Artists of the Great War @ National Gallery of Australia

The National Gallery brought together a set of works in their Australian area to reflect the great gifts and varieties of artists who recorded aspects of the experience of World War One.

The blurb for this reads: This powerful exhibition addresses wartime propaganda, front-line experience and remembrance through paintings, drawings and prints by Official War Artists, combatants and women. It also features a special focus on the remarkable artist Will Dyson.

The works range from standard historical recording of historical events and people to extremely brutal representations of the violence of war.

Pics below

Engage: Community Posters @ Megalo Studio and Gallery

11 Feb – 4 Mar 2017

The current exhibition at Megalo features posters made by and for community groups. The posters are half the exhibition and the other half is of pictures of people involved in the processes of learning how and producing the posters.. There is a simple vitality about both parts of the exhibition.

Pics below

Gabriella Tagliapietra – Seek @ Tuggerenong Arts Centre

Gabriella Tagliapietra has created a wonderful synthesis of patterned fabrics and Australian fauna and flora. The beautiful tones and textures make these works beautiful in a singly Australian look. The tones have that eucalyptus almost smoky look and many of the colours have that leeched pale look and lack those bright reds and blues that rarely occur in the Australian landscape.

The exhibition has information about the fabric creation and there are samples of furniture and soft furniture in the gallery. Some pics below and gallery materials.

Julia Higgs – 3 Memories, 3 Animals and a Hunk of Wax @ Tuggerenong Arts Centre

Artists interact between their experience of the world in which they live and their practice. Julia Higgs has a set of works which are her response to experiences she has had including encounters with dead animals. The exhibition is an attempt by Ms Higgs to highlight issues of feminism and vegetarianism. It is a confronting set of works.

Pics and gallery sheets below.

Suzanne Moss – Make Light of it @ Nancy Sever Gallery

4 Feb – 5 Mar 2017

Suzanne Moss creates shimmering pastel geometric artworks. The variegated pale pastel works are intersected with varied geometric triangles, oblongs, squares and other geometric shapes  The choice of pale pastels makes viewing an activity that requires concentration. The choice of hanging the works on white walls was interesting. I tried to imagine what impact it would make to put them on a strong coloured wall.

Below is the gallery sheet and some pics but there is special depth and excitement in viewing them in a gallery.

 

 

 

Elizabeth Cummings – Interior Landscapes @ ANU Drill Hall Gallery

Elizabeth Cummings’ art production has spanned around four decades and the ANU Drill Hall Gallery has pulled together a retrospective or her work with examples drawn from each of those decades. Her major forte is abstract landscapes which tell remarkable stories through colour and shape. Often with knowledge of the area I was struck how strongly she got the area well.

Within the collection there are scattered examples of other styles that demonstrate her wide ranging skills and styles. It is not my favourite style of art but the scale of her production and the richness of the colours and textures gave me an admiration for her work.

Some of the most fascinating elements of the exhibition are a few scattered pottery sculptures. Three dimensional scenes show great skills and creativity.

Sample pictures below

Dianne Fogwell – Renascent @ Beaver Gallery

16 Feb 9 Mar 2017

The exhibition of Dianne Fogwell’s  work at the Beaver Galleries is marked by a certain elegance. Her works weave birds, trees and some other elements into often three colour prints that have an almost Japanese elegance to them. Some of the prints are more mixed in content and embrace a rich brighter palette of colours  I love the intricate detail of her work that produces a simple final product.

Pictures and gallery material below: