AWARD | Best In Furniture

Design Fringe 2024

I’m thrilled to announce my work Turning The Grid (I and II) has been awarded Best In Furniture at Design Fringe 2024, part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

This year’s Design Fringe exhibition, We Have Shared Bread and Salt, celebrates the role of design in fostering togetherness. It takes the concept of the dining table as a starting point to explore how design creates environments that facilitate meaningful conversations and build stronger communities.

Turning The Grid (I and II) occupies a space between furniture and sculpture. Made from powder coated stainless steel, their height is that of a standard bench seat with room for two people to sit. But their curved base means they easily tip and rock from side to side when touched. The instability of these objects signals a turning or divergence from a controlled environment. When two people move to sit down on a form together, they must do so in sync, finding balance in space and a reciprocal support from each others’ body.

Design Fringe 2024 is showing at Linden New Arts 6 September - 24 November.

Image: Turning the Grid ( I and II), 2024, Matt black powder coated steel, 95 x 47.5 x 25 cm.

FINALIST | Kate Derum Award 2024

Australian Tapestry Workshop

1 August - 18 October 2024

My work The Naked Machine has been selected as a finalist in the Kate Derum Award alongside a swath of talented artists this year!

The title of this work refers to the way 20th C Modernist architecture reveals the functional infrastructure of buildings (pipes, valves and such), rendering to architectural machine naked. By foregrounding seven warp threads atop the tapestry’s surface, this work also lays bare inner workings that usually remain unseen. A visual grid emerges between the threads on top and those embedded in the weave, destabilising the division between interior and exterior realms. This conceptual shift situates the grid within an in-between space of radical possibility rather than the formal control with which this motif is synonymous.

EXHIBITION | Melton City Council

Spatial Murmuration

11 July - 14 October 2024

Spatial Murmuration brings together tapestries and fine line drawings from my practice that have been made via distinct, yet equally slow and methodical processes. These works explore how we navigate and orient ourselves in changing environments, using intuitive geometry and handcrafted techniques to trace structural relationships and hidden spatial potentialities. This meditative practice reflects a constant murmur, quietly probing questions about our negotiation of space.

CS Gallery is located at 193-201 Caroline Springs Blvd. Caroline Springs, Victoria.

EXHIBITION | Australian Tapestry Workshop

Line/Loop/Line

2 November 2023 — 2 February 2024.

Featuring: Donna Blackall (Yorta Yorta), Phong Chi Lai, Misako Nakahira (JPN), Malin Parkegren (SWE), Theo Rooden (NLD), Britt Salt, and Shannon Slee.

Line/Loop/Line shows the work of seven artists who explore the language of geometric abstraction in textiles through manipulating patterns, lines, stripes, shapes, repetition and colour. These artists employ cloth and coil weaving, quilting and tapestry, the handmade and machine made.

AWARD | Fiona Myer White Story Residency

I’m delighted to have been awarded the Fiona Myer White Story Residency for my work Living Grid II, as part of the VCA Grad Show 2023. The $5000 associated with the award will help me to develop my practice and create new work, and in 2024, I will undertake a residency at the White Story studio in Cremorne.

Thank you to the trustees of the Fiona Myer White Story Residency for their generosity.

PROFILE | Artshub

"Me and My Mentor: Britt Salt and Hannah Gartside”

by Rochelle Siemienowicz, 21 Aug, 2023.

Earlier this year, Rochelle spoke to Hannah and I about our experience working together in a mentorship. We shared a little about our individual practices, how they overlap and diverge from one another, our love of materials and the excitement of having real bodies engage with our work.

Many thanks to VCA Access for this mentorship opportunity and to Hannah for all her support.

EXHIBITION | VCA Grad Show 2023

23 - 30 November 2023 | VCA, University of Melbourne, Southbank Campus.

VIEW EXHIBITION CATALOGUE

Image: Britt Salt, Living Grid II, 2023 (Masters of Contemporary Art) - Location: Octagon, The Stables.

EXHIBITION | Care Structures, M16 Artspace

28 September - 28 October 2023

Curated by Kate Vassallo

Featuring: Matthew Allen, Kirsten Biven, Boni Cairncross, Sanne Carroll, Emma Fielden, Rubaba Haider, Annelies Jahn, James Lieutenant, Britt Salt, Kate Vassallo, Constanze Vogt, Nina Walton & Belinda Yee.

