A breezy warm afternoon and we arrived early (5 minutes) and took our places in front of the numbered artworks, a clean sweep of the show followed...
This show is aptly called Peter Berner cus it is Peter Berner, in as many guises and frames as possible...
Accompanying the theme of Self Portrait is the question who is Peter Berner or who does Peter Berner think he is? ‘A morning with ideas’, oil, oil stick on board processes themes of identity and ego are bound to arise and they do but maybe not in the way we would always expect!!!
The works are personal, intimate, funny and sad... ‘I know this song’ ink on sheet music glued on paper is humble and honest, this is not a show about an artist big noting themselves its more about a bit of honesty, vulnerability and disarming humour (something Peter Berner has pulled off before)...
We didn’t tire at all of the subject matter, such was the diversity of medium, scale, technique and expressions... And there is 27 works in this show that say it all!!!
A personal look at a personality and one we would recommend anyone visiting... Cus we really loved them all...
This year is turning into the year of ‘The Installation’... And ‘Indian Chamber’ is one hell of an installation and one I really wanted to view before the opening so I could enjoy the work by myself... The sheer magnitude of the inside painting is unbelievable and I was completely gobsmacked!!!
I’ve not yet been to the Jenolan Caves and now I don’t need to...
‘Crystal Skull’ oil on linen is a sparkling gem between ‘Castle 1 & 2’ also oil on linen, in which I had to take a second look and then realized they were opposite views, most interesting!!! In room 3 the ‘Pyramid’ series shows Anna’s strength in detail, in capturing the essence of a mere carpet and I loved ‘South’...
This entire show is a representation in detail, and one that shouldn’t be missed!!!
It was only just the other day when someone asked me where they could buy real doilys from and low and behold I am confronted by photogenic drawings on cotton rag of the most beautiful doilys I have ever seen!!! I think this is probably the best way to preserve history, and if you miss and love the old fashioned doily then this show is for you as every single one of the ‘The Doily Suite’ is a masterpiece in itself... I really loved them and couldn’t stop looking at them, I had a vague idea of how they were made but after chatting to Nairn he cleared the mud for me and especially with the ‘Birthmarks’ series... This series is not what you think, they are something completely different... Bringing to light the birth of plastic bottles at the point of inception, these works really do open your eyes!!!
And I was quite mesmerized by the exceptionally beautiful etched zinc ‘Between’ series, which if you stood at the end and looked sideways at the work you will see the extent of work that was involved in making them... This series is very quiet with it’s stark white appearance but with extreme depth... The next time you use a plastic cup you will most likely think differently about it and Nairn is an exception Artist and a wonderful friend to boot!!!
We’d not been fortunate to attend an opening at the Glenmore Road gallery in some time, too many other shows clash on the same night, so we were free and jumped for it...
We started our discovery upstairs with ‘This same house’ a series of small works of charcoal on paper by Robyn Frances and I think our favourite from this series is ‘This same house III’ with it’s detailed description of two hands together and we were a bit blown away with large triptych ‘Walk this shadow long’, woodcut, screenprint and emboss on paper, it’s sheer size and beauty with the wood grain got to us...
Both of us were drawn also to the ’40 x 40 Series’ by Diane Hamilton, these works show a strength in age and a strong balance of colour and composition... We loved them!!! And her delightful ‘1001’ artist book, truly magnificent!!!
After moving downstairs and reading the Artist Statements we realized that Kate Riley wanted the ‘rich velvet blacks’ that were created from mezzotint’s and which involved a lot of elbow grease to make these rather dark but ‘beautiful’ works... Great going Kate!!!
And last but not least Sophie Wolfson Keeling has created some very interesting and thought provoking works especially with ‘Light Works 1 & 2’, wax on newsprint and ‘Untitled for the moment 1, 2 & 3’ acrylic and pencil on paper are for us the true basics for abstraction... Well done Ladies and congratulations on your awards!!!
Damien Minton has signed a new lease on his wonderful gallery and we thank him for that...
Hard Sleeper is a truly fantastic show... I loved it!!! Many great works, and beautifully curated... Let’s start with Frances Belle Parker with her ‘175 Yangtze White and Red’ series, semi abstract river landscape in subtle colours are effective and I like her colour scheme... Peter Gardiners large canvas’s, I wish I could use some colourful metaphors but for obvious reasons I wont, I’m a big fan of his work and these large vertical paintings interjected with scenes of China’s national icons and tiny landscapes are powerfully magnificent!!!
‘The Chairman’ by PhilJames with it’s Simpson makeover is a sheer delight and shows his humorous side, but is a stark contrast to his ‘gentle Torpedo’ and ‘An Unnamable Knife’ 2 beautiful dark paintings... Catherine Croll, the co-ordinator of this show has also produced some beautiful photographs of the residents of China and each tells a story...
