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Centre Five

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Centre Five was a group of seven modernist sculptors formed in 1960/61 to promote, and change attitudes to, contemporary abstract sculpture in Australia amongst architects, state galleries and the public, through exhibitions, lectures, and media interviews, and to lobby for a percent-for-the-arts scheme for public buildings, and for sculpture-specific scholarships and fellowships.[1] Their foundational five-point program, from which the name Centre Five derives, stated their aim ‘to foster a closer relationship with architects." The group’s most active years were from 1958 to 1974.

Origin

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Inge King (1965) Eurydice, sited at BHP Melbourne Research Laboratories, Clayton. Courtesy National Archives Australia

A collective named Group of Four,[2] or Centre Four,[1] had been founded in 1953 by Hungarian-born Julius Kane,[3] with Clifford Last, Norma Redpath[4] and German-born Inge King. A early example of Redpath’s commissioned works, for architects Muir and Shepherd client WG App and Sons' modernist funeral home in St Kilda was made in plaster and wire, influenced by Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth 1953–54.[5] In June 1953 they exhibited together in the University of Melbourne’s School of Architecture, with the cooperation of Professor Brian Lewis first Chair of Architecture, and again showed there in June 1955 with a growing architectural emphasis.

Teisutis Zikaras abstract sculpture cnr. Little Bourke and Elizabeth Streets, Melbourne.Courtesy National Archives Australia

In 1956 Kane, Last, Redpath and Teisutis Zikaras exhibited at Wilson Hall during the Melbourne Olympics, displaying sculpture alongside photographs of contemporary architecture. In 1957, Zikaras was commissioned by Eggleston, MacDonald & Secomb for eight identical low-relief cement panels composed of interwoven forms for Melbourne University's Union House, the first of the group's architectural collaborations.[6] His Ornamental balustrade panels were removed in 1997 for alterations to the building then relocated to the west end of Union House the following year.[7] In 1959 Six Sculptors, at the National Gallery of Victoria,[2] included all of the eventual seven Centre Five members, except for Lenton Parr, in their first substantial collective appearance of the eventual group.[6]

Lenton Parr (1959) Untitled welded mild steel. 259 × 259 cm. Chadstone Shopping Centre, Melbourne

They formed Centre Five as a splinter group of the Victorian Sculptors' Society adding members Lenton Parr, Vincas Jomantas, and Teisutis Zikaras. King wrote that Kane was "one of the most important protagonists of this artform in the 1950s..." whose early Melbourne sculptures "still showed the influence of German Classicism prevalent in the 1920s and 1930s."[8] Last remembered that:[9]

It was Julius Kane who developed the idea of the Centre Five Group of sculptors. He drafted the five point programme from which the group took its name, as well as generating a militancy that never was regained.

Eckett notes that their foundational five-point program set out in typescript copies discovered in Last's and King's papers, was most likely drafted in 1961, but not published until 1973 for an exhibition at Geelong Art Gallery.[10] 1961 and 1962 saw major Centre Five commissions with Parr receiving the first for the ANU Chemistry School with further commissions to follow. An August 1962 Conference of Victorian Sculptors at the National Gallery of Victoria,[11] was attended by all Centre Five members, though without Kane who died by suicide in July 1962,[6] and Redpath who was in Milan on an Italian government scholarship.

The first of the explicitly named Centre Five exhibitions was that held 6–30 September 1963 at Newcastle City Art Gallery.[12]

Norma Redpath (c.1968) Victorian coat of arms, floating relief in bronze on oval paten. National Gallery of Victoria

In March 1964 because increasing work commitments in Milan meant she was unable to fully participate in Centre Five activities, Redpath resigned her membership. Despite the loss of Kane and Redpath, the group continued to exhibit as Centre Five, firstly in September at Kym Bonython's Hungry Horse Gallery, Paddington.[13]

Context

[edit]

