One of Tasmania’s most influential creative organisations is marking 40 years with a landmark exhibition opening at Rosny Farm this week.
DOT40: Celebrating 40 Years brings together 15 leading designer-makers in a major show celebrating Designed Objects Tasmania’s contribution to contemporary craft and design.
The exhibition opens officially on Thursday at 5:30pm at The Barn at Rosny Farm and runs from September 11 to September 27.
For four decades, DOT has championed exceptional making, innovation and creative practice, helping establish Tasmania as one of Australia’s leading destinations for contemporary design.
DOT Board Chair Chris Clinton said the exhibition captures a living legacy rather than a historical retrospective.
It traces the organisation’s roots as a small cooperative of UTAS Fine Art graduates to highlight the impact one generation of makers has on the next.
“What we are really celebrating is a continuous, interconnected creative conversation,” he said.
“It’s an ongoing dialogue that is, without a doubt, deeply specific to the island on which we live and work,” he said.
The show is presented across three themes – NOW, LEGACY and HORIZON – showcasing current members, honouring practitioners who have shaped the state’s design identity and presenting new work from an emerging designer.
Exhibiting designer Scott van Tuil said the show reveals connections between generations of Tasmanian makers.
“It is so important to recognise the practice of Kevin Perkins in the continuum of Tasmanian designer/makers,” van Tuil said.
“Having my work sit alongside work he created in 1997 reveals an evolving story.”
“Kevin’s work masterfully celebrates the physical grain of the timber. My piece takes the physical grain of the same material and expresses it differently; freezing the tree’s growth rings in time. This is a conversation that continues across time, place, craft and material.”
Visitors can explore the evolution of Tasmania’s design culture through furniture, ceramics, lighting, woodwork, object design and contemporary craft.
