Kudos Gallery - Nick Brown

Tom Boyd, Working Man Both Ordinary and Peculiar: A lesson in Applied Physiognomy...

You take a trip back in time looking at these beautiful detailed delicate watercolours... A visit to a tiny story book and a revisit down memory lane...

Nick tells a wonderful story of a time gone by, rich in history and aesthetics, of once powerful men and there pastimes... Story book characters and profiles in silloette, an art form rarely visited by contemporary artist's!!! Installation pieces that allow interaction with the viewer almost as if you were visiting a library... If you get a chance to see it, do so as my video doesn't do it justice!!!

Written by Fleur

26th October - 6th November 2010
cofa.arc.unsw.edu.au

Martin Browne Fine Art - Tim Maguire

Light and Water

Video works and lightboxes, Luminous, mesmerising, tranquil and just plain beautiful... New works by one of my favourite artists, for I have been a fan for over twenty years... Another aspect of water which he has explored in previous show's, oil on water, ice and now reflections... Different Parks and different places all with water aspects!!!

I found myself lost within 'Cool Park', unable to move from the mesmerizing moving image that lay in front of me... Who needs television when you can hang one of these works on your wall...

Perfect in every way, yes I know I'm gushing... Tim has a strong presence in the Art world today and for the rest of his life and for generations to come...

He brings the humble primary colour to it's knee's and recreates it into a masterpiece...

written by fleur

21st October - 7th November 2010
www.martinbrownefineart.com

National Art School - Postgraduate 2010

My top 4...

Hannah Paine - I love the use of wood, allowing it to be part of the work and not just a support, these works are moody and remind me a bit of Louise Hearman.

Patricia Varney - Her repetitive drawings are just beautiful and full of emotion. intensely drawn to an inch of there life.

Emily Fitzgerald - Playful parodies from this young fashionista.

Todd Fuller - Love the expressive little men, I just want to pick them up and hug them.

written by fleur

22nd October - 2nd November 2010
www.nas.edu.au

Australian Galleries - Roylston Street - Kerrie Lester

Bird Watching

Birds, birds and more birds, thankfully it's not a Hitchcock thriller, but a bright and cheerful exhibition of paintings of birds and lots of them...

I found myself hiding behind the bushes looking at the birds... The gallery had opened the doors to the terrace where the crowd could spill out to, not a bird insight, for they were all inside hanging on the walls...

I've known Kerrie's work for sometime, but this was the first time I could get up close to it ...

From the very sweet 'Tweet Tweet', which I couldn't stop looking at and 'Watching Willie Wagtails', I swear if you stood in front of that piece long enough you could see the wagtails move... To the 'Brush Turkey' made from used paint brushes and the drawings on wood in cut out birds... This collection of new work is wonderful, and shows us that Kerrie has a sense of humour and is not afraid of utilising other mediums within the paintings...

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush!!!

written by fleur

19th October - 30th October 2010
www.australiangalleries.com.au

Robin Gibson Gallery - Untitled

'Untitled' has an interesting story to tell...  Seth Birchall, 10 small works on board and paper tells an almost eeire tale that sucks the viewer in, could this be a crime scene?

Helen Poyser's 'Soundmap' are truely beautiful, deep and detailed and I wished I had my magnify glass with me...

I found myself quite taken with Maryanne Wick's 'Cloud Series (Sydney to Tokyo) delicate ink drawings on paper napkins, a sheer delight!!!

As are 'Crumple & Drape' by Catherine Fox and the 3 wonderful works by interior champion David Eastwood... Also became completely mind boggled with Flora Parrott's '3D Scan, Wasp Nest', these works definitely get your mind working...

But I would have to say my favourite works of all are Addison Marshall's pencil on paper and plaster, he was after all in my top 4 that graduated from the National Art School in 2009... just wonderful!!!

So I'm sure whoever see's this show will find many a different story... Great show Carl, you have a career waiting for you in curating...

written by fleur

16th October - 10 November 2010
www.robingibson.net

Australian Galleries - Roylston Street - James Powditch

I’ve been hung twice so far in ‘Prize’ exhibitions with James, first the Mosman and then the Gallipoli.... The Mosman Art Prize when he took out the top prize also bought a little controversy... some thought the work wasn’t painted enough... But we have to remember that these works are not paintings, they are Mixed Media ... which includes paint...

Each work has a title from a film with a built in synopsis... he’s reviewing films through his work!!!

Papillon - he’s painting with paper creating an image with the use of his stamp collection and does it affectively...  The image of the butterfly has been revisited once again...

Solaris - attention to detail is paramount in revealing the story line and it’s an affective tool within these works.... And the Godfather, is a strong and beautiful piece.... Just like the film...

It's a great show and one I was curious to see and left content, so take your time in looking at these works, because the closer you look the more is revealed...

written by fleur

12th October - 30th October 2010
www.australiangalleries.com.au

Matt Glen - Six Shooter

Wow! 

From the the last show sixtoeight covered to this one ... well it's amazing show and thanks to the grant people at Ozco ... these works are sooooo well presented, they are framed to the inch of their lives ... perfectly and totally underpriced...

This is Coney Island meets Ivan Millat ... beautifully polished mirror images with the knowledge that what you are playing with was in the way of a 38 calibre bullet ... look at the end of the video! It's so much fun!

I had a few paintings shot back in the nineties ... I used the Dirty Harry gun ... but no one was game to let me hold it...

Great work Glenn... sorry it took a week to get on the site...

I'm looking forward to the next thing and I wish I'd had a chance to get one of them totally freaky mirrors... 

