The Noise of Time
Ian Friend | Wound Response #1 2024-2025. Gouache, ink on Khadi paper. Collection of the artist + Jan Manton Gallery | Photography, Carl Warner.
19 Sep 2026 — 29 Nov 2026
Ian Friend | Wound Response #1 2024-2025. Gouache, ink on Khadi paper. Collection of the artist + Jan Manton Gallery | Photography, Carl Warner.
| Dates | Saturday 19 September to Sunday 29 November |
|---|---|
| Times | Open daily, 10am - 5pm |
| Cost | FREE | No bookings are required to visit the exhibition |
| Booking | Facilitated and organised groups require a booking to visit this exhibition Opening Event | 19 September 2026 | 5:00pm-7:30pm | RSVP link COMING SOON |
| Age | All ages welcome |
COMING SOON - An exhibition of works on paper by Ipswich based Artist, Ian Friend.
The Noise of Time brings together more than 30 years of Ian Friend’s artistic practice. The exhibition includes works from 1993 to work made from his Ipswich studio in 2026.
Throughout his career, Friend has drawn inspiration from literature, poetry, philosophy, music, and the natural world. Presenting works from different stages of his life, the exhibition reflects on the passage of time, connecting the energy and ambition of youth with the insight and experience gained over decades.
Friend’s art explores the ways our lives are shaped both by what we gain and what we lose. While we often expect meaning to come from new experiences and achievements, it can also be found in absence, memory, and change. His creative process mirrors these ideas. Over periods that can span months or even years, he embeds ink, gouache, watercolour, and crayon into paper, then removes and reworks these through repeated cycles of building up and erasing. A desire to reinvent and challenge a more traditional practice of works on paper is constant in Friend’s work, where paper is not only a base to create on, but intrinsic to the work’s state of being.
The Noise of Time features works from the artist’s own collection, as well as private and public collections including Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Redcliffe Art Gallery, Redland Art Gallery, UniSC Art Collection, Art Gallery of South Australia, QUT Art Museum, and Ipswich Art Gallery.
An Ipswich Art Gallery exhibition
Artist
Artist, Ian Friend. Photography, Katie Bennett. Courtesy of Jan Manton Gallery.
Ian Friend
An Ipswich-based artist whose finely crafted works on paper explore the expressive potential of pigment, ink and gouache. Deeply invested in the physical qualities of his materials, Friend works with handmade papers sourced from around the world, combining exceptional craftsmanship with techniques honed over a lifetime of practice.
While the material surface is central to his work, Friend’s imagery is equally shaped by a wide range of cultural influences, including jazz, poetry and architecture. His interdisciplinary approach has led to collaborations and creative exchanges with figures such as poet Jeremy Prynne and composer Martin Friedel, enriching a practice that balances technical precision with intellectual and emotional depth.
Born in Eastbourne, East Sussex, United Kingdom, in 1951, Ian Friend migrated to Australia in 1985. He has lived and worked in Melbourne, Ballarat, Launceston, Canberra, and Brisbane, and has been based in Ipswich for the past twelve years.
Friend’s work is held in major public collections across Australia and internationally, including the British Museum and Tate in London, the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Queensland Art Gallery, Art Gallery of South Australia, and the Australian War Memorial, among many other state, regional and university collections.
Related programs
Ian Friend | Poet (Nathan Shepherdson) 2024-2025
Private Collection | Photography, Carl Warner
IAG Exhibition Preview: Ian Friend & Nathan Shepherdson
19 Sep 2026 — 19 Sep 2026
Join artist Ian Friend and poet Nathan Shepherdson for a preview of IAG's exhibition, 'The Noise of Time.'
Zoe Porter, Umi (Artist Book), 2021. Ink, watercolour on paper, cover. Image Courtesy of the Artist.
IAG Masterclass: Ink Painting with Zoe Porter
31 Oct 2026 — 31 Oct 2026
Experiment with inks to create your own concertina artist book with Zoe Porter!
Slow Looking Tours — Last Sunday of every month
Join the Ipswich Art Gallery Visitor Services team for a unique guided tour of our current exhibitions.