FREMANTLE Arts Centre will honour the life and legacy of celebrated local artist Theo Koning with the first retrospective of his work to date, Objet d’Art – Theo Koning and his Creative Self.
After passing away in 2022, there was a groundswell of support for a review of his career, which spanned five decades and included sculpture, painting, poetry, performance and gardening.
The works displayed are borrowed from the artist’s estate and family, as well as 65 art collections from across Australia, including New Norcia Museum, Janet Holmes a Court and Royal Perth Hospital.
• Some of the amazing art by the late Fremantle artist Theo Koning.
There is also pieces from local collectors in Perth and Fremantle.
Produced by FAC curator André Lipscombe, it explores Koning’s eclectic career which included local and interstate projects, collaborations, art activism, poetry, Instagram and a residency at the Basel Atelier Mondial Studio in 2015.
Lipscombe believes Koning should be a household name in Western Australia: “He was widely known in art circles and greatly appreciated as an instinctive and natural maker,” she says.
“He was a wry narrator of the human condition, and he undertook an artistic life not as a journey but a playground, in which he found new ways to explore life experiences through the joy of creative experimentation.”
Koning was known to have a creative eye for uncovering meaning and beauty in what others cast aside, with his materials often coming from street junk, skip bins, op shops, school fetes and tips.
He also had a natural and incorrigible sense of humour and ability to express himself without pretension.
Such artworks include his series of dress ups posted through dozens of hilarious Instagram posts (2018-2020), using homemade masks and one a prosthetic ear he found at a local beach. He also produced a homemade horror film, Amputation (1980), that tells a story of a man who after a car crash, gains a prosthetic wheel in place of a leg.
The exhibition includes Koning’s large-scale assemblage and installation, sculpture, series of paintings, drawings and print editions; as well as artist books, narrated poetry, collage and examples of his mail art.
There’s also historical video interviews with Koning produced by Fremantle creative Colin Story in 2015 and 2018 and an oral history with Koning produced by Lipscombe in 2007.
The exhibition reveals a deeply playful and philosophical artist who navigated the material and metaphysical worlds with curiosity and sensitivity.
Not only the first major retrospective of his work, but the first posthumous retrospective to be presented at Fremantle Arts Centre, it’s a fitting home given the strong relationship Koning had with the Centre over nearly five decades.
Abigail Moncrieff, FAC’S curator and collections lead, is excited to welcome his work back.
“We have exhibited Koning’s work 14 times in the Centre’s 52-year history, so it was fitting that we hold this major retrospective to look back on his life’s work,” says Moncrieff.
“Koning’s creative legacy is deeply rooted in Fremantle, not only through his artworks but also his private and laneway garden projects behind his home.
“His influence, however, extends beyond WA, having taught for many years, he’s shaped the practices of a younger cohort of artists locally.”
Celebrated
Coinciding with the exhibition will be the launch of a limited-edition illustrated monograph about the artist and his work.
The exhibition is presented as part of the City of Fremantle’s Art Collection program.
For over 50 years it has celebrated the port city’s vibrant artistic community through a growing collection of more than 1600 artworks.
Objet d’Art – Theo Koning and his Creative Self is at the Fremantle Arts Centre from November 15 – February 8, open daily from 10am until 5pm.