Care Structures brings together local, national and international artists working with expanded drawing practice. By incorporating repetition and slowly following making-systems or rules, the artists in this exhibition are finding ways to visualise process. Their art-making is carried out with care, with the process often taking on more importance than the final objects. Many of these artists are constructing methodologies that highlight intuitive and non-cerebral ways of working. For some, their art practice is a way to externalise their personal, internal world. Others, focus on building minimal and pristine finishes, almost concealing the labour behind the artworks. Consistent across all the artists, through care and time, a direct link is formed between the maker and their material outcome.

FINALIST | Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award 2023

10 June - 20 August 2023, Wangaratta Art Gallery.

Opening Event and announcement of winner: Saturday 10 June, 2-4pm. RSVP

Thrilled to announce I’m a finalist in the WCTA 2023! My work Six Vertical Threads Over Six Horizontal Lines is a twisted kind of object. It is made using traditional tapestry techniques which I have undermined during the process of construction. Six warp threads that would usually support the structural integrity of the tapestry are instead sat atop, painted black and part of the visual surface of the work. Revealing something which is typically concealed from view draws attention to what may still be hidden, inviting the viewer to consider what it is they are truly seeing and how the senses mediate this spatial encounter.

PUBLIC ARTWORK | 1 The Esplanade, Perth

Vibrant Matter, 2023, vinyl and powder coated aluminium mesh.

Vibrant Matter pays homage to Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River) and the energy that emanates from it, through pattern, light and space. Spanning the auditorium’s exterior shell, this artwork invites the viewer to move around it and explore the space, revealing overlapping patterns that shift with the viewers’ interaction. The work is materially and visually complex in its parts, yet viewed as a whole, these components blur and become a gentle undulating pulse, speaking to the vibrant nature of Derbarl Yerrigan and its perpetual flow through the landscape. Vibrant Matter creates a space where past and future reverberate in the present.

Many thanks to curator Seva Frangos and UAP for project management and fabrication.

AWARD | MENTORING MASTERS VCA ART AWARD 2023

I am so excited to announce I’ll be working with artist Hannah Gartside throughout 2023 as part of the Mentoring Masters VCA Art Award. This mentorship will be a chance for me to gain hands on experience, guidance on navigating industry dynamics and building a sustainable career practice.

Thanks to VCA Access for this opportunity!

Hannah Gartside

Hannah Gartside works across sculpture, installation and video. Characteristically sensual and poetic, her works transform found fabrics and clothing to articulate experiences and sensations of longing, tenderness, care and desire. 

Gartside received a Bachelor of Fine Art (Sculpture) from the VCA in 2016, and a BFA (Fashion Design) from QUT in 2007. Prior to her visual art training, Gartside worked as costume-maker for five years, mainly on productions for Queensland Ballet. She has exhibited extensively throughout Australia and her work HARBINGERS: LOIE, ARTEMISIA, PIXIE, SARAH AND LILITH is currently on show at the Maitland Regional Art Gallery until Feb 19. 

EXHIBITION | From Where I Stand, VCA Artspace

23 - 26 May 2023 | Opening Tuesday 23 June, 5 - 7pm

Curated by Kim Donaldson, From Where I Stand is an annual exhibition of second year Masters of Contemporary Art students. The 2023 edition features artists Amina Jarra-Briggs, Britt Salt, Doug Webb, Helvi Apted, Jacinta Maude, Jasmine Brooks, James Nunn, Rebecca Jones, Samantha Thompson, Shannon Slee, and Yixuan Zhao.

EXHIBITION | From With(in) at GEORGE PATON GALLERY

Helvi Apted, Britt Salt and Shannon Slee

Main Gallery | 13 - 24 March 2023 // Gallery Event: Thursday 23 March, 5 - 7pm

From With(in) presents the work of three artists whose practices are connected by a shared workspace and language of materials, using textile methodologies as a springboard for broader research. The artists invite visitors to take part in textile actions alongside them as they expand, transform and multiply artworks over the course of the exhibition.

