opening nights are always charged with a little bit of frenetic energy. the artists are nervous, exhausted and excited in equal measure. the supporting family and friends are full of admiration and pride. people mingle, meet and talk while glasses clink and cameras flash.
on a particularly lovely saturday afternoon in november a bustling crowd came in to check out the art of Eliza-Jane Gilchrist, Jason Hartcup and Darcey Bella Arnold. get an inside peak into the scenes with our little launch video below (and come along to the next one - it is going to be MASSIVE):
Showing posts with label painting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label painting. Show all posts
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
november preview
the last set of shows for 2012 are installed and ready for the launch this coming saturday. some amazing stuff - from kinetic sculpture, to giant colour drawings, to mirror works.
i won't give anything away yet, it's always best to see these things in the flesh. but here's a sneak peak to whet your appetite.
i won't give anything away yet, it's always best to see these things in the flesh. but here's a sneak peak to whet your appetite.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
the altered states of Amelie Scalercio
what strikes me first about Amelie's work is the playful nature of it. the waving mushroom man, the crumpled man-face with mascara and pencil mustache, the theatricality of the masks. in fact, the show reads like a masquerade of characters on the verge of coming to life or just moments after their animated existence.
it's this sense of identity, of transformation into and out of identity that is engaging here. the paintings of masks and costumes read like potential cast members from a ceremonial event. and there's definitely ceremony here, especially with the tribal influence of the paintings of headdresses among the group of works. it's a party atmosphere, with a sense of freedom and abandon.
after a while in the space, it's also possible to sense a ripple of loss or even separation from events. the masks are slightly eerie without people to be able to wear them. and they will always be that way, painted as they, one step removed from physical presence. the empty eyes stare out. the circular, mono-chromatic backgrounds of some of the works reads a little like peepholes or telescopic lenses. we look through to a place where identity shifts with the alteration to one's outward appearance. hiding the truth behind an outer layer. the world viewed now through holes in a filtered projection.
but the energy of the colour combinations and the caricature nature of the masks always bring you back to pleasure, to a willful desire to dress-up, play and dance. beautifully executed on wooden panels the works are totemic to a degree and are charged with energy. in all its gorgeous painterly execution, there is depth to be found, and a sheer pleasure in visual beauty.
better get in quick - show ends this Sunday!
Amelie Scalercio, Fun guy (mushroom festival in hell), (2012)
it's this sense of identity, of transformation into and out of identity that is engaging here. the paintings of masks and costumes read like potential cast members from a ceremonial event. and there's definitely ceremony here, especially with the tribal influence of the paintings of headdresses among the group of works. it's a party atmosphere, with a sense of freedom and abandon.
after a while in the space, it's also possible to sense a ripple of loss or even separation from events. the masks are slightly eerie without people to be able to wear them. and they will always be that way, painted as they, one step removed from physical presence. the empty eyes stare out. the circular, mono-chromatic backgrounds of some of the works reads a little like peepholes or telescopic lenses. we look through to a place where identity shifts with the alteration to one's outward appearance. hiding the truth behind an outer layer. the world viewed now through holes in a filtered projection.
Amelie Scalercio, Plant life II (2012)
but the energy of the colour combinations and the caricature nature of the masks always bring you back to pleasure, to a willful desire to dress-up, play and dance. beautifully executed on wooden panels the works are totemic to a degree and are charged with energy. in all its gorgeous painterly execution, there is depth to be found, and a sheer pleasure in visual beauty.
Amelie Scalercio, Death becomes her (image credit Paul Bottaro), (2012)
better get in quick - show ends this Sunday!
Thursday, October 4, 2012
vibration of place
there's a case among philosopher types in recent times that art is more about the impact that it has on your central nervous system than the simplistic aesthetics of what stimulates your eyes. the idea is that good art moves your organs. it makes you feel something in your inner core.
i mention this because standing in the middle of gallery 1, surrounded by the paintings of kim barter, the room practically vibrates. you feel somehow more alive to the moment because a mild sense of vertigo takes you. your eyes skirt around, looking for a place to settle. your body is jittery, wondering where to stand to take it in. it's activating and invigorating. it's exciting. it's like the shimmer of a hot summer's horizon, lifted up from the edges and pressed up around you in dazzling arrays of colour, shape and movement.
kim has travelled extensively, across the vast variety of geographical environments that make up the australian continent. rather than travel through the landscape, kim takes the time to occupy the space. to soak it in and filter it through the action of her expressive outlet. this is felt landscape, not just seen landscape.
there's a joyous quality to the mark making and brush-strokes. an exhilaration that activates the work. there's the sort of archived expressive action you see in pollock, fed through a contemplative appreciation of place you see in contemporary indigenous australian painting. and i'd be remiss if i didn't mention the colours. oh the colours! vivid, vibrant, vibrational overlay of energies. reds, pinks and sky blues pushing and pulling the warm and cool tones, bringing life to what is two-dimensional.
the show finishes this weekend so get in quick to take it all in. the scale of kim's undertaking in this project is immense and it so congruently fits the large expanse in gallery 1. there's few better ways to activate a space than by occupying it with art of this intensity. so come in quick and join the growing interest in kim's fabulous work.
i mention this because standing in the middle of gallery 1, surrounded by the paintings of kim barter, the room practically vibrates. you feel somehow more alive to the moment because a mild sense of vertigo takes you. your eyes skirt around, looking for a place to settle. your body is jittery, wondering where to stand to take it in. it's activating and invigorating. it's exciting. it's like the shimmer of a hot summer's horizon, lifted up from the edges and pressed up around you in dazzling arrays of colour, shape and movement.
Kim Barter, Coorong
kim has travelled extensively, across the vast variety of geographical environments that make up the australian continent. rather than travel through the landscape, kim takes the time to occupy the space. to soak it in and filter it through the action of her expressive outlet. this is felt landscape, not just seen landscape.
there's a joyous quality to the mark making and brush-strokes. an exhilaration that activates the work. there's the sort of archived expressive action you see in pollock, fed through a contemplative appreciation of place you see in contemporary indigenous australian painting. and i'd be remiss if i didn't mention the colours. oh the colours! vivid, vibrant, vibrational overlay of energies. reds, pinks and sky blues pushing and pulling the warm and cool tones, bringing life to what is two-dimensional.
the show finishes this weekend so get in quick to take it all in. the scale of kim's undertaking in this project is immense and it so congruently fits the large expanse in gallery 1. there's few better ways to activate a space than by occupying it with art of this intensity. so come in quick and join the growing interest in kim's fabulous work.
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