Does the title describe the artists, the art, or both?

Elle Freak: The title hints at a spirit of risk-taking in the artists’ work and their lives. It was inspired by Thea Proctor: after returning from London to Sydney, she was surprised to find her art labelled as ‘dangerously modern’, whereas in London she was regarded as ‘quite old-fashioned’. Her statement reminds us of the boundaries broken by these travelling women artists, as well as the risk of their neglect over time. 

What can audiences expect to see?

Tracey Lock: Developed in collaboration between the Art Gallery Of South Australia and Art Gallery Of New South Wales, it’s an immersive exhibition complemented by a commissioned soundscape by Adelaide’s Margie Jean Lewis. You’ll see a vast array of works ranging from large public statements to private portrait miniatures. We’ve had the great pleasure of working with Wayne Tunnicliffe from the Art Gallery Of New South Wales to bring together both celebrated and newly acquired paintings, prints, sculpture and ceramics drawn from the permanent collections of both institutions and complemented by national and international loans. The scale and subject matter challenges pre-existing notions of ambition and success. 

It's a huge group of artists, some of whom were very prolific. Where did you even start the curation process?   

EF: Trawling through archives and sifting through collections, many lovingly preserved by family members and devoted scholars, our list of works and relevant artists grew. Linking the exhibition with the 50th anniversary of International Women’s Year helped clarify our direction, narrowing our focus to 50 of these remarkable women. We chose a compelling mix of painters, sculptors, printmakers and ceramicists, with their place of birth less important than the impact they made on the development of Australian and international modernism. 

What’s your favourite work?  

TL: I have so many! The pieces which most resonate are those painted with heart or, as is so often the case, heartbreak. For example, Stella Bowen’s ‘Self-portrait’ marks the closing of a chapter in Bowen’s life, when her relationship with [English novelist and poet] Ford Madox Ford was finally over. The humanity of her gaze is a lightning rod of emotion. I believe it is Bowen’s best self-portrait and her greatest European achievement.

EF: I return most frequently to an intimate bedroom scene by Bessie Davidson, ‘Intérieur (Interior)’ (1925). Like many of her female peers, she avoids the overt sentimentality of the once-popular bourgeois bedroom scene. Instead, she presents a space that seems more personal than posed, with an unmade bed and a chair draped with fabric bathing in the filtered light of a window. 

There’s an amazing photograph showing novelist Rosamond Marshall with New Zealand painters Dorothy Kate Richmond and Frances Hodgkins in the Netherlands in 1903. What does it tell us about their lives?   

EF: There is an incredible sense of freedom in that photograph. Buoyed by the momentum of suffrage in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia, they left knowing a brilliant career was within reach. Working not only as professional artists but also as writers, teachers, activists and suffragists, they engaged with avant-garde circles, experimenting with bold techniques and forming supportive networks. They redefined what was possible for women artists, paving the way for generations to come.

Dangerously Modern: Australian Women Artists In Europe 1890–1940, Art Gallery Of South Australia, Adelaide, Kaurna Country, Saturday 24 May–Sunday 7 September.