The project was problematic in that they had resigned from the Victorian Sculptors' Society and in effect set themselves up as competition. The result was a severe split in the very small sculpture world of the time, the repercussions of which are still felt today. Due to the nature of the split, the Society – formed to promote the work of members – missed out on official consideration.[14]

Four shared an immigrant background,[15] and as Edwards notes, migrated to Australia within a period of three years—Jomantas in 1948, Zikaras and Kane in 1949 and King in 1951[16]—with "a first-hand experience of sophisticated European practice, that created a critical edge to Australian sculpture,"[3] and "represent an important development in the exhibition and reception of contemporary art in Australia."[17]

Similarities in characteristics of their individual styles made exhibiting together an advantage, though "each developed an independent sculptural language".[3] Their aim was to foster the understanding of modern sculpture among Australian architects and the public.[18]

Scarlett cites as influential in raising their profile Lenton Parr's 1963 "well informed article on Australian sculpture" in Art and Australia.[19]

Clifford Last , interviewed in 1965 by de Berg, explained:

I work with a group of sculptors, Centre Five...we have worked together for four years. When you work with a group, you can ask for things, you can project yourself as a group where you couldn't as an individual but we promote all sculpture not just our own. We've realised a lack of interest mainly from the architects and a lack of usage in their projects. It's something we've attempted to fight in many ways, we've lectured at universities, we've had our studios open for students to come, we've gathered collections of slides and made them available for schools and institutions, which has rather been working for sculpture rather than for Centre Five...[20]


Reception

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Lenton Parr (1970) Astra. Welded steel painted black. 1006 × 762 × 335 cm photographed in-situ, Astrojet Building, Melbourne Airport

Scarlett notes that public galleries "had neglected Australian sculpture, with none having a representative collection; " It was not until 1959 that the first large scale exhibition of work by contemporary local sculptors, entitled Six Sculptors, was held at the National Gallery of Victoria. The work was mostly from the Centre Five group, which later showed at the Newcastle City Art Gallery in 1963 and when in 1964 the group organised a large exhibition in Sydney, it attracted lacklustre reviews,[20] particularly those by James Gleeson,[21][13] though Wallace Thornton was more generous.[22] When they exhibited at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1965,[23] Lynn wrote that having "previously shown at Sydney's Hungry Horse and the Newcastle City Art Gallery...Centre Five believes in the Diffusionist theory of sculptural culture. There is a lot to commend in such easily digestible pressure groups, gradually effecting a Fabian revolution in aesthetic tastes..."[24] By November 1966 The Bulletin reviewer, Lynn, a painter, suggested that exposure of sculpture had reached 'saturation point'.[25]

Inge King (1972–74) Forward surge, 50mm mild steel, paint, 516 x 1514 x 1368cm. Commissioned by the William Angliss Art Fund, 1976

Saunders,[26] writing in Art and Australia contemporaneously with Centre Five’s early development emphasises that the group “do not regard themselves as a school of sculpture” and that there was little evidence of direct influence among its members on the others. The five members at the time of his 1966 article were Jomantas, whom Gleeson declared the "most experimental",[27] King, Last, Parr and Zikaras. Julius Kane had died at the time of his writing, and Saunders distinguishes their practices rather than treating Centre Five as having a unified style. King constructed in steel mass planes that encouraged changing viewpoints; Last carved in wood the human/animal figure, paired forms, and emphasised light by deeply articulating edges; Parr created spatial structures in steel, responding to architectural commissions with semi-surrealist imagery of machinery and armour; Zikaras modelled and cast in experimental materials and metallic surfaces and increasingly forceful anatomical incision; while Jomantas was experimental with material, and carved/constructed volumes emphasising negative space and the integration of sculpture with its surrounding environment.

