Hours of operation

On Hold (Opus Number 1)
Narelle Desmond

Narelle Desmond, Pratone mockup, 2023. Courtesy of the artist and The Renshaws, Meanjin Brisbane.
Narelle Desmond, Pratone mockup, 2023. Courtesy of the artist and The Renshaws, Meanjin Brisbane.

26 May -
24 June 2023

Gertrude Glasshouse

44 Glasshouse Road, Collingwood

Opening Event
Thurs 25 May, 5 - 7pm

Efficiency, Calculability, Predictability and Control—these are the core principles of the fast-food industry as were defined by the sociologist George Ritzer in the late twentieth century. According to Ritzer, the same homogenising qualities that had already infiltrated fast food chains had quickly taken hold of most facets of society, including institutions and organisations. Of course, Ritzer's line of thinking had already been explored decades earlier by countercultural groups including the Italian Radical Designers of the 1960s, whose works described the standardising effects of globalisation. 

In On Hold Opus Number 1, Narelle Desmond poses the question: what implications do standardisation, as outlined by Ritzer, have on our present day understanding of the world - especially when we consider the experimental and radical attitudes of makers from the 1960s in retrospect? The exhibition embodies a waiting room, a space where everything seems to be derived from another era, but no one really notices or cares.  As sociologist Mark Fisher puts it“cultural time has folded back on itself.” Indeed, here time appears to be stagnated.

Narelle Desmond is represented by The Renshaws, Meanjin Brisbane. 

Public Program
Installation view, Narelle Desmond, 'On Hold (Opus Number 1), presented at Gertrude Glasshouse 2023. Photo: Christian Capurro

Artist Talk: Narelle Desmond in conversation with Amelia Winata

Artist TalkSaturday 27 May, 6amGertrude Glasshouse

Artist Narelle Desmond joined Gertrude Curator in Residence Amelia Winata for a discussion on the occasion of Desmond’s exhibitions On Hold (Opus Number 1) at Gertrude Glasshouse and Autotimer at FUTURES. Watch Desmond and Winata discuss some of the shared themes of both exhibitions, including Radical Italian Design, architecture and the non-space.

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Gertrude Glasshouse is generously supported by Michael Schwarz and David Clouston.

The 2023 Gertrude Glasshouse Program is supported by the City of Yarra.

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Gertrude Contemporary

Wurundjeri Country
21-31 High Street
Preston South VIC
Melbourne, Australia

Opening hours:
Tuesday–Sunday 11am–5pm

Gertrude Glasshouse

Wurundjeri Country
44 Glasshouse Road
Collingwood VIC
Melbourne, Australia

Opening hours:
Thursday–Saturday 12–5pm