Heralding the 40th anniversary of the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) Foundation in 2019 is the annual artwork appeal launching at GOMA on Monday 8 April.

QAGOMA Director Chris Saines said he was delighted to announce the Foundation would embark on an appeal to secure a major work for the Collection by Thai artist Pannaphan Yodmanee (b.1988).

‘Yodmanee’s site-specific installation In the Aftermath 2018, was commissioned for ‘The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT9) and is on display at GOMA as part of the exhibition until 28 April,’ Mr Saines said.

‘The Gallery’s vital fundraising body, the Foundation was established in 1979 and has raised more than $140 million, with generous support enabling the acquisition of more than 8300 artworks, over 45 per cent of the State’s Collection.

‘This year we acknowledge more than ever the QAGOMA Foundation’s critical role in collection development and the delivery of QAGOMA exhibitions, community outreach through regional and children’s programs, and publishing,’ Mr Saines said.

Tarun Nagesh, Curator of Asian Art, QAGOMA, said Pannaphan Yodmanee’s In the Aftermath was a complex, immersive installation that presented delicately painted stories in vivid temperas, gold pigments and mineral paints on the uneven surfaces of a constructed ruin.

‘Yodmanee was taught traditional Buddhist painting by a monk from the age of ten, and while she draws on this depth of knowledge, she moves beyond traditional conventions to connect the symbolic, the spiritual and the secular in exciting and experiential new ways,’ Mr Nagesh said.

‘In the Aftermath chronicles the formation of individual and regional identities, while exploring South-East Asian histories of migration, conflict and loss, as well as destructive human tendencies.

‘It will be a remarkable APT9 acquisition and addition to QAGOMA’s renowned collection of contemporary Asian and Pacific works, by one of the region’s rising stars,’ Mr Nagesh said.

QAGOMA Foundation President Tim Fairfax AC said the Foundation’s 40th anniversary and 2019 artwork appeal was an opportunity to reflect on the generosity of the Gallery’s many supporters who have contributed over the past four decades.

'On behalf of the QAGOMA Foundation Committee, I would like to thank all Foundation members and supporters for their outstanding generosity. Their foresight in supporting the Foundation ensures the Gallery can develop the Collection and deliver outstanding exhibitions and programs now and for future generations,’ Mr Fairfax said.

To find out more about the QAGOMA Foundation and the 2019 Foundation Appeal, visit www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/support/foundation