Happy 2nd Birthday sixtoeight

James Dorahy Project Space - Fifth

Just needed some time for this show to sink in and for me to get over a nasty bout of flu...

This is a really beautiful show, one of the best I have seen so far at this gallery, James Dorahy has collected some wonderful unique artist’s during his 5 years in his Potts Point gallery and to mark his fifth year we are invited to enjoy this diverse collection in all it’s glory...

I’m going to go to town on this post and gush as much as I want as I love all the artist’s...

‘A World’, watercolour on paper by Stephanie Monteith, is a very sensitive painting with her subject being a skeleton, like an x-ray of day to day life. I was introduced to Stephanie’s work way back in 2006 when I bought a tiny little painting called ‘Heat Wave’ and have since purchased another and have become a firm fan of her work...

Ali Noble’s ‘Woobley-Booble’, felt, interfacing, glue and foam core, which jumps out of the wall with a big hello in it’s striking fluro orange felt, seriously I just wanted to run my fingers over this one. ‘An act of disappearance I &II’, animal hide gesso on MDF, liquid graphite, ink wood by Sherna Teperson is another wonderful example of how her brain works, I purchased 1 of her works in 2006 of a thought bubble made out of green erasers and just love it...

‘SYMBIOSIS, Untitled #14’, polypropylene, wire, acrylic rod, by Annie Aitken reminds me of a plastic jellyfish, 1 that has been made with an attention to detail with more lean to the whimsical, it’s soft and delicate and dances with your breath. The glorious green oil & wax on canvas ‘Untitled (blue/green study)’ by Antonia Radich evokes memories of lush green pastures and green green grass between my toes. ‘Tukutuku’ & ‘Fabricate’, acrylic on marine ply by Julie Krone, are modules for life, perfect in size and strategy, each one telling its own story...

‘Subterranean Promise’, acrylic on wood by Nuha Saad is a sheer delight as has all of her works that have hung in the gallery. When I first saw her work I had thought Nuha has a wonderful understanding of wood, taking off cuts from building sites of skirting boards and architraves and rebuilding them into miniature structures giving them a new infusion and a new life. Antlers abound in the floor and wall mounted ‘Opiliones Rising’ and ‘Daddlylongreach’, both tinted varnish on wood by Paul Donald, these works aren’t meant to be touched but test your need to touch them just like those wall mounted animal heads that are just to high up the wall to touch...

Somebody get me a gun now, and make it a magnum.. ‘Toy Soldier (Grey Day)’, stainless steel, high gloss auto paint, shotgun hole. This work is actually quite beautiful, if you have a look at it from the side the ripped metal glistens in the light, it’s glossy and anything that glossy I always want to lick it. How cool it was to see work by Alexander James, after being introduced to his work At The Vanishing Point, ‘Laskar Sailor (Autumn 1797), type c photographs I fell in love with his story telling and these 2 works are just to die for, creating a snapshot from the past into the future...

It’s time to get down onto my knees with my arms outstretched and bow to the ‘Cotton Yarn Queen’ Sarah Newall, her work is just so beautiful, I have gushed about it before and I am still gushing about it. ‘Lotus flower & Lily pad (white & blue)’, cotton yarn, acrylic, pine and plywood, delicate, playful and sensual all rolled into one...

I have bought about 15 works from this gallery since 2006, past and present artists and planning not to stop. James Dorahy has a wonderful keen eye, he’s enthusiastic and not only is he the Director but also an Artist too, I like that, he has an understanding of what an Artist needs and a wonderful sense of humour as you can see in his ‘Economy Class (G8)’, lightbox, vinyl, power coated aluminum...

‘Untitled Diagram’, oil on linen by Marita Fraser is subtle but affective. ‘Birthmarks (Black)’, type c photograph by Nairn Scott is an amazing close up of the birth of a plastic bottle, unbelievable!!!

There is more wonderful works in the office, so take your time as you walk around the gallery but make sure you study each piece, as this is a very colourful exhibition and I’m putting it down in black and white...

Written by Fleur

14th June - 10th July 2011
www.jamesdorahy.com.au

Tight Projects - Matthew Allen

From the first time I saw one of Matthew’s painting I sensed the beginning of a beautiful relationship between him and minimal abstract expressionism... Monochrome paintings, no composition, reminds me a little of Reinhardt’s black paintings, the dullness and richness of one colour...

This suite of 4 paintings is sumptuous in colour, mesmerizing in it’s application and makes us believe that our lives are so controlled by composition that when someone comes along with ‘no compostion’ it becomes a relief, like someone turning on the light!!!

‘Blue over Red’, 2010, acrylic and oil on canvas, putting these 2 colours together should make your eyes go funny, but not like this, even though blue and red are at opposite ends of the colour wheel Matthew has bought these 2 colours to their knees...

‘Grey and Red over Grey’, 2006, acrylic and oil on canvas, moody and bereft...

‘Green over Blue’, 2010, acrylic and oil on canvas, the beginning of the end...

‘Green over Blue’, 2011, acrylic and oil on canvas, is my favourite of the suite, it’s still moody but the colours are like a refreshing swim in the ocean...

