Exhibition dates: 7th November – 29th November, 2008
Opening: Friday 7th November, 2008
Darren Wardle (Australian, b. 1969) Frontier Psychology 2008 Oil and acrylic on linen 153cm x 274cm Private collection
Six luminous oil and acrylic paintings by Darren Wardle greeted viewers in the front gallery at Nellie Castan in South Yarra. In his apocalyptic fractured pop-coloured landscapes objects elide, disintegrate and vanish into thin air. Buildings, empty screens and advertising hoardings become the target of lost innocence, a metaphor for the dis-ease and disintegration of consumer society, a portent of things to come.
The titles of the paintings (such as Tipping Point, Faultline and Slanted) perfectly describe the conceptual themes explored in the work. Slinks of dripping paint pour down the canvas, canvases are cut in three through the use of fractured planes like a double exposure in photography and vegetation becomes purple and white, mutated and x-rayed. Some of the paint almost has a crystalline nature to it’s surface, a ‘surface tension’ that contrasts with flat gradated areas of colour in the backgrounds, as though the world is solidifying, cracking and about to fall apart.
An excellent show that is well hung: so many exhibitions have too many objects, too much noise crowding the walls. Here the work is given space to breathe and live and looks all the better for it. Highly recommended.
Dr Marcus Bunyan
Darren Wardle (Australian, b. 1969) Faultline (installation view) 2008 Oil and acrylic on canvas
Darren Wardle (Australian, b. 1969) Faultline 2008 Oil and acrylic on canvas 153cm x 274cm Private collection
Darren Wardle (Australian, b. 1969) Inland Empire 2008 Oil and acrylic on linen 183cm x 167cm Private collection
Exhibition dates: 5th November – 23rd November, 2008
Jamieson Miller (Australian, b. 1965) The Last Drop 2008 Sheoak with ebonised stain 30 x 14 x 10cm
A small but lively crowd was in attendance for the opening of the exhibition territories featuring six small and six large floor standing wooden sculptures by the artist Jamieson Miller at the Dickerson Gallery in Oxford Street, Collingwood.
The work itself is of a fine craftsmanship showing exemplary design: different coloured woods and stains, wonderful joinery, the use of grain and different geometric and fluid shapes are all balanced harmoniously within the objects. A refined aesthetic sensibility is at work in their construction. This sensibility flows through to the conceptual themes of the work: the artist has created sometimes totemic but always lyrical poetic spaces within the corporeality of the work. The viewer enters enclosed intimate spaces (such as the funnels) or steps forward into steeped carved openings that open the way to visions of an inner world. Outer space becomes enclosed inner space as the viewer is at first intrigued, then drawn in and surrounded by the flickering shadows of Plato’s cave.
The new gallery is certainly an attractive modern warehouse space with vaulted roof. Unfortunately the large sculptures, although multi-dimensional and carved in the round, have been pushed to the edges of the space close to the walls. This makes it difficult to appreciate the totality of the form of the sculptures especially important with a work like Sight where the carved blackened wood shape on the ‘back’ of the sculpture is a vital counterpoint to the receding opening at the ‘front’ of the work. Make sure you also explore the reverse of the sculpture Lineage II to also comprehend the intimate space of the medieval window like opening to the front.
I really enjoyed the work of Jamieson Miller and recommend a visit to the gallery to see his refined worlds. The work is on show with the paintings of Jason Cordero.
Dr Marcus Bunyan
Jamieson Miller standing next to his sculpture Sight on the opening night of his exhibition territories at Dickerson Gallery in Collingwood.
Cyprus pine with ebonised stain 180 x 100 x 30cm
Jamieson Miller (Australian, b. 1965) Resting Place (detail) 2008 Elm with paint 203 x 42 x 30cm
“These sculptures are both poetic palimpsests and heterotopic objects of otherness that are neither here nor there.” Dr Marcus Bunyan
Exhibition dates: 22nd October – 15th November, 2008
Robbie Rowlands (Australian, b. 1968) Scored 2008 Goal post, steel 160cm x 130cm x 50cm Photograph: Christian Capurro
“The philosopher Martin Heidegger argued that objects are often invisible to us gathered up as they are within a context of functionality and use. It is only when things break down that we become aware of them, seeing them with fresh eyes. In many ways Heidegger’s observation could form the basis of an approach to Robbie Rowlands’ work. Rowlands takes objects that are often forgotten, invisible or transparent to us, objects that exist on the verge of disappearance, and stages a kind of ‘breakdown’, inviting us to rediscover the object, poised somewhere between what it was and what it might become.”
Simon Cooper. Catalogue essay
Sitting in pools of light in the elegant modern space of Place Gallery in Richmond, six theatrically lit sculptures are presented by artist Robbie Rowlands.
Made of everyday objects (a boom gate, desk, chair, single bed, electricity pole, desk and footy goalpost) they have been de/constructed by the artist and reformed into curved objects. With ironic titles such as Down for the felled electricity pole and Collapse for the dismembered chair Rowland’s work hovers between one fixed state and an’other’ transformative state of being.
