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Deborah Halpern B.1957

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Deborah Halpern OAM is one of Australia's most celebrated sculptors, notable for her wildly colourful mosaic most loved public sculptures.

Deborah Halpern sculptures are imaginative and high-spirited, imbued with intense originality and a deep artistic ability of the masterful manipulation of medium.

Halpern is a multi-disciplinary artist who explores the mediums of sculpture, painting, pottery, glass blowing and printmaking. Inspired by the free spirit of Picasso, Halpern’s work exude an innate vitality and alluring simplicity. Spontaneous in form, her sculptures are in a visions of Gaudi and playful surrealism of French sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle, yet all have distinctly Halpern in their ability to delight and surprise.

Halpern sculpture Angel was commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria before it was moved to its current location on the bank of the Yarra River at Birrarung Marr. 'Angel' was commissioned by National Gallery of Victoria (Birrarung Marr). Halpern 'Ophelia' is the official face of Melbourne by Tourism Victoria outside the Southgate complex at Southbank, Victoria. 

Deborah Halpern  at Auction  sculpture  

Deborah Halpern B.1957 Biography

Deborah Halpern is one of Australia's most celebrated sculptors, notable for her wildly colourful mosaic very loved public sculptures.

Halpern is a multi-disciplinary mosaic and ceramic artist who explores the mediums of sculpture, painting, pottery, glass blowing and printmaking. Her exuberant work is imbued with a deep artistry.

Inspired by the free spirit of Pablo Picasso, Halpern’s work exude an innate vitality and alluring simplicity.

 Spontaneous in form, her creatures are in a visions of Gaudi and playful surrealism of French sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle, yet all have become distinctly Halpern in their ability to delight and surprise.

Halpern sculpture invoke a dreamscape of animated playful fantasies, is a hybrid of forms and confection of colours that mounts a celebration of life and the symbiotic interconnectedness and interdependence of everything in the natural world.

Halpern sculptures are imaginative and high-spirited, imbued with intense originality and a deep artistic ability of masterful manipulation of medium.

One of Halpern's biggest sculptures, Angel, stood in the moat of the National Gallery of Victoria before it was moved to its current location on the bank of the Yarra River at Birrarung Marr.

In her particular world view, Deborah Halpern was greatly influenced by her parents, artists Sylvia and Artec Halpern.

Though her father, a Polish Jew, left when she was six years old, her mother would speak to her of the 'brotherhood of man', and Halpern came to see the planet as her family.  As a teenager she was increasingly aware of the paradoxes and injustices of the world.

She donated as much as possible to the Guide Dogs Association, Green Peace and Amnesty International, but felt that $10 per week wasn't making enough of a difference. She felt that people with money were doing nothing to help.

Halpern began her artistic career training as an apprentice in ceramic works in 1976. In her mid-twenties, she was introduced to members of the Hunger Project, a not-for-profit organisation aiming to make a fundamental impact in the world's most poverty-stricken areas.

The group had a policy of instigating programs only upon the invitation of communities to do so, and of initiating conversations with members of those communities to directly address their needs.

The people behind the Hunger Project had been a part of the Landmark Forum, now a widely-known motivational seminar series operating worldwide, and in the mid-1980s Halpern decided to attend.

A sculptor and a potter by trade, Deborah Halpern had been commissioned in 1987 by the National Gallery of Victoria and the Australian Bicentennial Authority to create a sculpture for the south moat of the NGV's St Kilda Road site.

She was intimidated by the scale of the project, and found the Forum helped her to realise her potential. With an original grant of $25,000, the sculpture, Angel, became a far bigger project than was originally intended, and Halpern had to meet costs by fundraising.

Empowered by her success with Angel, Halpern pledged $100,000 to the Hunger Project within one year. She and her then husband Malcolm took on as many commissions as possible until the money had been raised.

Today, with her sculptural pieces fetching handsome sums, Halpern donates $5,000 to $25,000 annually to any number of organisations including the Red Cross, Canteen, and groups for osteoporosis sufferers, Amnesty International, World Vision and a Moon Bear rescue group in China. She sees the $100,000 gift as having been a one-off challenge and now maintains a trust account.

Between 10 May and 23 July 2006, the Ian Potter Centre at the NGV held Angel, an exhibition of Halpern's work, to coincide with the relocation of that original public sculpture to the Yarra bank at Birrarung Marr.

