Salon Hang

Salon Hang seeks to elevate the role of the frame in Western art. Philosophically, Kant’s focus on the sublime led him to deem the frame as meaningless, decorative and unnecessary. Yet arguably in the history of painting and image-making, “the ultimate object is the frame”, operating as a physical division between artwork and architecture, image and object (Mathieu, 2007). Traditionally a hierarchy of material has governed how and where certain art objects have been regarded and exhibited – for reasons of class, gender and culture. The split between art and craft began in the Renaissance period, when the “heroic” notion of the artist developed in opposition to artisans working collaboratively in an atelier. This split still exists in our institutions and in the art market today.

This exhibition contends that the frame exists beyond its status as a boundary – it can also be a space of experimentation and opportunity. In Salon Hang, female and non-binary artists working in various craft mediums have made frames that function as artworks. As well as somewhere to display paintings, the “salon” was a place where women came together to educate themselves. Salon Hang attempts to connect women and non-binary artists from various creative backgrounds, using the frame and craftwork as symbols for collective solidarity.

Madeleine Thornton-Smith is a formally trained painter and ceramic artist from Melbourne. Her practice examines the hierarchy that exists between fine art and craft in relation to class and gender. Employing a slow process of accumulation and repetition, she uses slipcasting to bring together commonplace studio material textures with archetypal forms from fine art and ceramics - such as vessels, plinths, frames and canvases. This mimetic process raises questions about the status and value of ceramics, art and craft. As well as regularly exhibiting, Madeleine is heavily involved in arts advocacy and community work, and various writing, educational and curatorial projects. Madeleine is currently studying a Masters of Fine Art by Research at RMIT investigating the politics of gender and labour in art and craft, with particular focus on the ceramics sector. 

Mathieu, P 2007, ‘Object theory’ in R Chambers, A Gogarty & M Perron (eds.), Utopic Impulses: Contemporary Ceramics Practice, Ronsdale Press, Vancouver, pp. 111-127.