Raquel Ormella

Biography

Raquel Ormella, (born: Sydney, 1969) works across various media investigating the means by which critical reflexivity in contemporary art encourages processes of self-examination regarding political consciousness and social action. She has built a practice covering a diverse range of activities such as video, paintings, installations, drawings, and zines.

One of her most recent works "Wild Rivers: Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney" (2008) is a third in a series of separate and distinct works which examine the Wilderness Society, one of Australian oldest environmental activist organization. "Wild Rivers" was included in "Revolutions, forms that turn", the 2008 Sydney Biennale and "The Ecologies Project" at Monash Univeristy Museum of Art, Melbourne and is now part of their collection. "Poster Reduction" (2005- remade 2008) a single electronic whiteboard was the second work in this series. It was first shown at The Performance Space Sydney and has since become part of the Museum of Contemporary Art Collection and was included in the exhibition: "New Acquisitions, 2008".

The first work in this series of three works, 130 Davey Street, a series of drawings on 24 static whiteboards, investigated the Wilderness Society's use of wilderness photography and called into question the romanticised notion of the direct action activist and political artist embedded in the forest. 130 Davey Street, was shown at Artist's Space, New York, in the exhibition "International Geographic"; "Cycle paths will abound in utopia", Australian Centre for Contemporary Art; Melbourne (2004) and at Mori Gallery Sydney. It won the New Social Commentaries prize at Warrnambool Regional Art Gallery in 2005. Part of 130 Davey St is included in the exhibition "Erase", curated by Natasha Bullock, and is touring several Asian countries in 2009.

Her work has been included in the 2008 Sydney Biennale, 2003 Biennale of Istanbul and the 2002 Sao Paulo Biennale, "Bittersweet" at the Art Gallery of NSW (2002), as well as in the exhibition "Australian" at Casula Powerhouse (2008). She has held recent solo exhibitions at Mori Gallery, Sydney; Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne; and Casula Powerhouse, Sydney.

In 2009 Raquel will have work in "Making it new: Focus on Contemporary Australian Art" curated by Glenn Barkley at the MCA, and two solo exhibitions: one with Milani Gallery, Brisbane and "She went that way", curated by Reuben Keehan at Artspace, Sydney.

Raquel is currently a PhD student at the School of Art, ANU. 

Education

2007

• continuing PhD Visual Arts candidate, Australian National University

2003-  2005  

• Masters of Fine Arts, University of Western Sydney, Nepean

1997               

• Non award studies, Akademie der Bilden Kunst, Vienna, Austria

1992-1996    

• Bachelor of Visual Arts (First Class Hons.), University of Western Sydney, Nepean 

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2005     

• 130 Davey St, Mori Gallery, Sydney
• Just left of the right lift, In Art lifts, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

2004   

• The unattainable simple, Mori Gallery, Sydney

2003   

• Pick me, Mori Gallery, Sydney

2002   

• Living in other peoples houses, Gertrude contemporary art spaces, Melbourne

2001   

• Living in other peoples houses, The Lounge, Casula Powerhouse Regional Gallery, Liverpool, Australia

2000   

• while sleeping, Mori Gallery, Sydney
• Rental beige (incomplete), Blaugrau, Sydney

1998   

• What do you want from me? (groschen, pfennige, cents), Mori Gallery, Sydney
• What do you want from me?(6 month lease at $180 a week, plus gallery rent $250 a week), 151 Regent Street Gallery, Redfern
• Anxiety books, 151 Regent Street Gallery, Redfern
• A is for Archive (sic), in collaboration with Lucas Ihlien, The Verge Perth 

Selected Group Exhibitions

2008            

• Revolution-Forms that turn, the 16th Biennale of Sydney, curated by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev
• Australian, Casula Powerhouse, curated by Nick Toutas, Casula, NSW, Australia
• The Ecologies Project, curated by Geraldine Barlow and Dr Kyla McFarlane,Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne
• Better Places, Curator Melissa Keys, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Perth
• New Acquisitions 2008, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney

2007          

• Territorial, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, ACT, 24Hr Art Darwin, NT

2006   

• If you leave me can I come too, curated by Bec Dean, Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney.
• Transversa, curated by Zara Stanhope, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santiago, Chile
• Multiplicity, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
• Yours, mine, ours, 50 years of the ABC, Penrith Regional Gallery, Penrith

2005     

• International Geographic, curated Christian Rattlemeyer,  Artists Space, New York, USA
• C'Town Bling, curated Anne Loxely, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Campbelltown
• Art is a social space, Blacktown Arts Centre, Blacktown
• Who's Afraid of the Avant Garde? curated by Blair French Performance  Space, Sydney
• disobedience, curated by Zanny Begg and David McNeil, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, COFA, Sydney

2004   

• Cycle paths will abound in utopia, curated by Julianna Engberg, ACCA, Melbourne
• City views, Museum of Brisbane, curated by Chris Handran, Brisbane