Watch the video ... it is really freaky ... like Matrix freaky...

Gallery 9 - The Sno Group

The SNO Group
Justin Andrews, Lynne Eastaway, Sophia Echarchos, Billy Gruner, Suzie Idiens, Kyle Jenkins, Andrew Leslie, Ruark Lewis, Adrian McDonald, Rachel Park, Giles Ryder, Ian Andrews, Masato Takasaka, Sydney Ball, Rolande Souliere and Matthys Gerber

I had to make a second trip back to Gallery 9... And on this trip I discovered the beautiful 'A Painting for the Museum' by Giles Ryder in room 1... Standing quietly infront of this work was like standing infront of a majestic vista, the glistening tiny specks of holographic paint reflecting my every want... A textural piece that I really wanted to touch except for the glass stopping me... and the vinyl lined Tasmanian oak frame!!!

'Blue Dot' by Sarah Keighery in room 2 drags you in with not so much kicking and screaming... it's the blue, the depth and intensity of this hue, on a small round surface, dwarfed by it's surroundings but at the same time large for all the world to see.... Sarah draws you back to her other work in 'Gold Line' in room 3 which includes food additive, yet another strong piece commanding attention... guess I'm just a sucker for shiny objects... 

It's a beautifully balanced exhibition and one that I may need to revisit once again... There is lots to see and lots to take in so take your time, but don't miss this show!!!

written by Fleur

6th October - 30th October 2010
www.gallery9.com.au

Damien Minton Gallery - Peter Gardiner & Myfanwy Gullifer

A really lovely afternoon opening on a wet Saturday... with tea and cake and a bit of bubbly!!!

Myfanwy Gullifer in the project room showing off her wild sense of imagination and laugh out loud humour.... particularly funny is the 'There was a bed bug in the Chelsea'... Intense,  brightly coloured descriptive,  delicate ceramics...

Thinking of China, Sketching Morocco, Remembering the Grampians,  new landscape paintings by Peter Gardiner...  Moody and breathtakingly beautiful!!!...   I became a big fan of Peter's after seeing his entry for this year's Gallipoli Art Prize....  He should have won!!!

Here is an Artist,  not afraid to paint the landscape in it's bleakest light,  of raging storms and rugged landscapes...  Deep,  dark and  melancholy...  Or maybe I'm gushing a bit.... Well,  they are beautiful and soon I will have one hanging on my wall....

written by fleur

29th September - 16th October 2010
www.damienmintongallery.com.au

Tin Sheds Gallery - The Williams River Vallery Artists' Project

Cry Me a River...

The Williams River Valley Artists’ Project, curated by Juliet Fowler Smith, show cases a collection of work by artists Suzanne Bartos, Neil Berecry-Brown, Bonita Ely, Juliet Fowler Smith, Noelene Lucas, Bridget Nicholson, Margaret Roberts, Toni Warburton and David Watson...

Check out the 1000cm x 92cm ‘DelugeDrown’ by Bonita Ely, ‘R.I.P.-no chance’ an upholstered surfboard by Suzanne Bartos... the enormous amount of clay feet, ‘Touch this earth lightly’ by Bridget Nicholson..... Just to mention a few ... Each Artist’s own perception towards the devastation that this Dam will bring...  

To drown 21kms of the Williams river... to destroy the last healthy river in the Hunter region... What the!!!!

Please tell the State Labor Government to STOP THE TILLEGRA DAM...

written by fleur

1st October - 23rd October 2010
williamsrivervallery.blogspot.com
www.notillegradam.com
www.wilderness.org.au/williams

Mop Projects - Michael Butler, Christopher Dean & Daniel Mudie Cunningham

'He who has butter on his head should not go into the sun' as Michael Butler says...  these 7 works in Gallery 2 are Beautiful... delicate collages and mixed medium denouncing fascism...  look closely at these works and you will see many swastikas...

'The Pink Monochrome Project' of Christopher Dean made me miss wearing my pink tights, if only they didn't have ladders in them I would have... works winding from the front door to the office in all it's pink glory and showing Mr Dean's sense of humour...

'Rhymes with Failure' by Daniel Mudie Cunningham is an intense video piece which gave me goosebumps.... I was completely mesmerized and couldn't move till it's end... And I never realized before that Australia rhymes with failure!!!

What ever is played on the Cello, it's resonance evokes melancholy... a yearning... and did Mrs Macquarie have that same yearning as she sat on her chair and watched the boats leave the harbour...

This is the BEST video installation I have viewed all year... A piece that can be revisited many times and a Must see!!!

written by fleur

30th September - 17th October 2010
www.mop.org.au

Grantpirrie - Lionel Bawden

A Void / La Disparition

Now we love Lionel and there's no way we can hide that... he's best known for his pencil sculptures those astounding creations that won the Wynne prize a couple of years ago and have a total sense of themselves. This time it's a suite of paintings...

Paintings..... Yes, you have read right.... views from inside rock formations and caves, deep, dark, mysterious... maybe the real insides of pencils.

BUT we have to be honest here... we also can't hide our dislike of acrylic paint ... it lacks the lustre of oils, the texture of oils and that is a shame because compositionally these paintings are great .... hidden spaces in the rocks ... secret little worlds...

Can't help thinking that the pairing of a few sculptures with these works might have made more sense of the paintings ... and that's not a big stretch because the subject is strangely the same...

Lionel is a rare talent but please can he buy some oil paint..... because acrylic paint just doesn't cut the mustard....

written by fleur and jimmy

23rd September - 23 October 2010
www.grantpirrie.com