FINALIST | FISHER’S GHOST ART AWARD 2022

Neither-Nor, 2021, cotton and wool, 95 x 84 cm.

Neither-Nor shifts with the viewers’ movement and interaction, an implausible built space that tests the bounds of perspective and geometry. My methodical process of weaving unfolds in unexpected glitches and visual illusion, bringing forth a malleable yet static atmosphere that asks the viewer to reflect on their surroundings.

An exhibition of finalists will be held at the Campbelltown Arts Centre from 29 October - 9 December, 2022.

FINALIST | DAREBIN ART PRIZE 2022

The Distance, 2020 Wool and cotton, 100 x 94 cm

Salt’s practice hovers between art and architecture; an ongoing spatial experiment where line, form and space intertwine. Like much of Salt’s work, The Distance shifts with the viewers’ movement and interaction. It is an impossible built environment that nods to artist M.C. Escher, testing the bounds of perspective and geometry. Salt works intuitively to direct her process, building on interventions in the tapestry foundation which unfold in unexpected glitches and visual illusions as it develops. The viewer’s eye is bucked from point to point and forced to soften. Like staring into space, one becomes enveloped in a malleable yet static atmosphere. Caught between opposing states of action and inaction, the artwork navigates the distance between.

The Darebin Art Prize exhibition of Finalists continues until 12 March 2022 at Bundoora Homestead Art Centre.

FINALIST | HAZELHURST ART ON PAPER AWARD 2021

The Murmuration, 2021 Hand drawn ink on paper, 29.7 x 42cm

A murmuration is a phenomenon where starlings fly in swooping, intricately coordinated patterns through the sky. It is a collective behaviour where entities blur together as they move en masse. In this work, line, form and space intertwine to create a murmuration of geometry.

An exhibition of finalists was held at the Hazelhurst Arts Centre from 22 January - 27 March 2022.

Image courtesy of Silversalt photography.

FINALIST | KATE DERUM AWARD FOR SMALL TAPESTRIES 2021

The Only Constant is Change, 2021 Wool and Cotton, 18.8 x 19.3 cm

The Only Constant is Change shifts with the viewers’ movement and interaction. It is a seemingly impossible built environment that nods to artist M.C. Escher, testing the bounds of perspective, geometry and the mechanics of seeing. Salt works intuitively to direct her process, building on interventions in the tapestry foundation which unfold in unexpected glitches and visual illusions as it develops. The viewer’s eye is bucked from point to point. Creating a charged atmosphere that is both moving and still. A duality indicative of recent times. Caught between certainty and uncertainty, action and restriction. The only constant, change.

An exhibition of finalists will run at the Australian Tapestry Workshop from 28 October - 24 December 2021.

WORKSHOP | HEIDE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

Building Impossible Spaces

Date: Saturday 13 November 2021, 2:00-4:30pm

Location: Sidney Myer Education Centre

Admission: Adult $140 / Concession $130 / Members: $120 Join now

Museum admission, workshop, materials and a glass of wine are included.

Join Melbourne artist Britt Salt for an afternoon sculpture workshop inspired by themes in the exhibition Margel Hinder: Modern in Motion. Britt Salt's practice intertwines elements of line, form and space to create spatial and optical encounters. Learn some of her construction techniques such as Origami, and various methods of pattern-making as you create dynamic forms and miniature installations that play with light, movement and perceptions of space.

PUBLIC ARTWORK | TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY BEIJING

Dynamic Equilibrium, 2021 Powder coated steel coil, 11 x 3.6 x 3.5m

Dynamic Equilibrium is a deftly balanced artwork that is activated by the viewer as they move around the building. Its manifold form visually manoeuvres a simple surface pattern into a multifaceted arrangement of shapes and flickering lines. Reflecting how education connects people with profound ideas, both simple and complex.

Many thanks to UAP Shanghai for helping bring this artwork to life.

FINALIST | WANGARATTA CONTEMPORARY TEXTILE AWARD 2021

Neither-Nor, 2021 Cotton and wool, 100 x 76 cm

“Salt’s practice hovers between art and architecture; an ongoing spatial experiment where line, form and space intertwine. Like much of Salt’s work, Neither-nor shifts with the viewers’ movement and interaction. It is an impossible built environment that nods to artist M.C. Escher, testing the bounds of perspective and geometry. Salt works intuitively to direct her process, building on interventions in the tapestry foundation which unfold in unexpected glitches and visual illusions as it develops. The viewer’s eye is bucked from point to point and forced to soften. Like staring into space, one becomes enveloped in a malleable yet static atmosphere.”

