Adam Stone - LON GalleryIn Search of a House Style
Most art schools no longer embrace the term ‘house style’, which was once used to describe the pervading conceptual or aesthetic territory that defined an institution. Now considered archaic, tutors encourage their students to glean influence from a wide reaching and fluid variety of subjects, echoing the accelerated pace of consumption and accessibility of information in contemporary culture. Upon being given the task of curating a selection of artworks from the graduate exhibition, I was curious to see whether in fact, intuitively common threads of conceptual and aesthetic enquiry pervaded, or whether alas, the notion of a house style was in fact truly dead.
A decade ago, when I was at the VCA, abstract painting and expansive installations of plaster, cardboard and ephemera reigned supreme. In 2023, it seems that figuration is in, painting students are in fact painting again, and that a renewed interest in bronze still sustains.
I would suggest however, that this reflects the wider trends of contemporary art in Australia and abroad, rather than the influences specifically pertaining to the VCA. Perhaps the full scope of contemporary influence does truly lie beyond the four walls of the institution.
Adam is a Melbourne based artist, curator and gallerist who received his BFA (Hons) from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2013. In 2016, he co-founded LON Gallery, which began as an artist-led project space and in 2019 Stone became the sole director, formalising the gallery program and representing a group of four artists. The gallery now represents 14 artists at varying stages of their careers and maintains a strong focus on curated group exhibitions. As an independent curator, gallery director and artist, Stone has presented over 150 exhibitions.
Sarah Kottek, Install View. Image Courtesy: University of Melbourne.
Ruby Dawson, Install View. Image Courtesy: University of Melbourne.
James Brett, Install View. Image Courtesy: University of Melbourne.
Jessie Spencer Smith, Install View. Image Courtesy: University of Melbourne.
Olivia Wood, Install View. Image Courtesy: University of Melbourne.
Hugh Burry, Install View. Image Courtesy: University of Melbourne.
Lana Knezevic, Install View. Image Courtesy: University of Melbourne.
Minka Peters, Install View. Image Courtesy: University of Melbourne.
Angus Carmichael, Install View. Image Courtesy: University of Melbourne.
Indi Jennings, Install View. Image Courtesy: University of Melbourne.
Grace Stevenson, Install View. Image Courtesy: University of Melbourne.
Shannon Slee, Install View. Image Courtesy: University of Melbourne.
Britt Salt, Install View. Image Courtesy: University of Melbourne.
Ziyi Wei, Install View. Image Courtesy: University of Melbourne.
Niki Koutouzi, Install View. Image Courtesy: University of Melbourne.
Faculty of Fine Arts and Music
University of Melbourne