For the past 12 months, Lee Salomone has been preparing his work for the Porter St Commission that he was awarded in 2023. Last week, the body of work was finally revealed in Adelaide at Adelaide Contemporary Experimental.
The Porter Street Commission is ACE’s annual contemporary art award of $20,000 that supports new commissions by South Australian artists.
Salomone's exhibition at ACE, Fragments; a widening vision comprises more than 30 works which speak to dislocation, immigration and the artist's peasant roots. Salomone’s exhibition is grounded in intergenerational learning, an acknowledgment of First Nations country, and deepening our understanding of settler colonial experience.
Envisaged as an expansive metaphorical garden, fostered and cared for by elders, family, and educators Fragments; a widening vision proposes a site for growth. Through a process of bronze casting and a recalibration of found objects and natural materials, Salomone embeds allegory and narrative into his sculptures. By sowing new seeds of connectivity between migrant histories and the enduring cultural practices sustained by First Nations peoples, Salomone’s 2024 Porter Street Commission is an example of allyship and nurturing story-telling.
A catalogue of works can be requested from Gallerysmith.