Deborah Halpern began work in ceramics in 1971 and study painting at the Caulfield Institute of Technology in 1979. In 1981, Halpern started to exhibit her work at the annual Victorian Ceramic Show and the Blackwood Street Gallery. In 1982 Deborah Halpern worked as an artist in residence at the Croydon Community Centre. During this time, her work was selected to be shown in the Melbourne Meat Market Craft Centre and the Potters Gallery in Sydney.

Creator of many of many most loved public sculptures, Halpern’s works exude an innate vitality and alluring simplicity. Spontaneous in form, her creatures are painted in a style that recalls visions of Gaudi, Picasso and the playful surrealism of French sculptor Niki de Sant Phalle, yet all have become distinctly Halpernesque in their ability to delight and surprise.

Inspired by the free spirit of Pablo Picasso Deborah's famous works include the surreal sculpture such as Angel which was once featured in the moat of the National Gallery of Victoria (but since relocated to Birrarung Marr) and Ophelia which stands outside the Southgate complex at Southbank, Victoria (named the official face of Melbourne by Tourism Victoria in 1996).

Artist Interview: Deborah Halpern - Art Collector Nov 7, 2011 - 7 November 2011 | Sculptor Deborah Halpern speaks to Australian Art Collector about the inspiration behind the pieces and why she doesn't ...

Deborah Halpern (born 1957 in Melbourne) is an artist working in Victoria Australia, notable for her prominent and popular works of public art. Halpern is a sculptor, mosaic artist and ceramic artist.

Halpern grew up in the world of ceramics, as her parents were ceramists and artists. She began work in ceramics as an apprentice in 1971. She went on to study painting at the Caulfield Institute of Technology in 1979.

In 1981, she started to exhibit her work at the annual Victorian Ceramic Show and the Blackwood Street Gallery. The next year, Deborah worked as an artist in residence at the Croydon Community Centre. During this time, her work was selected to be shown in the Melbourne Meat Market Craft Centre and the Potters Gallery in Sydney, NSW.

2013 ‘Mermaid with legs’, ‘Fish’, Private commission, NSW

1994 Golden Threads Award, Australian Wool Board, Sydney

1990 Gold Prize, ‘Double Figure’, Japan Ass’n for International Garden & Greenery Exposition, Osaka Expo

Exhibitions

2013 Mossgreen Gallery, ‘Creatures from the Studio’

2012 The Melbourne Art Fair, Exhibited by Mossgreen Gallery, Melbourne

2011 New Works, Mossgreen Gallery, Melbourne

2010 Arthouse Gallery, Sydney

2009 Mossgreen Gallery, Melbourne

2008 Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne

2007 weird little things… Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne

2006 Deborah Halpern: Angel, Survey Exhibition, Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
          Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne

2003 – 2004 Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne

2001 Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne

1999 – 2001 Buschlen Mowatt Fine Art Gallery, Vancouver Canada

1999 Art’s Toys, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne

1998 Chapman Gallery, Canberra, ACT

1997 Despard Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania

1996 Small Works, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne

1995 Sculptures & Works on Paper, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne

1991 – 1992 Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne

1989 Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
Irving Sculpture Gallery, Sydney, NSW

1987 Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne

1985 Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne

1983 Rosies Gallery, Albert Park, Victoria

1981 Blackwood Street Gallery, Meat Market Craft Centre with assistance from Craft Board of Aust Council

2013 Fine Australian Sculpture – Mossgreen Gallery

2012 JIng’an Int’l Sculpture Project – Shanghai, China

2008 The Dream Festival, Melbourne

2006 The Gathering, Wangaratta Exhibitions Gallery, Wangaratta

2005 Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award – Highly Commended Award

2004 VIVID, Art Auction for The Greens, Fortyfivedownstairs Gallery, Melbourne

Melbourne Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

2002 2002 Melbourne Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

1998 Heartworks, Sydney Central Mission, auction at Centrepoint Tower, Sydney
Copelen Chairs, Copelen Family Services, Melbourne

1997 Then & Now, Meat Market Craft Centre, Melbourne

Pathways, Manningham Artspace, Doncaster

Bowled Over, Savode Gallery, Brisbane

Copelen Chairs, Copelen Family Services, auction at Sothebys Melbourne

1996 – 1997 The National Sculpture Trail, Victoria University, Footscray, Victoria

