Art is a great way to appreciate life from an altered perspective, which is why Bird in Hand adorns its grounds with original works from artists who demonstrate a philosophical connection to the spirit of the winery. Sculptures in the gardens, inspiring interiors, paintings that speak to our time and nod to the classics.
The LVN Restaurant displays a seasonal curation of artworks by Hugo Michell Gallery that provides a visual feast while overlooking the vineyard.
Beyond the restaurant, the love of art continues. Wander through landscaped grounds to view the inspiring collection of large-scale works by major international and Australian artists.
The Bird in Hand sculpture collection remains a work in progress as the Nugent family continue their love of collecting pieces from around the world.
“Hugo Michell Gallery have had a long-standing relationship with Bird in Hand winery, and collaborating with Susie and Andrew to develop their collection over the years has been an immense privilege. As a gallery director, I am continually inspired by Bird in Hand’s commitment to cultivating a dynamic contemporary art collection. Their unwavering support for artists, both emerging and established, resonates deeply with our gallery’s values. Their dedication to championing First Nations art speaks volumes about their forward-thinking ethos. Bird in Hand’s diverse and deeply personal collection is at the forefront of contemporary art practice. We are extremely fortunate to have this on our doorstep.”
Hugo Michell, Gallery Director
This striking fibreglass chimpanzee bust commemorates the life of an Ape, given dignity and acclaim in death through the status of a high-ranking statesman or famed person. Three metres high, the sculpture encourages us to reflect upon prevailing attitudes towards our simian relatives with which we share more than 98% of our DNA, and the lingering anxiety with our evolutionary past.
For over two decades, Lisa Roet has won acclaim in Australia and internationally for her powerful investigations into the complex interface between humans and primates.
Acquired as part of Bird in Hand’s 20th anniversary celebrations.
Lucas Grogan visited Bird in Hand in 2015, spending four days creating this masterpiece.
Grogan’s practice spans multiple disciplines including, drawing, painting, sculpture and embroidery. His intricate geometric linework has been said to reference Islamic motifs and patterns; Tracey Emin’s provocative patchwork quilts; and in his early career, indigenous paintings.
A native New Yorker, Paul Gerben has taken one of the most popular words in the English language and translated its simple power into a memorable work of art.
Gerben’s flawless graphic execution combines chrome, aluminium and reclaimed wood, to evoke a multitude of emotional and aesthetic responses from the viewer – the eternal circle of life and love, its strength and longevity expressed in the choice of materials.
Greg Johns is one of Australia’s most highly regarded sculptors. An intuitive artist and a committed environmentalist, Johns believes that everything is connected. Johns’ work stems from his interest in philosophy and his engagement with life.
Through the medium of corten steel, Johns creates elegant earthy forms, its permanent rust resembling the colours of the Australian inland. The “Excavator” – half bird, half human – creates a strong silhouette, the bulbous body shape resembling rock formations at his property, Palmer, east of the Adelaide Hills.
Building on Bird in Hand’s ongoing support of the arts, artist James Cochran (aka Jimmy C), best known for his urban narrative paintings, was commissioned to create a contemporary and unique interpretation of Da Vinci’s infamous Last Supper painting.
The artwork celebrates women – their role in creation, their place in the modern world, and their contribution to creating a harmonious, peaceful society. Jimmy C has created an artwork which is brave and progressive, one of old-world elegance, with a beautiful, ethereal quality.
As inspiration for the artwork, a special dinner was held in The Gallery restaurant, allowing the artist and the thirteen subjects of the portrait to come together.
60 minutes is a work based on Ma Anand Sheela’s Australian 60 Minutes television program interview in 1985. Ma Sheela was the charismatic personal assistant to the Rajneesh sect leader, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, also known as “Osho”.
Ian Leslie, interviewing Ma Sheela for 60 Minutes, asked her why she was in the Australian town of Pemberton, given the local community were publicly opposed to the opening of yet another commune in Western Australia. Ma Sheela infamously replied with: “What can I say? ‘Tough titties’”.
Min Wong is a sculpture and installation artist who investigates metaphysical and utopian impulses of the recent past such as the spiritual countercultures of the 1960s and 1970s, their subsequent impact on the emergence of New Age spirituality in the 1980s, and recent tendencies towards self-help and therapeutic philosophies.
Ceremonial Alien of Metal Exits IV – This work depicts pure JOY – celebration of life, personal rituals, over-the-top fashion.
Mexican born, Raul de Nieves, is a New York–based multi-media artist, performer and musician, whose wide-ranging practice investigates notions of beauty and transformation.
Regarded for his appreciation of Catholic baroque tradition, De Nieves creates opulent sculptures encrusted with sequins, beads, dolls, ribbons, bells and chains and other everyday materials referencing ritual costumes in Mexican culture and various global theatrical traditions. He has gained recognition in both the art and fashion worlds, creating pieces that are more fantastical than practical, although still possible, to wear.
Acquired as part of Bird in Hand’s 2015 vintage ‘JOY’ launch in 2018.
The question ‘Whose water is it?’ in large, glowing letters, appears in front of currency symbols €, $, and £, questioning the fact that water resources are being privatized by global corporations.
Numerous works by Ulay, the photograph and performance artist, have dealt with the subject of water as a major component of the human body and as a natural resource to which all humans should be entitled to freely access.
Acquired as part of Bird in Hand’s 2015 vintage ‘JOY’ launch in 2018.
Newell Harry is an Australian-born artist of South African and Mauritian descent. His projects are drawn from an intimate web of recurring travels and connections across Oceania and the wider Asia-Pacific, to South Africa’s Western Cape Province where the artist’s extended family continue to reside.
Harry’s work, often using Pidgin or Creole languages, references the cultural agitation brought about by colonial migration and the associated complexity of identity, nomadism, dislocation and myths.
Zachary Armstrong draws on global and local contexts, juxtaposing equally weighted references to high culture, folkloric and commercial elements, replicating his own works and referencing personal narratives.
The White Line works, each panel a unique piece, form part of a wall sized installation. Repetition of images and lettering creates a simultaneously obstinate visual and verbal vocabulary, bringing the paintings into close dialogue with each other. Their message however remains puzzlingly vague to the viewer, the works appearing to contain a coded message about the person who created them.
The artist, Gabriele Beveridge, uses display materials to create works resembling the human body.
The Spine Through the Guts consists of four pastel-coloured glass orbs resting on chrome steel shop fittings. Beveridge uses the steel to form the shape of a spine, and the bottom orb, by folding it over the lower rung, to resemble a beer belly.
Gina Beavers creates her paintings and installations using images from the internet as an inspirational source, gravitating to a repertoire of recurring subjects that reflect everyday life.
Crystal Pink Lip 1 confronts questions of consumption, desire and self-fashioning in the age of social media.
Religious and other ethereal creatures inhabit the work of Hayley Aviva Silverman, her sculptures often taking the form of intricate dioramas and tableaux.
Assimilation is comprised of a conference of taxidermied birds atop a thorny wreath and a mass of misshapen and semi-formed statuettes that have been compressed into a large cube and bound together with intestine-like swirls of plastic. The resulting crushed and deformed likenesses of saints and angels are reminiscent of the multiplicity of bodies seen in Renaissance depictions of Heaven and Hell.
Silverman works in sculpture, performance, photography and theatre. She explores objects, images and bodies that have been understood as vessels for divine information within interlacing histories of art, religion and values.