DEAN CROSS
To be Clever – To be Posh
24 January – 25 February 2023

STATION | MELBOURNE

Dean Cross works primarily across installation, sculpture and painting. Interested in the collisions of materials, ideas and histories, Cross is motivated by an understanding that his practice sits within a continuum of the oldest living culture on Earth – and enacts First Nations sovereignty through expanded contemporary art methodologies. His cross-disciplinary practice often confronts the legacies of modernism, rebalancing dominant cultural and social histories.

Harnessing sculpture, painting and photography, To Be Clever – To Be Posh challenges the myth of Australian nationhood. Pointing to the complex tensions of mutation and mimicry, Cross’ exhibition title references basic rules of beatboxing. When vocalised, the sentence 'To Be Clever – To Be Posh' becomes a rhythmic vocal percussion. Through the dismantling and rebuilding of a 1962 Yamaha piano in the gallery space, Cross investigates the colonial and historical footprint of the classical piano and sound more broadly.

 

Installation Views

Artworks

Dean Cross
Lyrebird 3 2022
acrylic on 600gsm Saunders Waterford
56.0 × 76.0 cm

Dean Cross
Lyrebird 2 2022
acrylic on 600gsm Saunders Waterford
56.0 × 76.0 cm

Dean Cross
Lyrebird 1 2022
acrylic on 600gsm Saunders Waterford
56.0 × 76.0 cm

Dean Cross
I think it’s funny that you’re scared 2022
natural pigment (Ngunnawal/Ngambri), binder and oil stick on linen
50.0 × 61.0 cm

Dean Cross
somehow, somewhere 2022
oil stick on linen
45.5 × 35.5 cm

Dean Cross
words are easy, words are cheap 2022
oil stick and Australian wool on linen
61.0 × 50.0 cm

Dean Cross
Chainsaw 2022
oil, synthetic polymer and ink on canvas
205.0 × 136.0 cm

Dean Cross
The Stain 2022
pure pigment on Hahnmüle torchon
169.0 × 84.5 cm

Dean Cross
sad state 1962–2022
timber, steel, brass, wire, felt, graphite, lacquer, iron and plastic
dimensions variable

Dean Cross
T.B.C 2022
oil on poly cotton canvas
45.5 × 35.5 cm