Now until 18 September 2022

Adelaide-based glass artist Drew Spangenberg creates standalone pieces with practical possibilities.

As displayed in his new exhibition Departure to Graceland, Drew is inspired by the binary colours and geometric forms of the Milan-born Memphis Design Group, an all-star collective founded by Ettore Sottsass in 1981.

Memphis changed the visual culture of the 1980s, taking its name from one of the founder’s favourite Bob Dylan tunes.

In this exhibition, Drew pays tribute to the joyous 1986 song ‘Graceland’ by Paul Simon, which describes the odyssey of travelling to Graceland, the home of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis, in Memphis, Tennessee.

Drew, who is also a musician, feels a connection between playing music and the rhythm and coordination required in the glass-blowing process. He arranges glass vessels into complementary compositions as he would a piece of music.

In this arrangement, the artist juxtaposes softer transparent objects with the radical, postmodernist style of Memphis.

Departure to Graceland is available to be viewed now until 18 September at JamFactory on Morphett Street. For more information, see here.