I also fell in love with the etchings ‘Fei Ja Chun, I and II’ by Guy Maestri and his watercolour series are just so sweet and lovely, I’m a bit of a sucker for a watercolour, particularly depicting a dark moody distant landscape... And an award should be given to both Guy Maestri and PhilJames for rescuing so many beautifully executed drawings by an unknown artist, so strange to find at a tip... And lastly the colourful mixed media assemblages by China De La Vega, these are wonderful pieces full of so much life from discarded objects and I couldn’t pick a favourite as loved them all...
This show is a true delight which tickled most of my senses...
Rew Hanks work is the output of a year long Residency at Sydney's Royal Botanical Gardens, an obviously encompassing and challenging location for any Artist... These Linocuts are nothing if not astonishing in their technical beauty and scale and the content is engaging too!!!
There is so much more than first meets the eye (how often does that happen??) and the works deserve some close and considered gazing...
I really wanted to use the term post modern printmaker somewhere!!!
And something we don’t get to see very often was a short performance by Clarence Slockee, the Education Officer at the Sydney Royal Botanical Gardens...
Oh dear, it was quite packed and I had a bit of difficulty getting through the crowd while filming my sweep and even taking photo’s got a bit hard...
Arkaba Station in the Flinders Rangers held a commanding landscape for 3 artists from the King Street Gallery stable... Leo Robba with his soft muted paintings of many trees and cliff faces... Joanna Logue and her misty blurry images of the dark green landscape, I think my favourite was ‘Rain - On the way to Arkaba Station’ and her beautiful sketch books, Wendy Sharpe with her ‘to die for’ tiny gouaches and her concertina books are a must to see... And I want one!!!
The Gallery was split in 2 to also hold Leo Robba’s fist solo with this gallery, Humanising the Landscape is a collection of amusing architectural shaped hedge paintings... My favourite’s would be ‘Red with big Hedge’ with it’s bitten edge, ‘Cherry Doughnut, Kingswood, Western Sydney’ he hit the nail on the head with the perspective in that one... and the moody ‘Burning bush between Black Pines’...
If you live in Sydney and haven't seen this shows then you best get to it...
Leo Loomans "Love is the speed of light"
These welded sculptures are engaging and beautiful. My Father was a Fitter and Turner by trade so I’ve always felt comfortable around welded steel if not around welding itself.
Just moving around these works is one way to gain an understanding of the value of these sculptural pieces. I was partial to the vertical in this lovely show!!!
Roger Crawford is a name synonymous not only with his Art but also teaching at the National Art School. Students have had the benefit of Rogers hugely informed, gentle approach to Drawing/Painting and his Art Practice over many years... It was great to walk around this show and see the breadth of work. If we believe an artists accent comes through in his work then here are some beautiful examples...
And not to forget Rod McRae’s haunting abstract washes that interspersed amongst Roger’s work!!!
This group show works really well, every piece fits within the group. ‘Phobia’ by Vilma Bader is a strong confronting piece, most don’t want to face their phobia’s and seeing it in print is just as hard. After seeing ‘Mountain Drawing’ at Kudos Gallery I have become a fan of Peter Nelson and these ‘Extension of a no-place’ are quite exquisite... And the detailed descriptive drawing ‘Metaphysisches Stileben’ by Kurt Schranzer is a real winner, it’s so quiet for such a lovely story line!!!
Just loved ‘I will always remember you’ by Floria Tosca, is she reminding us of an extinct species and telling us we will always have flies, it is a wonderful work, love the hairy legs!!!
I wish I had seen Wayde Owen’s last show, I meant to go but got held up, these 4 works are very expressive and I think my fav would have to be ‘Quiet Quails #2’... Did someone really do a woodblock print of ‘Bob Katter’, it’s so cool thanks Martin Wilson!!! ‘This is where they come for what’s left of your soul’ by Mike Roddy is a mysterious dark foreboding piece, very spooky but I liked it...
‘Untitled - Kinetic Artwork 1’ by Tom Langlands, it’s better than TV, I stood in front of it for some time and was quite mesmerized by it... ’57 Mount Pleasant Street’ by Mat de Moiser reminds me of home for some strange reason, unless it’s quite common suburban architecture that we all lived in at some time... James Powditch’s ‘Cathedral’ offers some solace and I loved his last show!!! ‘The Worth of Art’ by Andrew Sullivan tells me there should be a bank for only Art money!!! Luke Crouch can never falter, every work I have seen of his I have loved and I am thankful I have 1 in my collection...
And Luis Martinez you are a charming young man with an obvious talent, your work is wonderful and ‘Tupou’ is just great, thank you!!! ‘Objects’ by Max Lieberman is a treasured piece... Caz Haswell, love you and love your work!!!