1996 A Sculpture Walk in the Royal Botanic Gardens, 150th Anniversary, Melbourne

Sculpture 3, Austin & Repatriation Medical Centre, Heidelberg, Victoria

Univ. of Western Sydney Macarthur National Printmedia Acquisitive, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre

The Bowled and the Beautiful, Hewitt’s Art Bookshop, Fremantle, WA

12th Biennial Spring Festival of Drawing, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery

1995 12th Biennial Spring Festival of Drawing, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery

Works on Paper – A Selection, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne

Useless Objects & Real Things, Second National Crafts Conference, Melbourne

Selected Recent Purchases for the QUT Art Collection, QLD Uni. Of Technology

1994 Colin and Cecily Rigg Craft Award, NGV

Then & Now, Victorian Ceramics Group, Meat Market Craft Centre, Melbourne

1992 – 1994 Decorated Clay, touring exhibition, Queensland Art Gallery

Dame Edna Regrets She Is Unable to Attend, touring, Heide Park & Art Gallery, AETA, Aust Council

1992 10 Square Works for Wilderness, The Wilderness Society, Linden Gallery, Melbourne

Southgate Art Exhibition, Westpac Gallery 3, Victorian Arts Centre

Third Australian Contemporary Art Fair, Melbourne

1991 The Total Look – Locating Furniture, Plimsoll Gallery, Centre for the Arts, Hobart

1990 – 1991 Halpern and Murphy Ceramics Exhibition, Shepparton Art Gallery (touring)

1990 Affiliations, Monash University Gallery, Victoria

Tea for Two, Meat Market Craft Centre, Melbourne

Second Australian Contemporary Art Fair, Exhibition Buildings, Melbourne

Alice 125, Carrol Foundation, Melbourne

1989 Decade, Meat Market Craft Centre, Melbourne

1988 50 Fine Artists, Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria, Showgrounds, Melbourne

Common Ground, Fifth National Ceramic Conference, Irving Sculpture Gallery, Sydney

Jewish Festival of the Arts, Christine Abrahams Gallery

Australian Crafts 1988, Meat Market Craft Centre

The New Generation 1983 – 1988, Australian National Gallery, Canberra

The Fringe Furniture Show, Spoleto Fringe Festival, Melbourne

1987 Australian Crafts 1987, Meat Market Craft Centre, Melbourne

1986 A First Look, Philip Morris Arts Grant Purchases 1983-6 ANG, Canberra

1985 Just for Show, Shepparton Art Gallery, Victoria (touring)

Teapot 3, Old Bakery Gallery, Sydney

Australian Crafts 1985, Meat Market Craft Centre, Melbourne

1984 Australian Crafts 1984, Meat Market Craft Centre, Melbourne

Sheer Madness, 3 Person Exhibition, Gryphon Gallery

Sculptors as Craftsmen, Meat Market Craft Centre

Current Visions in Intimate Sculpture, Profile Gallery, Melbourne

Arts & Crafts Society of Victoria Fifth Annual Craft Award Exhibition

The First Great Annual Ceramic Show, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Ballarat

Christmas Collections, Craft Council’s Centre Gallery, Sydney

The Post Atomic Card Show, Universal Workshop; Sculpture ’85, Melbourne

Second Australian Sculpture Triennial, NGV

Eight Young Australians, Craftlink, Melbourne

Festival of Jewish Artists, Temple Beth Israel, Melbourne

1983 Victorian Ceramic Group, Annual Member’s Exhibition

1982 Australian Crafts 1982, Meat Market Craft Centre, Melbourne

Victorian Ceramics Group Exhibition, Potters Gallery, Sydney

Indulgences, Craft Council’s Centre Gallery, Sydney

Mad Hatters’ Tea Party, The Australian Craftworks, Sydney

Teapot 1, The Old Bakery Gallery, Sydney

The Christmas Show, Craft Council’s Centre Gallery, Sydney

1981 Victorian Ceramic Group, Annual Member’s Exhibition, Melbourne

1980 Whittles with the Lot, Performance, Last Laugh Theatre Restaurant, Melbourne

1979 Flaming Stars, Performance, Melbourne

Missing Persons, Performance, Flying Trapeze Cabaret Cafe, Melbourne

1978 Two Person exhibition with Sylvia Halpern, Potters’ Cottage, Warrandyte

Santettes, Boxettes, Performance, Melbourne