Art in the Library

The University of Wollongong's Art Collection began in 1985 and now includes over 5,000 individual works.

Artworks are shown all over the University campuses, with over 180 of them around the Library.

The most prominent art in the Library focuses on Australian works, with notable artists including Bert Flugelman, Guy Warren and Ian Gentle.

"Art has the power to make us fascinated and curious, angry and delighted, and to make us think — all useful elements in a university environment." - Guy Warren, A Place For Art

Bert Flugelman

Bert Flugelman was an Australian artist known for his use of stainless steel to create oversized, geometric sculptures. Flugelman's sculpture at the top of Mount Keira, Lawrence Hargrave Memorial, was even the basis of the former UOW Library logo.

The University's Art Collection contains several of Flugelman's works, including three sculptures from Flugelman's Transition Series are on display in the Library foyer.

Each sculpture in the Transition Series is designed with symmetrical or asymmetrical facet; each half can be a mirror image or replica of its other half, with only the smallest changes in the buffed, ground and polished finishes.

View the digitised Bert Flugelman Collection on Archives Online.

Guy Warren

Guy Warren was an influential part of the University's Art Collection as Director from 1992 to 2006.

Flugelman with Wingman is one of Warren's most impactful portraits and won the Archibald Prize in 1985. The painting currently hangs in the Library foyer beside Bert Flugelman's Transition Series sculptures.

UOW has acquired a copy of almost all of Warren's prints in various mediums including lithographs, etchings and linocuts. The extensive collection is a valuable resource of his work from the 1950s to present.

Other prints and artworks, including Embrace and the Gaia series can be found in the Library and on campus.

Ian Gentle

Gentle's unmistakable sculptures use sticks and work with negative space to create pieces rich with Australiana spirit. His work reflected his fascination for all creatures, and his trademark wit was an integral part of his art.

The Library's foyer is graced with Gentle's Salivating Croc and Whispering Ant sculptures, as well as a number of prints on show around the Library levels.

Peter Cornwell

Peter Cornwell's Kelly Country series is a result of a trip to north eastern Victoria in May 2007. The artworks are not intended to retell the history of the Kelly gang, but to document the landscape where the outbreak unfolded.

The paintings capture the spirit of the bush, with four ironclad figures taking on the police authorities.

Peter Shepherd

Peter Shepherd's paintings are a creative interpretation of the opera 'Kate Kelly's Road Show' by Edward Cowie. The Library's South Stair showcases all eight works in the series.

The artworks show Kelly in portrait during different points of his life, and the characters' faces are never fully shown.

Other artists in the Wollongong Campus Library

• G.W. Bot
• Arthur Boyd
• Belinda Fox
• John Hoyland
• Emily Kame Kngwarreye
• Noel McKenna
• Rosella Namok
• David Preston
• Jacky Redgate
• Lloyd Rees
• Julian Twigg
• Judy Watson
• John Wolsley

Walk around the Library and experience the stunning collection of paintings, prints and mixed media art.

Or explore the grounds and buildings of UOW campuses to see even more artworks. Sculptures like May Barrie's Viva Solaris 'totem' and Flugelman's Gateway to Mount Keira can be found at the Wollongong Campus, and Flugelman's Ammonite is housed at Innovation Campus.