September/October 08
Artbank: Celebrating 25 Years of Australian Art (SA) > SA
Artbank is the largest buyer of contemporary Australian art in the country. Read More
Lyndell Brown and Charles Green: War (NSW) > NSW
Being assigned the role of an official war artist must be a pretty big ask at any point in time. Read More
Point of View: Eugene Carchesio Explores the Collection (QLD) > QLD
With a career spanning more than 25 years, Brisbane artist Eugene Carchesio has established himself as one of Australia’s most fascinating and thought provoking contemporary artists. Read More
Thousands of Masterpieces
The means by which art is valued, by the dollar, has always seemed to me simultaneously an arbitrary and endlessly fascinating subject. Read More
Two Adventures in Three Dimensions (VIC) > VIC
Given their black gums and yellow bums, “loveable” is possibly not the word that immediately springs to mind when confronted with Julia Robinson’s goats. Read More
An Ever Expanding Universe (WA)
By Judith McGrath
Because of its title, my initial reaction to this exhibition was one of curiosity. Would the works in An Ever Expanding Universe be
out of this world or a collection of spaced out constructions? But with curator Melissa Keys at the helm, there was no need for me to worry.
The impetus for the exhibition was how Keys wanted to explore the significance painting has in a variety of cultural and historic traditions, its complexity as a medium, and its authority to break through the barrier of dimension and give a sense of depth to a flat surface. Knowing the latter is a ‘given’, Keys concentrated more on investigating and examining paintings by different artists who produce and present their work in a way that expands the viewer’s appreciation of this ancient and universal artform.
Limiting the exhibition to only ten participants must have been a difficult task, however the end result is a successful mix of artists from around Australia whose work excites the eye and engages the mind. Keys says; “The underlying aspect of the exhibition is an intercultural dialogue and cross-cultural communication. I am a firm believer in the possibilities and richness of different traditions and histories in dialogue,
evolution and change.”
This eclectic and colourful collection of paintings by artists with various cultural heritages gives a unique perspective and a certain vibrancy, to the exhibition. The artists involved have embraced the curatorial concept, each in a different way, so as to present an interesting display of well conceived and produced works of art.
Tim Johnson (NSW) employs a cacophony of rich hues to decorate the surface of his canvases, enabling him to create ethereal worlds where Eastern Deities seem to reside in harmony with earth, air, water and various other aspects of creation.
Nusra Latif Qureshi (VIC) takes us to a special exotic/erotic place, one that lingers on the edge of the mind. Her delicate line work and elegant suggestions of images evoke a sense of some faint memory of music, or dance, or a lover.
Gulumbu Yunupingu (NT) looks to the stars in the night sky as inspiration for the works she presents here. Each unique panel is composed of natural ochres on bark and titled Garak, The Universe. Her work references the connections between all aspects of life as she says; “the link between the people on earth and stars in the sky – it’s real”.
Ben Pushman, Untitled, 2008. Courtesy of the
artist and Goddard de Fiddes, Perth.
Viv Miller (Vic) too is in awe of the cosmos however, in order to reference it more easily, she turns to mechanical means for inspiration. Her painting Planetarium may be a mediated glimpse of the universe but it still inspires
wonder. So does the Big Bang of the floral kind in Still Vast Reserves by Lara Merritt (Vic). Her explosion of colour sets nature’s beauty free.
Maria Cruz (NSW) seems to have approached the idea of ‘space’ in relation to our perception of ‘dimensions’ on the painted surface. Her
small oil works employ the written word to reinforce the solidity of the flat 2D surface while organic shapes of colour suggest ‘holes’ in the canvas, evoking a sense of the third dimension. Meanwhile Nicole Andrijevic and Tanya Schultz (WA), working collaboratively as Pip & Pop, present wall and floor works that invade the gallery space in the most interesting and
colourful manner.
Then, just to switch the mind into yet another dimension, Noel Skrzypczak (Vic) creates a time warp with her Cave Painting that transforms one wall of the gallery into a section of some hidden sacred space that may or may not be on this Earth.
Ben Pushman (WA) too accesses the sacred as he marks his canvas with
colours that reference a physical approach to spirituality; the ritual aspects of scarring the body, which gives his painting a decided sense of potency.
The works in this exhibition are proof that the practice of painting continues to be, in the curator’s words; “An expanded field of art … that offers a sense of wonder, possibilities and energy.” The result is an exciting and quite beautiful collection of work that expands our appreciation for the depth of colour and breadth of painting.
Viv Miller, Planetarium 2006. Courtesy of the artist
and Neon Parc, Melbourne, UBS Art Collection, Brisbane.
Perth Institute of Contemporary Art until 3 August
Judith McGrath is an arts writer and reviewer based in Perth.
