Erwin Fabian and Anne-Marie May

The exhibition Inside out: Space and process presents two Melbourne sculptors from different generations, born 50 years apart, who evidence an enduring concern with material, process, and abstraction. Erwin Fabian and Anne-Marie May use a range of found and fabricated media to explore the poetic correlations between surface, substance and space through intuitive and experimental processes.

Erwin Fabian was until recently Australia’s oldest practising sculptor. He was born in Berlin in 1915, the son of painter Max Fabian, and trained at the School of Art and Craft in Berlin. He arrived in Australia in 1940 during the Second World War after being interned in London. Later returning to London, he worked as a designer and lecturer at the London School of Printing before permanently basing himself in Melbourne in 1962. His work was referenced in Gombrich’s seminal text, Art and Illusion, published in 1960. Sadly Fabian died in January 2020 during the development of this exhibition, however it provides an opportunity to celebrate his life and work. Erwin Fabian is represented by Australian Galleries.

Born in 1965, Anne-Marie May lives and works in Melbourne. She uses diverse materials to undertake explorations of colour, abstraction and space. May has exhibited since the late 1980s, and was a member of the influential artist-run space Store 5 in Melbourne. Selected solo exhibitions have been held at Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne, 2004; Michael Lett Gallery, Auckland, 2004; and Murray White Room, Melbourne, 2009, 2011 and 2013. Her work was included in 21st century modern: 2006 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia; and Less is more: Minimal and post-minimal art in Australia, Heide Museum of Modern Art, in 2012.

Anne-Marie May is represented by Murray White Room, Melbourne.