NGV Triennial

Danielle Brustman
Spectrum: An exploration of colour

LEVEL 2, GALLERY 19

AUSTRALIA, BORN 1975
LIVES AND WORKS IN MELBOURNE

PROJECT
In dialogue with the NGV Collection exhibition Spectrum: An exploration of colour, this project uses interior design strategies to explore colour’s ability to affect our perception and experience of space. Brustman’s adept use of hue and chroma will be realised in bands of coloured carpet applied to floors, balustrades and interior fixtures under the rainbow canopy of Leonard French’s cut-glass ceiling in the NGV’s Great Hall.

Brustman is taking inspiration from the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier’s colour theory espoused in his essay ‘Architectural Polychromy’ from 1930 and accompanying colour tool Clavier de Couleurs (Colour keyboard). Composing with harmonic and discordant colour combinations, she will deploy a colourful schema across interior surfaces, making connections with the complexion of the building and artworks on display. Incorporating Brustman’s eight-metre long modular Chromatic fantastic cabinet 2020 and Chromatic fantastic wall light 2020, the installation Coloured in 2020 explores the functional and affective qualities of colour to shine light on its omnipresent role in shaping human experience.

ABOUT
Danielle Brustman is a designer working with a rich syntax of colour to conceive interiors and furniture that challenge our perception of private and public space. Prior to establishing her interior design studio in 2012, Brustman worked as a theatre designer collaborating with Australia’s most celebrated companies including Arena, Flying Fruit Flies, Red Stitch and Malthouse Theatre. Her installations and work have been presented at Melbourne International Arts Festival (2012); Dark Mofo Festival, Hobart (2015); National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2018); Salon del Mobile, Milan (2019); and, Melbourne Design Week (2020). Brustman’s installation Inner-Terior was also a finalist in the Rigg Design Prize 2018 at NGV Australia.