Sylvia Convey
Encyclopedia
Sylvia Convey is one of Australia's most distinctive outsider artists. She was born in a refugee camp
at Itzehoe
near Hamburg, Germany in 1948. With her Latvian parents and elder sister she sailed to Australia on the Skaugum in early 1950. They were part of the first wave of immigrants to arrive in Australia after World War II
. This group of displaced persons' had a profound effect on what was then an Anglo Celtic monoculture. From her childhood Sylvia had the gift of being able to transmute her joys and sorrows into poetic images which have the power to enchant and disturb. A true outsider artist
her images are derived from her own day to day and oneiric
experiences. Intuitively she has tapped the richness of her ancestral heritage which adds a decorative radiance to her images. An engaging eroticism
is also a dominant theme in her oeuvre.
A recurring thread in her work has been the blurring of boundaries between art forms. As a painter she rejected the primacy of canvas and used non conventional surfaces. As a printmaker she has used textiles as much as paper and her sculptural muse finds expression in wonderfully exotic and exuberant cloth dolls. She approached quilt
making in a spontaneous rather than formal manner as it gave her lifelong love of fabric and colour complete expression. She loves the sensual, tactile pleasure of handling cloth - tearing, cutting, printing and painting it to produce shimmering life embracing forms.
Since 1972 she has exhibited widely in Australia, Germany, the United States and France. Her work was part of the landmark exhibition Australian outsiders at the Halle St. Pierre in Paris in 2006.
Her work has been acquired by several institutions including the National Gallery of Australia
, Iwalewa Haus at the University of Bayreuth
and the Canberra Museum and Gallery
.
Refugee camp
A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees. Hundreds of thousands of people may live in any one single camp. Usually they are built and run by a government, the United Nations, or international organizations, or NGOs.Refugee camps are generally set up in an impromptu...
at Itzehoe
Itzehoe
Itzehoe is a town in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.As the capital of the district Steinburg, Itzehoe is located on the Stör, a navigable tributary of the Elbe, 51 km northwest of Hamburg and 24 km north of Glückstadt...
near Hamburg, Germany in 1948. With her Latvian parents and elder sister she sailed to Australia on the Skaugum in early 1950. They were part of the first wave of immigrants to arrive in Australia after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. This group of displaced persons' had a profound effect on what was then an Anglo Celtic monoculture. From her childhood Sylvia had the gift of being able to transmute her joys and sorrows into poetic images which have the power to enchant and disturb. A true outsider artist
Outsider Art
The term outsider art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for art brut , a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture; Dubuffet focused particularly on art by insane-asylum inmates.While...
her images are derived from her own day to day and oneiric
Dream
Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...
experiences. Intuitively she has tapped the richness of her ancestral heritage which adds a decorative radiance to her images. An engaging eroticism
Eroticism
Eroticism is generally understood to refer to a state of sexual arousal or anticipation of such – an insistent sexual impulse, desire, or pattern of thoughts, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality and romantic love...
is also a dominant theme in her oeuvre.
A recurring thread in her work has been the blurring of boundaries between art forms. As a painter she rejected the primacy of canvas and used non conventional surfaces. As a printmaker she has used textiles as much as paper and her sculptural muse finds expression in wonderfully exotic and exuberant cloth dolls. She approached quilt
Quilt
A quilt is a type of bed cover, traditionally composed of three layers of fiber: a woven cloth top, a layer of batting or wadding and a woven back, combined using the technique of quilting. “Quilting” refers to the technique of joining at least two fabric layers by stitches or ties...
making in a spontaneous rather than formal manner as it gave her lifelong love of fabric and colour complete expression. She loves the sensual, tactile pleasure of handling cloth - tearing, cutting, printing and painting it to produce shimmering life embracing forms.
Since 1972 she has exhibited widely in Australia, Germany, the United States and France. Her work was part of the landmark exhibition Australian outsiders at the Halle St. Pierre in Paris in 2006.
Her work has been acquired by several institutions including the National Gallery of Australia
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia is the national art gallery of Australia, holding more than 120,000 works of art. It was established in 1967 by the Australian government as a national public art gallery.- Establishment :...
, Iwalewa Haus at the University of Bayreuth
University of Bayreuth
The University of Bayreuth is a public research university situated in Bayreuth, Germany. It was founded in 1975 as a campus university focusing on international collaboration and interdisciplinarity...
and the Canberra Museum and Gallery
Canberra Museum and Gallery
Canberra Museum and Gallery is an art gallery and museum in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is located on London Circuit, in Civic in the centre of the city. The gallery was opened on 13 February, 1998....
.