Salon des Refusés
SALON16 returns in 2016!
By Roslyn Perry
French for “exhibition of rejects”, the Salon des Refusés is generally defined as an exhibition of works rejected by the jury of an official awards – most famously the works rejected by the jury of the 1863 official Paris Salon. In that year, artists protested the Salon jury’s rejection of more than 3,000 pieces, far more than usual. “Wishing to let the public judge the legitimacy of these complaints,” said an official notice, Emperor Napoléon III decreed that the rejected artists could exhibit their works in an annex to the regular Salon.
Similarly in Darwin, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA) may have the stature, but the works that don’t get selected can be just as extraordinary and worthy of exhibition – and SALON16 is the perfect way to celebrate them.
Now in it’s fourth successive year, founders Matt Ward from Outstation Gallery and Paul Johnstone from Paul Johnstone Gallery present an exhibition drawing on the original French idea of exhibiting works rejected by the jury of official awards. Submitted, but not selected, for the NATSIAA, Salon des Refusés – Territory style – is a carefully curated and vibrant showcase of diverse contemporary Indigenous art from across the country and your must-see companion to the NATSIAA exhibition.