An exhibition of finalists continues at the Wangaratta Art Centre until 15 August 2021.

PUBLIC ARTWORK | WYNDHAM PARK

Throughout 2019/2020 Wyndham Park in Werribee has been undergoing a transformation - from a vastly under used space to a green hub for the community with nature trails, play areas and event space. As part of this project I have created a new artwork, Ebb and Flow, which speaks to the constant movement of the Werribee River through the park and its unerring presence as the backbone (werribee) of this place.

Wyndham Park is now open to the public. Thanks to UAP Australia for their assistance in bringing this one to life.

SUSTAINING CREATIVE WORKERS GRANT | CREATIVE VICTORIA

I’ve been awarded a grant by Creative Victoria to develop a series of large tapestries titled, The Middle Distance .

‘Staring into the middle distance’, is a blurry state of focused disengagement with one’s surroundings. A moment caught between reality and dreaming, the now and what is possibly soon to be. For me it represents a psychological state that is prevalent for me during the Covid-19 pandemic. Simultaneously alert and ready to act, yet overwhelmed and restricted. This sense of experiencing opposing states will be reflected by the tapestries.

I will create an environment with these works where the viewer is unsure of what their senses are telling them– “are these walls stable or moving?”; “Is this surface heavy and solid or light and fleeting?”; “Did you see that movement or was that just me?”

The Middle Distance is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria

FINALIST | DAREBIN ART PRIZE 2019

OPENING Friday 6 September, 6-8pm at Bundoora Homestead Art Centre.

Transverse has been selected as a finalist in the Darebin Art Prize 2019. Part of an ongoing project, this artwork uses the visual language of architecture and optical play to create a jarring spatial experience. Contrary to its clear-cut linear construction and strong contrast, this work appears unstable and in flux as one moves around it. The viewers eye is bucked from point to point and forced to soften. Blurring the edges of shape and pattern and allowing an in-between space to come forth and be perceived as an entity. In the end, as theorist Mark Wigley says, “What is experienced is the atmosphere, not the object as such.”

The exhibition continues until 26 January 2020.

PUBLIC ARTWORK | TAOPU SMART CITY, SHANGHAI

My new work Echo-space has just been suspended as part of my installation for Shanghai’s Taopu Smart City headquarters which is at the centre of a green regeneration of an industrial site. Measuring 14 x 7 x 5 metres and weighing 1 tonne, this is by far the largest and most complex suspended artwork I’ve created to date. A big thanks to UAP and their Shanghai team for all their support and ingenuity bringing this work together.

Photography: Rex Zou

EXHIBITION | Plexus, curated by Kate Vassallo, Blindside

16 September - 6 October 2019

My work Echo-theque was shown as part of the exhibition Plexus at Blindside, Melbourne. Created in response to the site, this work pushes and pulls at the seams of its architectural frame. Using pattern, form and transparency to explore the dynamics of light and its ability to orient ones experience of time and space.

At moments throughout the afternoon, sunlight is reflected from Southbank high rises onto the Nicolas Building. As this light passes through the gallery’s glass windows, it is forced to slow down and change direction. Casting temporal versions of the artwork onto surrounding interior surfaces.

Within the gallery, as the viewer aligns with an interior light source or uses a camera flash, the retro-reflective material within this artwork activates. Echoing light back to its point of origin and the viewer’s eye. Encouraging the viewer to pause. Perhaps even change their direction in space. Seeking to experience this phenomenon again and again within the moving parts of the installation.

HIGHLY COMMENDED | Kate Derum Award for Small Tapestries 2019

Australian Tapestry Workshop

My work Shadow, 2018 has been Highly Commended at the biennial Kate Derum Award. It is part of an ongoing project that uses the visual language of architecture and tapestry processes to create jarring spatial experiences. Judges commented, “Britt Salt’s ‘Shadow’ is dynamic in its structure and is a powerful use of the tapestry medium. Salt’s precise and clever use of irregularity and agitation of the tapestry’s grid (warp and weft) creates a perceptual disruption and hypnotic sense of movement. Salt’s choice of a minimal and restrictive colour palate in combination with silver flecks provides compelling contrast and sharpness.”

