morning Herald, Aug 9-10
Anna Johnson, “Art Beat,” Sydney Morning Herald, Friday, Apr 12
1995
Jeff Gibson, Theory or Therapy, Flash Art, Nov-Dec
Judith Pascal, “Hany Armanious,” Virtual Reality, catalogue essay, National Gallery of Australia
Edward Colless, “Selflok,” Well Water Under a Tree, exh. cat., David Pestorius Gallery, Brisbane
Edward Colless, “Mr Big: Hany Armanious,” The Error of My Ways, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, p. 206 - 209
Toni Ross, “Inescapability of Sexual Difference,” (review of Discovering the Feminine?, David Pestorius Gallery), Eyeline, 28 Spring
Bruce James, “Wheat, wood and world weariness,” The Age, Wednesday, 2 Aug, p. 20
Felicity Fenner, “Icons and idolisers,” Sydney Morning Herald (Arts), Friday, Jul 21, p. 15
1994
Rex Butler, “White”, Art & Australia, Winter
Felicity Fenner, “Proud lineage of innovation,” Sydney Morning Herald (Arts), Friday, Dec. 2, p. 16
Elwyn Lynn, “Solemn search for the soul, Australian Weekend Review, Nov 26-27, p. 10
Martijn van Niewenhuyzen, “Hany Armanious,” Flash Art (International Edition), November
Edward Colless, “White”, Art & Text no. 48
Felicity Fenner, “On a provocative paper-chase,” Sydney Morning Herald (Arts), Friday, Oct. 14
Eve Sullivan, Hany Armanious, Agenda, no. 36, May, p. 27
Felicity Fenner, “Nostalgia and jelly delights,” Sydney Morning Herald, 1994
Elwyn Lynn, “Transfixed by a slippery character,” Australian Weekend Review, March 12-13
Felicity Fenner, “Veil of prejudice lifts at last,” Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday, Jan 1
1993
Jeff Gibson, “Avant-Grunge,” Art+Text, no. 45, p. 23 - 25
Jeff Gibson, “The Good, the Bad, and the Abstract,” Art & Text, no. 44, January
Kay Campbell, “Out of Humour,” Wit's End, (exh. cat./Barberism)
Janet Hawley, “Shape of the new,” Good Weekend: Sydney Morning Herald Magazine, June 12, p. 18 - 22
Pamela Hansford, “Wit's End: The Comic Spirit & Contemporary Art,” Wit's End, (exh. cat./Barberism)
Edward Colless, Mr Big, (Aperto/Barberism exh. cat.)
Rex Butler, To Express the Object, Monster Field (exhibition catalogue/Barberism)
Andrew Renton, Hany Armanious, Flash Art Aperto'93 catalogue, Venice Biennale, p. 234
Andrew Renton, “Punti Cardinale dell'arte,” Venice Biennale exhibition catalogue
Anthony Bond, “Hany Armanious: Australia,” The Boundary Rider: 9th Biennale of Sydney, The Biennale of Sydney Ltd., Sydney, p.48, 49
Peter Hill, “The frozen cow show,” The Bulletin, July 13, p. 82
“Hany Armanious's Mr Big at the Venice Biennale,” Sydney Morning Herald, 30.06.93
Felicity Fenner, “Mr Big upstaged by bisected cow,” Sydney Morning Herald, June 30, (Arts) p. 22
Edward Colless and David McDowell, Scrounge Time exh. cat., Plimsoll Gallery, Tasmania
Anne Loxley, “Rococo Rubbish: The Art of Hany Armanious,” Art + Australia,
vol. 31 #1, Spring, p. 84 - 88
1992
Jeff Gibson, “Hany Armanious,” Art & Text no. 43, September, p. 70
1991
Pamela Hansford, “Hany Armanious,” Australian Perspecta 1991, exh. cat., Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, p. 30,31
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Chartwell Collection, Auckland, New Zealand
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
Monash University Gallery, Melbourne
Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand
Dakis Joannou Foundation, Athens
Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, USA
Private Collections in Europe, USA and Australia
AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
2004
Artist in Residence, Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, Auckland New Zealand
1998
Moet et Chandon Fellow
1997
Finalist, Contempora5
1993
Australia Council, Los Angeles Studio