‘Megafauna’ is probably one of the nicest works I have seen so far by Adam Cullen, it’s smiling and I like the hint of green... Wenmin Li’s ‘Untitled’ is the quietest work in this whole show but it’s beautiful and ‘Ghat by Ghat #50’ by Terry Burrows is really a lovely painting, it may be small but it packs a punch... Loved the Matt Huttlestone, ‘Painting:Thinking: Homesick for wilderness?’ An expressive landscape!!! Another show I missed was Josh Honeyman, his ‘Testing the Water’ is unique and shows a wonderful expressiveness in both colour and technique. ‘Empty House’ and ‘Kiama Study 1,2 and 3’ by Halinka Orzulok shows she’s still going strong... I do love Soma Garner’s 4 small works, particularly ‘Self-Portrait’ and ‘White Snow (Russia)’ they must hold so many memories. ‘Sticks and Stones’ by Michael Kempson is the perfect answer to that old saying, really loved this etching. And last but not least ‘Untitled (...WestCoast) by Alex Lawler shows me the nicer side to MDF board, although I would never use it myself this is a beautiful work and one not to be passed by!!!
So Jason Martin, I believe you have done well with putting this show together and I look forward to your next group show... Thank you...
WOW!!! THIS IS FANTASTIC!!! Sorry, am I yelling, well I should be... I’m telling everyone to go see this and walk slowly around it and watch how it catches the light... A mountain made of perspex glistening in the bright sunlight, proclaiming it's territory amidst a concrete world... I so love a piece that oozes hard work and dedication, one that represents a keen eye of the surrounding landscape either it be here in Sydney or in another country like China...
Peter Nelson has worked hard on this project, he has picked the ideal mountain for both it's size and shape.. It's a commanding piece and one that won't be forgotten in a hurry... One that would be most suited to a foyer or museum and if I had the space and the money it would be mine!!!
Straight after my first visit to Index I went up the road with Kate Mackay who parked me into a tree, that was funny, thanks Kate and then introduced me to this Gallery which again I’d not been to... And again I met for the first time some more facebook friends, how cool is that!!!
Intersections, curated by the sweet young Adrian Clement and bringing together some wonderful artist’s such as Alex Wisser, Kate Mackay, Georgina Pollard, Margret Roberts, Marlene Sarroff, Melanie E Khava, Tom Isaacs, Boni Cairncross, Fernando Navarra, Hayley Hill, James Gatt, Joe Gilmore, Kurt Sorensen, Lauren McCartney and Lleah Smith...
I loved every single work and every aspect of this show and glad I braved the heat!!! It’s also the first time I have managed to get close to a large cube work by Kate Mackay, I’ve been a fan for some time and I have 3 of her earlier works in my collection...
This show is excellent!!! And if your in Sydney you have until the 20th February to see it... So get on your bikes!!!
What a lovely time I had, after catching 2 unairconditioned trains to the inner west I found a small oasis at Index and met up with 3 people who I’d befriended on facebook...
Alex Wisser and Georgina Pollard have created a safe space for artists, where they can work on their concepts and then exhibit them, it seems like the natural progression.
Can I?, just can I play favourites, no! Not here, all these works are worthy of a mention!!!
‘Suspicion of Bondage’ by Nicole Toms is a small beautifully detailed painting while ‘Quiet Cracking Yawn’ by Alex Jackson Wyatt is a stark contrast in abstraction and ‘Fluffy’ by Peter Williamson has a stunning hidden agenda in creating a new world... A small practice in what art works inspire others is seen here in ‘Strange Bedfellows’ by Tom Isaacs and I must also say, I too am inspired by Anselm Kiefer.
A wonderful piece that captures memories, ‘This is Why I Paint’ by Thomas c.Chung and has Sue Storry found a way to recycle her hair with ‘Untitled_1(hair piece series 2) I think is quite sweet. And as we are all attracted to mirrors ‘Salt for a small wound’ by Gilbert Grace helps us to perceive what we may not see. I recognised Melanie E Khava’s work straight away, fine thin thread, matte colour, semi abstraction, ‘Untitled:Black:16’ is a small but very loud piece...
Oh dear, sorry Alex Wisser I missed getting you in action on video, ‘There are more of us than there are stars’ answered my question to your request on facebook, and the white pages proves it... ‘Sample’ by Georgina Pollard with it’s quiet reflection on colour is just a clear reminder and works for me! Westfield should take note of Anthony Bartok’s ‘Drifting’, and ‘Ro’s Pendulum’ by Ro Murray is a strong stark reminder of our worlds predicament...
‘Cry I can..no more’ by Monica Levy, speaks volumes with these small unobtrusive works! ‘Suggestion’ by Adrian Clement says it all... Has Kate Mackay found the perfect escape from painting, ‘Suspended Cube’ a wonderful example of a life unfolding as a colourful cube. ‘Paint’ by Lynn Cook is another painters fascination with applying paint and we got to love that... ‘Untitled’ by Steven Fasan, kinda liked this miniature world on a plinth and ‘Volcanic Idyll 1, 2’ by Ben Croser, is this his answer to our questions as to why there is so many volcano’s erupting, not sure but I liked it anyway...
It’s a great working space at Index, and a great working space needs a relaxing area out the back... All in all this show works wonderfully, it may be a bit of a hike for me to get there from the Cross but I made it and hope to return... And I’d also like to add a thank you to facebook...
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