A catalogue of the exhibition is available to download HERE.

ACQUISITION | Wangaratta Art Gallery Collection

Middle Distance, 2018 has been acquired by the Wangaratta Art Gallery Collection thanks to an anonymous donor. This work was recently a finalist in the Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award 2019 which is held biennially and attracts a high calibre of entrants from across Australia.

Created last year in a short period between residencies in Finland and Iceland, Middle Distance is part of an ongoing project that uses the visual language of architecture and tapestry processes to create spatial experiences of transition.

Middle Distance is part of an ongoing project that uses the visual language of architecture and tapestry processes to create jarring spatial experiences. Contrary to its dense materiality and clear-cut linear construction this work appears unstable and in flux. The focus of the viewers’ eye is bucked from point to point and forced to soften in much the same way that one stares into space, disengaged with one’s immediate surroundings. In the end, as Mark Wigley says, “What is experienced is the atmosphere, not the object as such.”[1]

Details: Middle Distance, 2019, Cotton Tapestry, 20 x 19 x 0.5 cm (unframed) / 22.5 x 21.5 x 5 cm (framed)

[1] Mark Wigley, The Atmosphere of Architecture

MASTERCLASS | NGV, Melbourne Escher x Nendo: Between Two Worlds

15 & 17 Jan 2019 | Unfolding Repetition: Summer School Workshops 2 & 3 March 2019 | Imagining Impossible Spaces & Building Impossible Spaces, La Trobe Art Institute

Masterclass participants will gain rare insights into the exhibition development, design and presentation as they hear directly from the creative team at the NGV, onsite. Academics will speak about the challenges of traversing time and translating Escher’s now historic imagined spaces into tangible experiences in the contemporary world. Artist led workshops will extend this immersive experience by challenging participants to experience Escher’s world through hands-on 2-D and 3-D creative production inspired by Nendo.

RESIDENCY | Heima, Iceland

3 Nov - 22 Dec 2018

I travelled to Seyðisfjörður, Iceland for another to residency adventure to close 2018. This time exploring the unique isolation, visual contrasts and ephemeral qualities of Seyðisfjörður. This small town set around a fjörd has a natural environment that defines the architecture of the town as much as the man-made buildings. How does this environment affect the inhabitants and their sense of place?

PROJECTION | William Jolly Bridge, Brisbane

7 - 11 November 2018

Zig Zag (2018) will be projected onto the William Jolly Bridge in Brisbane from 7- 11 November 2018 in conjunction with the End of the Line Festival - a free street festival that celebrates the unique precinct of Woolloongabba with live music, food trucks and market stalls. Get along if you’re in the area, it’s basically a block party.

RESIDENCY | Arteles, FINLAND

2 - 30 August 2018

I recently returned from a residency at Arteles Creative Center, Hämeenkyrö, Finland. Surrounded by Silver Birch Forests, Arteles is an environment that allows you to go completely off grid. Here I was able to read a stack of texts that I’ve collected and create new work developing tapestry techniques as a method for contemporary drawing. To see images and read more, click here.

ON NOW | Lighting Installation, Melbourne

The Northern facade has finally come alive! I've been working with Ramus Illumination over the past 2 years to develop feature lighting for 2 Riverside Quay that activates the Southbank laneways and surrounding buildings. A series of linear LED fixtures subtly trace the interior seams of the North facade, allowing animated sequences of bold geometric graphics to undulate across the facade surface throughout the night. During the working week, a slow sequence breaths monochrome tones across the facade. At the weekend, a lively array of colour (I know, me, colour!) and dynamic pattern ripples into play, reflecting off the surrounding buildings.

EXHIBITION | Blindside, Melbourne

Beyond the Veil, curated by Jake Treacy
30 May - 16 June 2018
OPENING: 6 - 8pm, 31 May 2018
Featuring: Anastasia Booth, Daniel Gawronski, Josh Hook, Paulina Hupe, Skye Kelly, Tessy King, Hernan Lopera, Diego Ramirez, Britt Salt, Jake Treacy.

