The Strutt Sisters both studied visual arts at tertiary level where their individual desires to combine the elements of painting, sculpture and printmaking were articulated. It wasn’t until at least five years into their art production, however, that they decided to collaborate and this remains their primary method of working.
The Strutt Sisters’ artwork can best be described as “mixed media assemblage” using plywood and pressed tin that is cut, shaped and painted. Images from magazines, postcards, books and fabric from 1920-1959 are photocopied, cut and pasted onto various surfaces. Paint, resin, fabric and stencils are also used to create colour and patterning. The works hang on the wall in relief style providing the platform for the humorous and musical narration and are simply signed STRUTT.
Their prize-winning work resides in both national and international private collections and in the collections of many notable Australians including Elizabeth Ann Macgregor, the Curator for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. In 2003 their work was hung at the Art Gallery of NSW as a finalist in the prestigious Sulman Art Prize and have had a long association with the Damien Minton Gallery, Redfern, N.S.W. Australia.
The Strutt Sisters have been described by critic John McDonald as “Newcastle’s next big thing waiting to happen” (Daily Telegraph, May 2003), and by Ruth Skilbeck as “Newcastle’s hottest contribution to contemporary art” (Australian Art Review, Feb. 2004).
- Writers:
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- Date written:
- 2013
- Last updated:
- 2013
