Lot 38

Australian Galleries, Melbourne
Private collection, Melbourne

Inge King: An Exhibition of Sculpture, Australian Galleries, Collingwood, 13 - 30 April 1988
Inge King: Small Sculptures 1943 - 1994, Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, September - October 1995 (another example)

Thomas, D., Inge King: Small Sculptures 1943-1994, Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo 1995, cat. no 27, p.13 (illustrated, another example)
Grishin, S., The Art of Inge King Sculptor, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne 2014, pp. 186, 334 (illustrated, another example)

As an early female pioneer of modern Australian sculpture in what was largely a male dominated arena, Inge King has become one of Australia's most well-known sculptors.
Born in Germany, Inge moved to Australia in 1951 with her husband, Australian artist Grahame King.
The couple were instantly entwined and pursued their artistic careers in Melbourne where Grahame held a studio space with fellow artists, Fred Williams and John Brack. In 1952 and looking for a place of permanent sanctuary, Inge and Grahame purchased a block of land in the outer Melbourne suburb of Warrandyte with the intentions of building a home. After meeting Robin Boyd, the architect agreed to design a studio-house with a modular structure that could expand to accommodate the artists' practice. Their home served as a haven, ever increasing Grahame's prints and Inge's sculptures extending through the house into the garden, serving as a testimony to the creative lives lived within.

Inge spent most of her life in her studio. She would create small models made of balsa wood mounted onto a rotating stand on which she could study from every angle and artfully alter before the decision was made to develop into a steel maquette. Each work carefully considered the space and surroundings of where it might sit, which was of the highest of importance in her large works specifically.

A radical shift in Inge's practice was introduced in the 1980s with a more figurative approach, as shown through the creation of Jabaroo (now part of the permanent collection at McClelland Sculpture Park, Victoria). This sculpture resembles a figure like form using polychrome metal plates, standing at 4 metres tall. The transformation of King's conceptual form, brought her not only a newfound confidence, but took her in a new direction rather than cultivate and expand her audience with work for which she had already become known.
A further inspiration for her figurative form was the revival of Shamanism and tribal art, evoking a talismanic state through her works. In 1987 at the age of seventy-three, Inge created a body of ten works akin to an influence of totems, all standing assertive and strong, distinguished and monumental. Made of polychrome steel, Voodoo is dominant yet with a feminine stance and embodies Inge's genuis with line and form. These ten sculptures were shown with Australian Galleries, Collingwood, in 1988.

Creating sculptures in her Warrandyte studio up until her death in 2016, it was the sheer breadth of Inge's approach and innovative techniques that led her to be one of Australia's most important sculptors, male or female.

'Inge, a liberated woman, a thinker of clarity and a massive achiever. The wellbeing of Australia's culture is richer for her' (Stuart Purves, Director of Australian Galleries)

Hannah Ryan
Art Specialist

(1) Grishin. S, The Art of Inge King Sculptor, Macmillian Art Publishing, Australia, 2014, p.178
(2) Purves, S, Farewell Inge King, Australian Galleries, 2016, www.australiangalleries.com.au/farewell-inge-king/ (accessed: 6 September 2022)