Beyond the Veil is a group exhibition that seeks to expand and transform the perceptions, traditions and experiences of the white cube as an exhibition model. Through architectural interventions, site specifics responses, newly commissioned works as well as renewed curatorial vision upon existing works, 10 contemporary artists altogether conjure liminality (from the Latin word meaning ‘threshold’)  as experience within BLINDSIDE. Calling upon all that is unseen, peripheral and veiled in our collective blind spots, Beyond the Veil constructs and chances liminal moments that are often encountered within ritual - both ceremonial and daily - demonstrating the numinous quality of art. When in a liminal status one is considered betwixt and between, neither her nor there, and so the constructed gallery space becomes a place ripe for transformation.

RESIDENCY | Australian Tapestry Workshop

From January 2018 I will be Artist in Residence at the Australian Tapestry Workshop for 3 months. ATW is the only workshop of its kind in Australia and is one of a few in the world dedicated to the production of hand-woven tapestries, collaborating with contemporary artists, architects and designers to create highly innovative public artworks.  

During my residency I will engage tapestry techniques to develop material and practice-based research around the concept of 'Impermanent Place'. Here I will create a series of new works that navigate architectural scale, transient materiality, repetition and movement.

NAVA | In the Studio

In September NAVA visited the studio to snap some photos and chat about what being a NAVA member means for my practice. Through NAVA I've been able to access support such as the Australian Artists' Grant and the Freedman Foundation Scholarship for Travelling Artists to help me participate in exhibitions and international residencies in the UK, France and China. On home soil, NAVA look after all my artist insurance needs and is a leading advocate for artists' rights and equality in Australia. Basically, they rock.

Photo: Zan Wimberley

FINALIST | Paramor Prize: Art + Innovation 2017

My work Tipping Point has been selected as a finalist in the Paramor Prize: Art + Innovation 2017. The winning work will be acquired into the Powerhouse collection and receive $20,000 prize money.

An exhibition of the 30 finalists will open on 18 February - 23 April 2017 at the Casula Powerhouse Art Centre, Sydney. 

ARTICLE | Urban Developer

My facade is fast approaching completion at Riverside Quay Southbank, with just a few adjustments being made now. Inside, the building has been finished ahead of schedule and occupants PwC and Fender Katsalidis Architects have moved in.

EXHIBITION | Pattern+

TOWN HALL GALLERY, Hawthorn

 29 OCT - 18 DEC 2016

Curated by Kent Wilson and Mardi Nowak

PUBLIC ARTWORK | Brunswick Town Hall

This permanent artwork, North of the Warp, was commissioned by Moreland City Council and created to reflect the distinct geography of Moreland and activate the window void of the Brunswick Town Hall.

The undulating folds of the suspended forms reference the geography of The Melbourne Warp, a gentle northwest-southeast flexure in the land that has over time marked a hinge between these areas, with Moreland located to the North. The slow and constant shifts that have formed this flexure can be seen in the repetitive and ephemeral surface pattern of the artwork; at once solid, yet perpetually changing.

Thanks to the team at Counihan Gallery for all their assistance and Clearlight Shows for lighting.

RIVERSIDE QUAY | Facade installation begins

Installation of the major facade artwork I've been working on for the past 2 years has now begun at Riverside Quay on Melbourne's Southbank. This artwork features origami-like folds and dynamic graphics that span over 2700 square metres. Wrapping seamlessly around an existing 8 storey carpark, the facade compliments the new tower built atop it, designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects.

Installation of the facade is due for completion by the end of 2016.

FEATURE ARTICLE | Australian Art Review, 2010

Britt Salt: Drawing in Three Dimensions by Andrew Nicholls featured in the Australian Art Review.

CATALOGUE | Monoform (or how I learned to enjoy puzzles), 2008

'Monoform (or how I learned to enjoy puzzles)' is an exhibition catalogue by Ric Spencer (Curator and Writer, WA) which accompanied the exhibition Monoform in Space (2008) at Perth Galleries.

REVIEW | Monoform: Manifold, 2008

By Robert Nelson, The Age, 5 November 2008

FEATURE ARTICLE | INdesign Magazine, 2007

By Penny Craswell