Considered by many as a long overdue look at the work of contemporary artist Hany Armanious, the University of Melbourne’s Buxton Contemporary will unveil more than 80 works by the artist in November.
Hany Armanious: Stone Soup is presented in partnership with the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, where the exhibition was presented in 2024 – his first institutional solo exhibition in Europe.
Hany Armanious – quick links
Stone Soup has been curated by Laurence Sillars, Head of the Henry Moore Institute, with Samantha Comte, Head Curator at the University of Melbourne, and Charlotte Day, Director of Art Museums at the University of Melbourne.
Armanious has been described as one of Australia’s most acclaimed artists, celebrated for his inventive and often playful approach to sculpture. In 2011 he represented Australia in the Venice Biennale with his exhibition The Golden Thread, which later toured to MUMA, Melbourne.
Hany Armanious’ Stone Soup: what to expect
The Sydney-based artist typically works in resin, casting everyday objects, usually at a 1:1 scale. For Armanious, this allows a celebration of the imperfections of making – sometimes considered grunge in style – and invites audiences to consider them anew.
Although born in Egypt and conscious of its cultural ties, Armanious does not choose to use his art as vehicle for cultural narrative but rather, uses objects as a means to reconfigure material perceptions, both literally and metaphorically.
Comte says the exhibition ‘captures the breadth of his practice – presenting a body of work that favours ambiguity and unexpected poetic possibility over overt symbolism.’
She continues: ‘His practice questions how we use objects to anchor ourselves in the world, and whether those meanings are ever fixed – an artistic enquiry that feels particularly important today.’
Armanious is equally as interested in art history as he is in the everyday. The curators explain: ‘He often gives his works titles that reference iconic modernist works, inviting a probing at concepts of value and opening unexpected poetic possibilities shaped as much by the artist’s gesture as by the perspectives audiences bring to the work.’
Stone Soup: exhibition highlights
Among the works included in the exhibition will be Body Swap (2015), an interactive dual-sided mirror work that invites visitors to see themselves – and the world around them – differently.
Another highlight will be Water Lilies (2018), a six-metre work on canvas first shown at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery and now in the collection of Auckland Art Gallery.
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A newly commissioned work will use an inkjet printer to print directly onto the gallery wall. Further shaking up the viewing experience for audiences, Armanious will subvert the traditional museum plinth by replicating the gallery’s existing columns – but in a horizontal format – to act as makeshift supports for sculptural works.
Day concludes: ‘This major exhibition represents an important global partnership between the University of Melbourne and the Henry Moore Institute, one of Europe’s leading sculpture galleries.
A new monograph will accompany the exhibition.
