Sculptor Andrew Rogers donates 31 more of his works to Deakin Uni

Renowned Australian sculptor Andrew Rogers has given Deakin University a $6.1m donation of 31 of his works.

Three works (from left), I Am VI, I Am VIII and I Am VII, by Andrew Rogers at Deakin University’s Burwood campus. Picture: Fiona Hamilton

Internationally renowned sculptor Andrew Rogers has given ­Deakin University a $6.1m gift of 31 of his works for display on its campuses.

Deakin vice-chancellor Iain Martin said the donation was “extraordinarily generous” and added to the many works by Mr ­Rogers which the university already has.

“It builds on what is becoming a really great collection of modern Australian art,” Professor Martin said.

Mr Rogers’ new donation brings to 119 number of his works he has gifted to Deakin University, including many large outdoor sculptures which are a feature of the Burwood campus in Melbourne. Five years ago he also gave the university a number of his works, then valued at $3.7m.

He said he enjoyed the fact that Deakin had the space to keep his sculptures on display permanently. A walk featuring his works will be opened at the Burwood campus later this year to coincide with a Rogers exhibition.

Andrew Rogers (right) with Deakin University vice-chancellor Iain Martin. Photo: Aaron Francis

Mr Rogers said he wanted his art to help 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,” he said.

“Students for many years will have the opportunity to see and interact with and be stimulated by the forms.”

Leanne Willis, who manages Deakin University’s 2800-piece art collection and its galleries, said the latest donation of 31 works from Mr Rogers showed his evolution as an artist from 1993 to 2021.

“Deakin University is now the only location where you can view the development of his artistic ­career in this way,” Ms Willis said.

From his Melbourne base, Mr Rogers has had a major impact ­internationally, particularly for his large “land art” works, including the 51 sculptures in his Rhythms of Life series which span 51 countries and all continents, including Antarctica.

One work in this series, a “geoglyph” located near Geelong, is a spectacular image of a wedge-tailed eagle with a 100m wingspan, made of rocks laid out on the ground. Titled Bunjil, it portrays the creator spirit of the local ­Wadawurrung people.

Gerard Vaughan, a former director of the National Gallery of Victoria and the National Gallery of Australia, said Mr Rogers was “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”. One of his works, titled I am, is a 7.5m high sculpture in Canberra’s airport terminal.

An Andrew Rogers work at Canberra airport. Picture: Gavin Hansford

“Andrew Rogers is 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,” Mr Vaughan said.

Mr Rogers was awarded an honorary doctorate by Deakin in 2020 to recognise his contribution to contemporary art.