2003   

• Poetic Justice, The 8th Biennale of Istanbul, curated by Dan Cameron, Turkey
• The difference is the gap, curated by Tobias Berger, ARTSPACE, Auckland,New Zealand/ Aotearoa
• Feedback, Art and social consciousness and resistance, curated by Charlotte Day, Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne
• Anita and Beyond, curated by Lisa Havilah, Lewers Bequest Penrith Regional Gallery
• Home sweet home, National Art Gallery, Canberra, Australia and national tour
• Boofheads and Scrubbers Revenge, Lewers Bequest Penrith Regional Gallery

2002   

• Cidades, 25th Sao Paulo Biennale, Sydney, curated by Trevor Smith, Brazil
• Bittersweet, curated by Wayne Tunnicliffe, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
• Urban Anxiety, curated by Kate McMillan, Artrage 2002 Festival, Midlands, Western Australia and 1aspace, Hong Kong

2001   

• Temporary Fixtures, curated by Jacqueline Phillips, Artspace, Sydney
• Sunburn, curated by Anita Fricek, K3, Hamburg, Germany

2000   

• Drawing Show, Mori Gallery, Sydney
• Sydney!Vienna!, curated by Anita Fricek, Akademie der Bilden Kunst, Vienna, Austria

1999   

• Talkback, Living Here Now, Art + Politics, Australian Perspecta 1999, curated by Wayne Tunnicliffe and Hetti Perkins, Art Gallery of NSW

1998   

• Injection, The Performance Space, Sydney
• Homemade, (with Lucas Ihlien) SOUTH, Sydney

1997   

• Parking, Casula Powerhouse Regional Gallery, Liverpool

Bibliography

• Geraldine Barlow and Dr Kyla McFarlane, catalogue essay The Ecologies Project,MUMA, Melbourne, 2008
• Melissa Keys, catalogue essay, Better Places, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Perth, 2008
• Christine Morrow, catalogue essay, New Acquisitions 2008, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2008

• David Broker, catalogue essay Territorial, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, ACT, 2007
• Blair French catalogue essay Who's Afraid of the Avant Garde?, Performance  Space, Sydney, 2006
• Charlotte Day, ed. A Short ride in a Fast Machine: History of Gerturde Street Artists Spaces,
• Gerturde Street Artists Spaces, Melbourne, 2005
• Zanny Begg catalogue essay disobedience, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, COFA, Sydney

2005

• Julianna Engberg catalogue essay Cycle paths will abound in utopia, ACCA, Melbourne, 2004
• Annette Larkin, artists of the 21st millennium, The Australian Art Market Report, issue 11, Autumn, 2004
• Rachel Kent, Istanbul Biennial, Poetic Justice, Art and Australia, vol 41, Autumn, no.3, 2004
• Wayne Tunicliffe, catalogue essay Poetic Justice, Istanbul Biennial, Turkey, 2003
• Charlotte Day, catalogue essay Feedback, Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne,

2003

• Lisa Havilah, catalogue essay Anita and Beyond, Lewers Bequest Penrith Regional Gallery
• Trevor Smith, Sydney, Cidades, Sao Paulo Biennale, Brazil, 2002
• Wayne Tunicliffe, catalogue essay Bittersweet, Art Gallery of NSW

2002

• Bruce James, review of Bittersweet, Sydney Morning Herald, 2.5.2002
• Jacqueline Phillips, Topographic democracy? catalogue essay, Temporary
• Spaces, Artspace, Sydney 2001
• Raquel Ormella, artist pages, Uniglory, blaugrau, Sydney
• Lena Lapschina, State Artist, State of the Arts #3, Culturepress, Austria

 2000

• Bruce James, review of while sleeping, Sydney Morning Herald, 30.1.2000
• Stephen O'Connell, review of Perspecta, Freize, winter, London, UK, 2000
• Bec Dean, Perth, Australia, is a small city... MU magazine #05, surfacepseudart pty Ltd, Perth, 1999
• Charles Green, Art and Politics: Living Here Now, review of Perspecta, Art and Australia, vol.37 no.3 2000
• Bruce James, review of Perspecta, Sydney Morning Herald, 11.9.1999
• David Broomfield, review A is for Archive (sic), The West Australian,December 1998
• Bruce James, review of What do you want from me? (groschen pfennige,cents), Sydney Morning Herald, 29.8.1998 

Collections

• The Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
• Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne
• The University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia
• Casula Powerhouse Regional Gallery, Liverpool, NSW, Australia
• Warnambool Regional Art Gallery, Australia
• Sir James and Lady Cruthers Collection, Perth, Australia
• The Buxton Collection, Melbourne, Australia
• Private collections Australia and overseas 

Awards and Prizes

2007   

• PHD scholarship, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University
• New Work Grant, Arts ACT
• New Work Grant, Australia Council for the Arts

2006   

• New Social Commentaries, Warnamboll Regional Art Gallery
• Captial Arts Patrons Organisation, Singapore Airways travelling grant.

2003   

• Australian Post graduate research scholarship, and UWS Research Bonus

2000   

• Western Sydney artist Fund, NSW Ministry for the Arts

1999   

• Australia Council Studio Residency, Barcelona, Spain

1996   

• Dyson Bequest travelling Scholarship, Art Gallery of NSW for study

1992   

• William Fletcher Trust Prize