SIDNEY.- In 1991 Bob Hawke was Prime Minister of Australia, The Simpsons debuted on Channel 10, Boris Becker beat Ivan Lendl in the Australian Open Tennis Championship, Tim Berners-Lee introduced the web browser, Nirvana released Nevermind, and
Stills Gallery opened its doors at 16 Elizabeth Street, Paddington.
At the time Founder and Co-Director, Kathy Freedman announced Theres a lot of very important and exciting work being done at present using photographic images. Stills will be providing the opportunity for people to see a wide range of current work. From these small beginnings - a roomsheet created on a typewriter and black & white prints selling for around $200 - Stills Gallery has shifted and evolved to keep up with changes in the way we produce, enjoy and understand photography. These changes have included the move to a large converted warehouse space in 1997, to accommodate the larger works being produced by artists, and the handing over of the baton from early Co-Director Sandy Edwards to current Co-Director, Bronwyn Rennex along the way.
"We are really proud of the artists we have worked with and the exhibitions we have mounted over the years. It has been a privilege to work with such a diverse range of talented artists. And we've enjoyed sharing their works with the world - whether in Paddington or Paris... William St or Waterloo. We've also enjoyed the artworks themselves - looking at them (in the flesh), thinking about them, writing and talking about them... and of course selling them. We have relished their power to challenge and move us."
In the gallery's final exhibition Curtain Call, they are taking the opportunity to look back over the history of the gallery and present the mother of all salon hangs featuring over 60 artists from over the 26 years of exhibitions including;
Paul Adair, Lili Amog, Narelle Autio, Juli Balla, Roger Ballen, Gilbert Bel Bachir, Mervyn Bishop, Pat Brassington, Jane Brown, James Bryans, Maureen Burns, Danica Chappell, Christine Cornish, Brenda L Croft, Melita Dahl, Dachi Dang, Huw Davies, Ruby Davies, Ian Dodd, Stephen Dupont, Ella Dreyfus, Michelle Eabry, Jackson Eaton, Sandy Edwards, Peter Elliston, Merilyn Fairskye, Anne Ferran, Chris Fortescue, Lesley Goldacre, Lorrie Graham, Megan Jenkinson, Petrina Hicks, Douglas Holleley, Mark Kimber, Pam Kleeman, William Lamson, Ian Lever, Jon Lewis, Michael Light, Peter Lyssiotis, Steven Lojewski, Marketa Luskacova, Deb Mansfield, Mary Ellen Mark, Grant Matthews, Ricky Maynard, Peter Milne, Harry Nankin, Anne Noble, Polixeni Papapetrou, Trent Parke, Patrick Pound, Bronwyn Rennex, Jon Rhodes, Michael Riley, George Schwarz, Roger Scott, Rebecca Shanahan, Glenn Sloggett, Peter Solness, Van Sowerwine, Robyn Stacey, Suellen Symons, Jenny Templin, David Thomas, Danielle Thompson, Garry Trinh, James Tylor, Stephanie Valentin, Kawita Vatanajyankur, Justine Varga, Beverley Veasey, William Yang, Emmaline Zanelli.