Australian Sculpture Centre, Canberra, 1966. Clifford Last The Lovers (front), Lenton Parr Armageddon (mid-ground) and untitled (right) and Alan Inghar Kingpost (rear). Courtesy National Archives Australia

What brought the group together, Saunders writes,[26] was a shared professional and intellectual interest in sculpture's relationship to architecture in the mutual intrinsic affinity of these disciplines in dealing with solid form, designed space and materials such as wood, stone, clay, metal, plastics and glass, and sharing an aesthetic sensibility, favouring simplicity over ornamentation, and a social purpose in influencing human experience of the built environment.[6] To that date in Australia, the two professions had rarely collaborated. He identifies Melbourne architectural practices Bates Smart McCutcheon and Eggleston Macdonald and Secomb[28] as exceptional in actively commissioning sculptors, with the latter incorporating sculpture into at least eighteen projects in Melbourne and Canberra, such as Jomantas' collaboration with the firm at Monash University, and sometimes involving two or three sculptors. Members of Centre Five were repeatedly among their collaborators. Thus, in the early 1960s for this group sculpture was not necessarily conceived as an autonomous gallery object. Saunders advocates for sculpture as part of “public, common experience”, and sculptors contributing directly to architectural design.

Scarlett notes that while Centre Five "aroused some criticism from sculptors and art critics, who saw it as a pressure group, working for the interests of a small group of sculptors, rather than for sculpture in Australia", in retrospect, sculpture in gained by their "determined promotion".

Influence and legacy

[edit]
Sculpture lecturer Mr Teisutis Zikaras amidst student works, School of Sculpture of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology

Four of the five were teachers in 1966, with Last having only recently left teaching.[26] Parr was influential as Head of Sculpture at RMIT (1964–66), then Head of Prahran College of Technology,[29] though when his fine art philosophy clashed with the vocationally-oriented aims of the College Principal Alan Warren,[30][31] he left in 31 January 1969[32] for the role of Principal at the National Gallery School (1969-1974), leading to his appointment as director (1974–84) of its successor entity the Victorian College of the Arts.[33] Centre Five thus contributed actively to, and influenced, art education and professional exchange.

Plant in 1971 marked the contribution of the group to modern sculpture in Australia in her essay in a history of the Victorian Artists Society, Christesen's The Gallery on Eastern Hill.[34][35][36] Burke notes in Meanjin that "the Centre Five group were soundly represented" by Inge King and Lenton Parr as late as April 1973 at the Mildura Sculpture Triennial 'Sculpturscape' .[37]

Norma Redpath (1964) Untitled, bronze wall relief. McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park.

Eckett[6] in the catalogue for Centre 5: bridging the gap, 12 November 2022–5 March 2023, notes acknowledges Centre 5's assistance to McClelland Gallery's inaugural director Carl Andrew and its benefactor Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE from its inception in 1971, with Last and Parr serving on its art advisory committee to assist in achieving an environment sympathetic to exhibiting sculpture. They last exhibited new work together in Geelong Art Gallery in 1973,[10] and at McClelland in 1974.[38]

Australian Sculpture Now,[39] was exhibited at the National Gallery of Victoria over summer 1984-85, for the Second Australian Sculpture Triennial amid the most comprehensive showing of contemporary sculpture in the country to date, with nineteen group and solo satellite shows including Maudie Palmer's staging of Centre Five at Heide, an installation surveying the group's 1960s works at Heide Park and Art Gallery.[40][41]

