Bruce Goold is a multi-talented and cross-disciplinary practitioner who has a strong sense of the surreal and a 'dada' notion of what culture is in Australia.

This retrospective of Bruce's work, includes his furnishing fabrics, Mambo 'Loud Shirts', his prints and printmaking processes and his collection of disparate but inspirational objects.

After his student days, he saw an exhibition of Margaret Preston's works on paper and became very interested in the strong presence of the black, linear graphics and hand coloured washes of her lino-cuts. Preston's prints influenced him to begin researching and designing from Australian flora and fauna; warathas, cockatoos, bogong moths and magpies and using them as iconic images of this country.

In this exhibition we transform the Gallery into three defined spaces; an 'Australian Parlour', of native flora and fauna prints, a 'Mambo Room' featuring the shirts Bruce has designed for Mambo, and a 'Tropical Salon' where bruce combines prints and furniture juxtaposed against large stretched screens of his favorite fabrics.

Manly Art Gallery & Museum is proud to present this survey exhibition of one of the country's most important contemporary artist/designers who continues to invent and surprise with his prints, fabrics and installations.

Therese Kenyon
Director, Manly Art Gallery & Museum