Andrew Rogers

Major donation to Deakin University

Deakin University is excited to welcome a major gift of 31 contemporary sculptures by internationally recognised artist Mr Andrew Rogers to the University Art Collection.
 
The 31 sculptures, valued at $6.1 million, join the other works previously donated by Mr Rogers. Mr Rogers has now gifted 119 artworks worth over $10 million to Deakin. This generous gift is the largest philanthropic gift to the University Art Collection and is an historically significant contribution to the University.

Deakin University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Iain Martin, explained that this gift reflects the importance of art to the University: “We are proud that our University’s Art Collection is comprised of more than 2,800 pieces. Our philosophy is to make art available to our students, staff, and community, and Mr Rogers’ generous donation helps underline that commitment. The opportunity to experience the work of an internationally recognised artist this way is unique and typically Deakin.”
 
Mr Rogers’ critically acclaimed sculptures and photographs are exhibited internationally and held in numerous private and prominent public collections around the world. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Deakin University in 2020 for his distinguished contribution to contemporary art and for his significant support of the Art Collection.
 
Mr Rogers is a Melbourne-based artist with an international following. Dr Gerard Vaughan AM, former Director of the National Gallery of Victoria and National Gallery of Australia, described Andrew Rogers as “an exceptional Australian sculptor who enjoys strong - and growing – recognition for his commitment to making real, in a material sense, his ideas about the power of energetic form in a communal context. One of our truly great, and most innovative, sculptors, whose works are seen and admired by huge passing crowds every day, from Melbourne and Canberra to New York and far beyond.”
 
Mr Rogers said he was particularly interested in contributing to the University and helping with the education of future generations. “There is strong synergy with the ideas and disciplines involved in my work and many facets of University education - mathematics, arts, sciences, philosophy, history and heritage. The intent of giving a major body of sculptures to Deakin is that students for many years will have the opportunity to see and interact with and be stimulated by the forms,” he said.
 
Deakin University Senior Manager Art Collection and Galleries, Leanne Willis said: “Mr Rogers’ latest donation of 31 sculptures represents a comprehensive overview of his career from 1993 to 2021. It provides an in-depth representation of his creative practice, and is an important research and educational tool that represents the artist’s changing methodology, identity, subject, forms, and materials over time. Deakin University is now the only location where you can view the development of his artistic career in this way.”
 
A sculpture walk focusing on Mr Andrew Rogers' work is being developed for Deakin’s Burwood Campus and will be launched in conjunction with the artist's Deakin exhibition later this year.