Selected exhibitions

[edit]
  • 1963, 1–30 September: Sculpture by Centre Five: Jomantas, King, Last, Parr, Redpath, Zikaris. Newcastle City Art Gallery[12]
  • 1965, 6–31 October: Art Gallery of New South Wales[42][23]
  • 1966, from 18 April: Centre Five Sculpture Group. Kym Bonython's Hungry Horse Art Gallery[43][13]
  • 1968, 18 March– 3 April: Melbourne Sculptors. King, Last and Parr only. Bonython Art Gallery, Paddington[44]
  • 1973–4, November–February: Centre 5. Jomantas, King, Last, Parr and Zikaras. McClelland Gallery, Langwarrin[45]
  • 1973, 7 September–2 November: Centre Five. Geelong Art Gallery[10]
  • 1984, 27 October–9 December: Centre Five at Heide. Heide Park and Art Gallery[40][41]
  • 2022/23, 12 November–5 March: Centre 5: bridging the gap. McClelland Sculpture Park + Gallery, Langwarrin[38]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 "Thriving in a cultural void". The Age. 22 November 2003. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 McCulloch, Alan; McCulloch, Susan; McCulloch Childs, Emily (2006). The New McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian art. Fitzroy BC, Vic.: AUS Art Editions. p. 316. ISBN 9780522853179. OCLC 608565596.
  3. 1 2 3 Edwards, Geoffrey (Winter 1993). "Souls Are Not Saved In Bundles: Some observations on the work of four Melbourne sculptors". Art and Australia. 30 (4): 494–499.
  4. ↑ "Dr Norma Redpath (1928 - 2013)". Art Monthly Australasia (257): 8. 2013.
  5. ↑ Sievers, Wolfgang; Redpath, Norma, 1928-2013 (1962), Sculpture by Norma Redpath at Le Pine Funerals, St. Kilda, Victoria, 1962, retrieved 9 August 2026{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Eckett, Jane (August 2010). "Renewed Vows: Centre Five and the Post-war Remarriage of Melbourne Sculptors and Architects". Interspaces: Art + Architectural Exchanges from East to West (Conference proceedings ed.). Melbourne: School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne, City of Yarra, Australian Institute of Art History.
  7. ↑ Cramer, Lorinda; Sullivan, Lisa; Colvin, Robert (2003). Sculpture on campus : University of Melbourne, Parkville campus. Melbourne, Parkville, Vic.: University of Melbourne Cultural and Community Relations Committee, Ian Potter Museum of Art. p. 20. OCLC 224873649.
  8. ↑ King, Inge (1990). "Artist's Choice No. 39. Julius Kane: Metis and Zeus". Art and Australia. 28 (1): 110.
  9. ↑ Last, Clifford (1975). Julius Kane, 1921-62: A Retrospective Exhibition (exhibition catalogue ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: George Paton Gallery, University of Melbourne.
  10. 1 2 3 Geelong Art Gallery (September 1973). Centre 5 (exh. cat. ed.). Geelong, Vic.: Geelong Art Gallery.
  11. ↑ "First Conference of Victorian Sculptors". State Library of Victoria. Melbourne, Vic. 1962. OCLC 1341500693. Retrieved 2026-08-09.
  12. 1 2 "Art Directory: Exhibitions, Newcastle, New South Wales". Art and Australia. 1, 2, 1963. 1 (2): 123. August 1963.
  13. 1 2 3 Gleeson, James (9 September 1964). "The two sculptures I'd pick...". The Sun. Sydney.
  14. ↑ "Association of Sculptors of Victoria". sculptorsvictoria.asn.au. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  15. ↑ Dysart, Dinah (Winter 1993). "émigré". Art + Australia. 30 (4): 480.
  16. ↑ "The Europeans". National Gallery of Australia. Archived from the original on 2025-02-18. Retrieved 2026-08-09.
  17. ↑ Van den Bosch, Annette (Autumn 1993). "What Is A Good Reputation Worth? Changing Definitions of the Artist". Art and Australia. 30 (3): 356.