Congratulations again Matthew for now being part of the Sullivan and Strumpf stable, hope you go on to have a magnificent career...

And it was a sheer delight to meet Matthew’s lovely mum Lynn, we talked for ages as if we’d known each other all our lives...

Written by Fleur

7th June - 24th June 2011
tightprojects.tumblr.com

Damien Minton Gallery - Louise Tuckwell & William Rose

It had been a mighty week of ‘Abstraction’ with still more to come...

Another wonderful Art history lesson for me... ‘A Catalyst for Abstraction in Australia - William Rose’.. These works are truly amazing, immense exuberance oozing from every work. An artist from the rich Australian art past and from one of my favourite towns, Newcastle...

‘Construction 21’, pen, ink, watercolour on paper, 1963, offers us poetic justice, launching itself off the paper and out of the frame, it’s a beautiful piece, but the name Construction always gives off a loud bang but for me this work is quiet and peaceful... ‘Construction 6a’, pen and ink on paper, 1957 an earlier one from the ‘Construction’ series, reflects a little more chaos from ’21’, but nicely balanced chaos...

‘Blue Painting’, oil on marine plyboard, 1960, looks like a dockland landscape, but has included the unseen inner space that most industrial sites have, it show’s the grey blue of the steel and the ocean it descends upon.. This one is one of my favourites!!!

‘Metaphysical Summer’, oil on board, 1993, is my favourite of all, it’s such a musical piece, jazz, rock n’roll and opera rolled into one dramatic painting, William obviously sees colour in music, a rare talent and it also shows in other works in this collection... That palette knife of his should be placed in a museum...

Paintings and Tapestries by the lovely Louise Tuckwell, I was introduced to Louise at her last show at Orson and Blake in 2009 and fell in love with her work, I’m a sucker for them, the tapestries are like stitched paintings and this new series is just Devinne!!!

‘Yellowcake’, acrylic on canvas, 2010, I love what Louise does with colour, love how she uses colour, opposites attract and vice versa... ‘Split’, acrylic on canvas, 2010, perfectly balanced, my eye was drawn to it, probably my favourite of the paintings.. Louise is not afraid of colour, as an abstract expressionist you can’t be afraid of colour, it would work against you and Louise has a strong appreciation of colour... Her approach to painting has become tighter and the response from her peers is even more adoring...

‘Musical Heart’, cotton on linen, 2011, this tapestry among many of the others is a strong favourite, it’s overwhelming in it’s simplicity, but at the same time it’s language is diverse...

‘Untitled, (abstracted from it’s object)’, cotton on linen, 2010, offers it’s viewer a subdued approach to abstraction, it’s true meaning hidden from public view, this is a really lovely piece...

I felt quite emotional when I first saw all of her works hanging in the project room, Louise is now one of favourite artists and seeing her work hanging in the same space as another great Abstractionist is, I could say and will say ‘Perfect Harmony’...

Written by Fleur

1st June - 18th June 2011
www.damienmintongallery.com.au

King Street Gallery on William - Elisabeth Cummings

The opening was packed to the rafters with every woman, man, painter and puppy all in a tight squeeze which was a little difficult when I needed to do the video... But lots of familiar faces, ones I’d not seen in a while and a few new ones too...

Everyone’s expression was the same ‘Wow’!!!

This collection of new work is amazing, wildly expressive, in tune with her surroundings and in touch with her emotions...

‘Magnetic Termite Mounds’, oil on canvas grabbed me by the throat with it’s rich orange hues while ‘Breakfast in Bali’, oil on canvas welcomed the beginning of a new day, it’s soft yellow light translucent like a golden veil... ‘Post Prandial’, oil on canvas, would have to be my most favourite, that orange, those descriptive brush strokes, has the party just started or is it just over!!!

‘Blue Curtain’, hand painted monotype, one of the many monotypes in this show and one of the most expressive... ‘The Shearer’s Kitchen, Mt Murchison’, oil on canvas, is just lovely with her 2 dogs sitting in the bottom right hand corner.. I remember hearing about those 2 dogs, they once didn’t like each other, poor Elisabeth had to constantly separate them, 1 would stay in the car while the other was in the house and vice versa...

‘Edge of the Simpson Desert’, oil on canvas is an expansive work, showing off the vast landscape that beckons any artist to recreate it..

'Currumbin Window', oil on canvas, one would only hope to wake up to this hanging on the wall of their bedroom as it is just like looking out the window...

‘Still Life with scissors’, oil on canvas, her use of softer hues especially in this one may represent a sterile environment, a bathroom interior perhaps where the light is brighter and ‘Vessels’, oil on canvas doesn’t leave me cold as it’s colours do, I find it incredibly pure...

I can only imagine a day in the life of Elisabeth Cummings, working in her purpose built studio by her wonderful son Damian Barker or gallivanting across the outback with fellow artists in tow.. Yes, I have gushed again, I missed out on saying hello to her at the opening, the queue was lengthy, but I am sure I will get another chance...

Written by Fleur

31st May - 25th June 2011
www.kingstreetgallery.com.au