Bert Flugelman
Herbert 'Bert' Flugelman (1923 – 26 February 2013) was a prominent Australian visual artist who had many of his works publicly displayed. He is known for his stainless steel geometric sculptures.[1]
Biography
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Flugelman was born in Vienna, Austria in 1923 and migrated to Australia in 1938 when he was 15 years old. It was on the eve of World War II. From 1943 to 1946 Flugelman served in the Australian army (non combative duties) and from 1948 to 1951 he studied at the National Art School in Sydney.
From 1951 to 1955 he travelled to Europe including a visit in 1954 to Spain with his artist friend John Copnall.[2] In 1952 he contracted polio which left him with a mobility disability. However, this did not stop him holding several successful exhibitions at the Piccadilly Gallery in London and the Barone Gallery in New York before returning to Australia in 1955.
From 1972 to 1983, Flugelman was a lecturer at the South Australian School of Art, and subsequently became Head of Sculpture. During this period he completed some of his most famous work, in particular Festival Sculpture 1974, Spheres 1977 and Cones at the National Gallery of Australia in 1982.
From 1984 to 1990, Flugelman was Senior Lecturer and Fellow at the School of Creative Arts, University of Wollongong. In 1991 he was made Professorial Fellow at the University of Wollongong. In 1995, he received an honorary Doctorate of Creative Art (Honoris Causa) and in 1997, he received the Australia Council, Visual Arts/Craft Fund, Emeritus Award.
Flugelman's career has not been without controversy such as when he created the chainsaw carving of Margaret Thatcher and "The Silver Shish Kebab" placed in Martin Place, Sydney which was heavily criticised by Sydney's Lord Mayor Frank Sartor that led to the sculpture being moved to Spring Street.
In 2008, a hard-bound survey of his post-1968 sculptures, primarily his stainless-steel work, was published by The Watermark Press. It was written by Emeritus Professor Peter Pinson (whose Sydney art gallery represented Flugelman), with photography by David Perry. The book was designed by Harry Williamson.
At the time of his death in February 2013, Flugelman resided at Bowral on the Southern Highlands of New South Wales.
List of works
The following is a partial list of the Flugelman's completed works. It includes the location of the publicly displayed pieces mentioned.
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Year | Work | Location | Image |
---|---|---|---|
1962 | high relief sand panels cast in concrete | A.O.R., Kurnell, New South Wales | |
1965 | untitled six figure group, cast bronze, commissioned 1964 [3] | Goldstein courtyard, University of New South Wales, Kensington, New South Wales | |
1966–1967 | untitled, welded copper and mosaic fountain [4] | Bruce Hall, Australian National University, Canberra | untitled (welded copper and mosaic fountain) |
1973 | Continuum, stainless steel sculpture [5] | Garden South of Johnson Building, University of Adelaide, Adelaide | |
1974 | Tetrahedra (Festival Sculpture), stainless steel sculpture [6] | Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide | Tetrahedra |
1975 | The Knot, stainless steel sculpture [7] | Light Square, Adelaide (since 2003), 1975-1995 at Art Gallery of South Australia | |
1977 | Spheres, stainless steel sculpture (popularly known as the Mall's Balls)[8] | Rundle Mall, Adelaide | Spheres (Mall's Balls) |
1978 | Spiral and Wave, stainless steel sculpture [9] | Outside Wollongong City Gallery, Wollongong, New South Wales | |
1978 | Pyramid Tower (Dobell Memorial), stainless steel sculpture (Silver Shish Kebab) | Spring Street, Sydney (initially at Martin Place, Sydney) | Pyramid Tower (Dobell Memorial or Silver Shish Kebab) |
1978/1979 | Tumbling Cubes, stainless steel sculpture [10] | Margaret Timpson Town Park, Belconnen, Canberra | Tumbeling Cubes |
1982 | Cones, stainless steel sculpture, commissioned 1976[11] | Sculpture Garden of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra | Cones |
1985 | Gateway to Mount Keira, stainless steel sculpture [12] | University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales | |
1985 | stainless steel sculpture | Penrith Regional Gallery, Emu Plains, New South Wales | |
1988 | Winged Figure, stainless steel sculpture [9][13] (Lawrence Hargrave Memorial) | University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales | |
1988 | three sculptures | Melbourne Hotel Development | |
1995/1996 | stainless steel, granite, bronze, sandstone sculpture | private collection | |
1999/2000 | Federation Arch, stainless steel sculpture [14] | Orange Botanical Gardens, Orange, New South Wales | |
2004/2005 | Caryatid minotaur, stainless steel sculpture [15] | ||
2005 | Tribute, sculpture honouring Richard Llewellyn, stainless steel and black granite | Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide | |
2006 | Slow Spiral, stainless steel sculpture, installed 2007 [16] | Queens Plaza, Brisbane | |
2007 | Tetrapus, stainless steel sculpture | ||
2007 | Three sculptures from the Transition series [17] | Library, Wollongong University, Wollongong, New South Wales |
References
- ↑ Malls Balls designer Bert Flugelman dies, aged 90, Herald Sun, 27 February 2013
- ↑ Jerry Knight, All About Horsham Magazine, Article on Bainbridge Copnall, May 2013
- ↑ [1], UNSW Art Collection Sculpture Walk
- ↑ Bert Flugelman: Untitled, Sculpture on Acton Campus, Australian National University
- ↑ Continuum in Public Art Online, City of Adelaide
- ↑ Tetrahedra in Public Art Online, City of Adelaide
- ↑ The Knot in Public Art Online, City of Adelaide
- ↑ Spheres in Public Art Online, City of Adelaide
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Public Art Guide PDF (775 KB) , City of Wollongong
- ↑ Margaret Timpson Town Park
- ↑ Flugelman, Bert: Cones
- ↑ Bert Flugelman: Gateway to Mount Keira in UOW Art Collection
- ↑ Bert Flugelman: Winged Figure in UOW Art Collection
- ↑ Bert Flugelman – Federation Arch in Public Art, Orange Regional Council
- ↑ Sculpture Prize 2005
- ↑ Queens Plaza Flugelman
- ↑ Bert Flugelman in the Library
Further reading
- Peter Pinson: Bert Flugelman, Watermark Press (2008) ISBN 0-949284-82-3
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bert Flugelman. |
- Biography of Bert Flugelman
- Sunday - Bert Flugelman
- The Australian, Defying Gravity. June 2010
- Biography of Bert Flugelman at the Wayback Machine
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