  18. ↑ "Thriving in a cultural void". The Age. Melbourne. 22 November 2003. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  19. ↑ Parr, Lenton (May 1963). "Sculpture in Australia since 1945". Art and Australia. 1 (1): 20.
  20. 1 2 Scarlett, Kenneth William (1980). Australian Sculptors. West Melbourne, Victoria: Thomas Nelson. ISBN 0 17 005292 3.
  21. ↑ Gleeson, James (9 September 1964). "Two sculptures of power". The Sydney Sun. p. 37.
  22. ↑ Thornton, Wallace (9 September 1964). "Five Melbourne sculptors". Sydney Morning Herald.
  23. 1 2 Hannon, Bill (1965). "Introduction". Centre five contemporary sculpture : Inge King, Vincas Jomantas, Clifford Last, Lenton Parr, Teisutis Zikaras : Art Gallery of New South Wales, October 6 to October 24, 1965 (Exhibition catalogue ed.). Art Gallery of New South Wales. OCLC 79860077.
  24. ↑ Lynn, Elwyn (16 October 1965). "The Centre Men". The Australian. p. 12.
  25. ↑ Lynn, Elwyn (19 November 1966). "Art: Sculpture Saturation. Transfield Sculpture Prize. Hyde Park, Sydney". The Bulletin. 88 (4524): 47 – via TROVE.
  26. 1 2 3 Saunders, David (September 1966). "Centre Five". Art and Australia. 4 (2): 129–135.
  27. ↑ Gleeson, James (7 October 1965). "Contrast in their style". The Sun. Sydney.
  28. ↑ "Our Story - DesignInc". www.designinc.com.au. 2022-05-02. Retrieved 2026-08-08.
  29. ↑ Edwards, Geoffrey (Autumn 2004). "Dr Lenton Parr AM 1924–2003". Art and Australia . 41, 3, 2004. 41 (3).
  30. ↑ Buckrich, Judith Raphael; Buckrich, J; Prahran Mechanics' Institute (2007), Design for living : a history of 'Prahran Tech', Prahran Mechanics' Institute Press, pp. 96–99, ISBN 978-0-9756000-8-5
  31. ↑ 'Prahran College inquiry sought', Southern Cross, Friday, 18 October 1968
  32. ↑ 'Mr Parr resigns: Surprise after Tech Inquiry', Southern Cross, 22 January 1969
  33. ↑ http://artsearch.nga.gov.au/Detail.cfm?IRN=42902&PICTAUS=TRUE National Gallery of Australia
  34. ↑ Plant, Margaret (1970). "Centre Five: A Note on a Decade of Activity". In Christesen, Clem (ed.). The Gallery on Eastern Hill; the Victorian Artists Society centenary. East Melbourne, Vic.: Victorian Artists' Society. pp. 103–112. ISBN 9780950095608.
  35. ↑ "Art for students". Papua New Guinea Post-courier. International, Australia. 12 February 1971. p. 22. Retrieved 8 August 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  36. ↑ City of Muldura Arts Centre (1975). The kings. Mildura, Victoria. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  37. ↑ Burke, Janine (September 1974). "The Survey Show and Melbourne Sculpture". Meanjin Quarterly. 33 (3). Meanjin Company Ltd.: 327. ISSN 0815-953X.
  38. 1 2 "Centre 5: bridging the gap". McClelland Gallery. Retrieved 2026-08-08.
  39. ↑ Palmer, Maudie (Spring 1985). "Australian Sculpture Now: The Second Australian Sculpture Triennial". Art and Australia. 23 (1): 78.
  40. 1 2 Palmer, Maudie; Plant, Margaret (1984). Centre Five at Heide Park and Art Gallery. Heide Park and Art Gallery.
  41. 1 2 Makin, Jeffrey (Winter 1984). "Heide what now?". Art and Australia. 21 (4): 520.
  42. ↑ "Advertisment: Exhibitions, Art Gallery of New South Wales". Art and Australia. 2 (4): 311. March 1965.
  43. ↑ "Art Directory. Exhibitions: Sydney, New South Wales". Art and Australia. 3 (4): 305. March 1966.
  44. ↑ Melbourne Sculptors 18 March – 3 April 1968 (exh. cat. ed.). Paddington, NSW: Bonython Art Gallery. 1968.
  45. ↑ Andrew, Carl (1973). "Introduction". Centre 5: Vincas Jomantas, Inge King, Clifford Last, Lenton Parr, Teisutis Zikaras (exh. cat. ed.). Langwarrin, Vic.: McClelland Gallery.
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