Each year the Canberra Potters’ Members exhibition showcased excellent work from with in the region. 2015 sees some wonderful examples of the potters arts. The glazes are rich and colourful. The objects traverse the household utility objects to creative fun objects to straight art objects. An exhibition like this is asonderful to explore who is doing what in local pottery.
Some sample pics are below.
Thursday 15 October – Wednesday 28 October 2015
The website introduction to this exhibition begins with Process is an exhibition by emerging maker Luke Batten. Process explores Luke Batten’s furniture design; revealing finished products and detailing the process underpinned in their creation. From idea to production, audiences are invited to explore and reflect upon the development method unique to each product. There is subtly suggested through this that ideation is not only a means to an end, but an art-form in its own right. Process is a rare and hands-on glimpse into the creative mind.”
In the space there are pieces of furniture that walk the viewer through the way furniture is designed and constructed. It was fun to be able to touch, press on and examine the work Luke has done The wall panels explain and illustrate the way Luke and his ilk do the work to create functional and well designed furniture. I love it when a gallery like this gives space to an exploration of a single creative’s work.
Web site page
http://gad.org.au/exhibitions/current/
Some pics
30 Sept – 25 Oct 2015
“Janenne Eaton is well known for glossy abstract gridded paintings that in their complex navigation of surfaces and depths, turn our attention to political and social terrain(s).” is the way the gallery sheet introduces this exhibition. When you walked into this gallery you are struck by brilliant collour with embedded materials that reflect and glow. The gallery is spectacular in its display of colour.
There is a good explanation on the gallery sheet and I have included some of the pics that were on display.
I see lots of exhibitions and it is rare that anyone explicitly addresses issues to do with Christian faith. Julia Thwaites created a set of Monotypes in which she explores “the materiality of faith juxtaposed with that of broader contemporary culture.” The magic of this exhibition was its focus on the male experience of faith of a Christian type. Thwaites weaves into her work Latin banners that engage with issues of Christian faith but on one level great an exclusion. I found it fascinating to reflect on the lack of this topic from the art production in a society which has been deeply grounded in Christian thought, heritage and values.
Below there are some sample pics.
26 Sept – 17 Oct 2015
There was a great exhibition recently that featured the work of 26 printmakers from the Southern Highlands of NSW. Each exhibitor had three works up and so the range was marvelous. It is rare to get such a huge range of styles from such a diverse group of artists and it is delightful to see in the one room the skills expressed in such fascinating ways..
Below are some samples and the gallery sheet.
There is a wonderful small space for art exhibitions in Federation Square called No Vacancy. Recently there was an exhibition by Julian Martin. The works were beautiful with a velvety look about them with indistinct edges and earthy colours. There is a great website that shows his work in delightful samples. See the link below.
http://www.artsproject.org.au/artworks/154/Julian%20Martin
The blurb for this exhibition begins Masterpieces from the Hermitage: The Legacy of Catherine the Great showcases one of the world’s greatest art collections. Featuring works by artists including Rembrandt, Rubens, Velázquez and Van Dyck, the exhibition offers a dazzling array of works including the finest group of Dutch and Flemish art to come to Australia.
The experience is wonderful They have painted the walls luxurious colours of reds and aquas. They have created both real archways between rooms and also screens shaped the same ways with videos playing on them that show what it would be like to walk through the corridors of Catherine’s Palace.
The paintings are a selection from an awe inspiring collection of art bought by Catherine through decades of seeking out great European Art and buying it to bring back to Russia. There are huge portraits and landscapes. There are historical record type paintings and lots of material that gives a fabulous insight into the world of Europe in the centuries before Catheirne.
Several layouts of remarkable tableware are displayed in big glass cabinets that give the visitors a fabulous look into the arts and decorative artisans of the era. One of the staff said there were over 300 works on display in the exhibition from the Hermitage. It is a privilege to be able to see all this sumptuous art in one location so close to home.
http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/masterpieces-from-the-hermitage
23 Oct 13 Dec 2015
I love it when people get great titles for exhibitions. This one is a classic. THe whole thing is outdoor hard metal sculptures but there are some delightful pieces and they all link to making the connection. The first one is a wonderful full arch bridge made out of bronze Mah Jong tiles.My mother taught Mah Jong for many years and I was always impressed how many bridges were built between people in those groups.Each of the works have titles that talk to connections and these hard angular works when read through the titles all have a wonderful softness about what they are trying to achieve. I have put pics of all the five items below with the gallery sheet.
21 Oct – 15 Nov 2015
I Teach year 7 and the students are looking at ways to improve the livability of their suburbs. Today I saw an exhibition at the Belconnen Arts Centre of landscape design students from the University of Canberra. The UC students produced three panel mock ups of solutions of a feature to make communities better. It was inspiring to me just to absorb the wide range of considerations that were woven into their designs so I will use their approach in teaching the students on Monday.
Their projects included some park solutions at Marulan, a park facility at Mulligans flat, a landscape response to embed the Islamic centre into the southern suburb of Monash and an art/ sculpture park at Queanbeyan. Each project was addressed by two students with different emphasis and all of them wove wider considerations into their project. The panels were huge so it is hard to put them with this post but I will include some detail shots I liked.
http://belconnenartscentre.com.au/exhibitions/transpire.html
23 Oct – 15 Nov 2015
The blurb reads “Disintegration is a subtle whispering, a barely realised theme of everything in life. It is as finely woven into the textures of humanity as birth, creation, war, sex and love.” The artists in Random 9 explore the influences of this disintegration in Landscapes of Decay, working in a range of mediums including; painting, print media, sculpture, photo media, jewellery, sound, digital, ceramics, wood, glass, textiles and dance.” The range of art styles and media was rich and diverse. A decision by the Random art group was to black out the windows of what is usually a brilliantly daylight bathed space gave a certain vibe to these works that remember decay.
Have a look at some of the works pictured below with the gallery sheets.
stephenrrandall 