Death Love Art takes you on a journey of cultural and historical acts of mourning and remembering. The passing of a loved one is a poignant tragedy for the living, and the methods of navigating this emotional journey vary from person to person and evolve over time. One way people have found to deal with grief is through art. Some of the greatest art - literature, music, architecture, painting, sculpture - has been inspired when death and love intersect. From ancient rituals to modern-day customs, this exhibition showcases how art has been used to express grief, honour the departed, and celebrate life. The exhibition delves deep into the relationship between death and art, exploring the various ways artists have used their creative expression to confront and process mortality. From the haunting beauty of 1st Century BC Egyptian funerary portraits, to Ned Kelly’s death mask, to contemporary Australian and international art, the exhibition presents a diverse range of works that illuminate the complexity of human emotions in the face of death. Death Love Art explores how people mourn and remember, and how artists respond to the emotional devastation of love halted by death. Works of art explore the power of love to endure beyond death, as well as those that explore the devastation that comes with loss. Through the lens of art, the exhibition invites us to consider how love and loss shape our lives and the ways in which we remember those who have passed on. Death Love Art has been curated by Max Dingle OAM in conjunction with Shoalhaven Gallery Manager Bronwyn Coulston. With works borrowed from a range of institutions including the National Gallery of Victoria, MCA, Heide Museum of Modern Art and National Museum of Australia, and from artists’ private collections, this exhibition will present works of a calibre rarely experienced in the Shoalhaven. Artists include: Tony Albert, Vernon Ah Kee, Anna Borghesi, Grace Burzese, Peter Carey, Katthy Cavaliere, T Cázak, Maree Clark, Juan Davila, Samuel Elyard, Anne Ferran, Todd Fuller, Claire Healey and Sean Cordiero, HaHa, Joy Hester, William Kelly, Sally Morgan, Sidney Nolan, Wayde Owen, Christian Schnur, Gary Shead, Frank Short, Luke Styles, Vicki Varvaressos, Toni Wilkinson, Jason Wing, Jiang Zhi and Salvatore Zofrea. MAREE CLARKE, 'WOMEN IN MOURNING 1', 2012, INKJET PRINT, 120 X 200CM © MAREE CLARKE, COURTESY THE ARTIST AND VIVIEN ANDERSON GALLERY, MELBOURNE