Educated at Bradford School of Art, Winchester School of Art and The Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, Hilarie Mais held her first solo exhibition in 1977 at Cuningham Ward Gallery in SoHo, New York, followed by other exhibitions at Cuningham Ward and the Madeline Carter Gallery, Boston (both 1979).
During this early intensive period in her working development, when deconstructive and feminist discourses were at their dialectical apogee, Hilarie Mais’s largely constructive sculptural works became increasingly subjective and associative in character, culminating in her 1979-80 'Weapon Series’, shown at the Betty Cuningham Gallery (1981). Hilarie Mais also took part in various group exhibitions in the United States and Britain at this time.
In 1980, Hilarie Mais came to Sydney, where she was still living and working in 2006. Her first Australian works were exhibited in 1984 in the exhibition 'New Friends’ at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery. She joined Sherman Galleries in 1994, where she has since held seven solo exhibitions.
At the time of writing, Hilarie Mais has held 24 solo exhibitions and been included in 90 group exhibitions in Australia, the United States, Asia and Europe, including the Australian Sculpture Triennials (1984, 1987), Australian Perspecta (1985), the Biennale of Sydney (1986, 1988), 'Dissonance, Frames of Reference: Aspects of Feminism and Art’ (1991) and 'Spirit and Place: Art in Australia 1861-1996’ (1996). Retrospective survey exhibitions of her works were held at the Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia (1990) and the Australian National University Drill Hall Gallery (2004).
Hilarie Mais has received numerous awards, including an Australia Council Visual Arts/Craft Board Fellowship and a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. Her works are included in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, all state galleries and numerous regional gallery collections, as well as corporate and private collections in Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States.
- Writers:
- Murray-Cree, Laura
- Date written:
- 2006
- Last updated:
- 2011
