Emily Floyd: The Dawn

‘Emily Floyd: The Dawn’ is a survey exhibition of the work of Melbourne based artist Emily Floyd. The exhibition features keynote works dating from 2001 to 2014 including major installations, lesser-known early works and two newly commissioned interactive spaces for children and families. Working in sculpture, installation, printmaking and public art, Floyd is renowned for her text-based sculptures and pedagogically-inspired works which combine formal concerns with an interest in the legacies of modernism. Her work engages a wide range of disciplines and endeavours including public art and social activism, design and typography, literature and cultural studies, community participation and public education, and various political ideologies. Drawing parallels between educational models and contemporary art, Floyd’s bold and seductive colourful works generate spaces for social engagement and interaction whilst provoking discussions about contemporary social, cultural and political ideas.

Emily Floyd graduated in sculpture at RMIT University in 1999 and has exhibited widely since then. Recent solo exhibitions include ‘Emily Floyd: Far Rainbow,’ Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne 2014; ‘This Place Will Always Be Open,’ Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne 2012; ‘Here Small Gestures Make Complex Structures,’ Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2012; and ‘New Graphic Sculpture,’ Anna Schwartz Gallery, Sydney, 2012. Group exhibitions include ‘There will be new rules next week,’ Dundee Contemporary Arts, Scotland, 2013; ‘Sleep on the Left Side,’ Seven Art Limited, New Delhi, 2012; ‘Ten Ways to Look at the Past,’ National Gallery of Victoria, 2011; ‘In the Balance: Art for a Changing World,’ Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2010; and ‘Optimism,’ Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 2008. Floyd has completed several large scale public sculptures including ‘New Ways of Thinking’ at Melbourne’s Docklands and ‘Public Art Strategy’ for Eastlink Motorway. Most recently she was awarded a Scottish Print Network Commission, Dundee Print Studio, Dundee, Scotland and the inaugural Monash University Museum of Art Ian Potter Sculpture Commission. Floyd’s work is held in major collections including The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Gallery of Modern Art Queensland, Brisbane, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Monash Museum of Art, Melbourne and The Victoria and Albert Museum, London.