While the catalogue essay by Simon Cooper suggests that all of these objects are abandoned or nearly forgotten sharing a context of quasi-obsolescence, this is not the case. These were objects of purpose and form, the acts of ritualised production of a consumer society that contained signs that symbolised their status.
In his creativity Rowland has used these technologies of production, which permit us to produce, transform or manipulate things to create new sensual forms of life.
Some of the sculptures such as Boom (the boom gate; 2008, below) and Scored (the goal post; 2008, above) remind me of creatures emerging from the recesses of the unconscious, curling and rearing up like monsters from the deep. One of the most beautiful forms is the constructed white chair where the function of the object has collapsed into the essence of the form, like the surreal spatiality of a poetic Miro.
As Gaston Bachelard reminds use in The Poetics of Space, “The grace of a curve is an invitation to remain. We cannot break away from it without hoping to return. For the beloved curve has nest-like powers; it incites us to possession, it is a curved corner, inhabited geometry.”1
Cooper suggests that the curved forms that Rowland creates were “already there in the original object, even as it was sat on, written on, or passed by on the way to work.” He rightly notes that the process used contains a certain violence, but that we remember and reconstruct the old form even as we respond to the new construction. For these sculptures are a construction not, I believe, inherent in the original form.
This can be seen in the sculpture Boom (2008, below) for example, where Rowland has used additional pieces of metal to hold the curve of the boom gate in place. Without this skilfully added, hidden sub-structure the transformative shape would collapse onto the floor. Rowland inhabits and possesses his new geometry with as much technology as the original but not in such an obvious form.
The work would have been stronger if only four pieces were presented in the gallery space – the sculptures needed more room to breathe (understanding the dictum that less is more). The sculptures themselves also needed greater thematic cohesiveness perhaps using the colour white as the unifying theme.
At their best these sculptures are both poetic palimpsests and heterotopic objects of otherness that are neither here nor there. They are sensual and beautiful gestures that deserve your attention.
Dr Marcus Bunyan
1/ Bachelard, Gaston. The Poetics of Space. Boston: Beacon, 1969 [originally 1958] p. 146
Robbie Rowlands (Australian, b. 1968) Boom 2008 Rail boom gate, wooden 160cm x 160cm x 130cm Photograph: Wren
Place Gallery 120 Collins Street Melbourne VIC 3000 Phone: (03) 9527 6378
“There can be many reasons to travel, but wandering into the world for no particular reason is a sublime madness, which in all its whimsy and pointlessness may depict the story of life – and indeed could be a useful model to keep in mind, seeing as so much of life’s ambition comes unstuck or leads to nothing much at all.
But though we may wander aimlessly, thinking ourselves happily adrift and carefree for a while, we may nonetheless be moving towards some particular, unimaginable moment: a pothole in the path, a sprained wrist and savagely twisted ankle, a glimpse of death on a sunny morning, a sudden revelation or embrace; events and forces large or small that will change out lives forever.
And though our trains may run on time and all roads be found and connections made, we are also guided and beguiled by an unconscious map of all our fears and foibles, and we are moving in accordance with the schedule of wild, astounding fate. Yet somehow … it is better to hobble than to arrive.”
Michael Leunig (Australian, b. 1945) “Curly Word” A2 Culture. The Age newspaper Saturday November 1st 2008, p. 16
Alec Soth (American, b. 1969) Two Towels 2004 From the series Niagara (2006)
Minneapolis-based photographer Alec Soth has attained international recognition for his photographic series. Notable are the two series Sleeping by the Mississippi (1999-2004) portraying the river and the life along it’s banks and Niagara (2006) where Soth focuses his large format camera on the hotels, residents loves and lives and the environs around Niagara Falls.
His work is firmly rooted in the documentary traditions of Walker Evans and Robert Frank but pushes the documentary form. Whereas Frank used a foreigners eye and ‘snapshot’ photography to challenge traditional notions of American culture in his seminal book The Americans (1958), Soth photographs the everyday events of American life – home, romance, religion, bliss, heartbreak and agony – and constructs his vision of the land and people in poetic form. His use of handwritten notes is especially poignant.
Working in a serial form, Soth builds the themes within his series. The connections between people living their lives and facing their plight together – with dignity – become fully evident.
Soth’s view of America is both narrative, truth and epic construction.
Dr Marcus Bunyan
Alec Soth (American, b. 1969) Charles, Vasa, Minnesota 2002 From the series Sleeping by the Mississippi (1999-2004)
“Sciagraphy: the art of depicting an object through its shadow.”
(William Henry Fox Talbot’s private name for photography)
Schaaf, Larry. “The Paper Multiple: Talbot’s Invention and Early Photographic Books,” in Foster, S., Heiting, M. and Stuhlman, R. Imagining Paradise. Rochester NY: George Eastman House, 2007, p. 45.
Exhibition dates: 29th October – 22nd November, 2008
Heather Shimmen (Australian, b. 1957) Cry 2008 Linocut print on paper and organza
“(Somewhere) betwixt nature and civilisation, past and future, fact and fantasy. Shimmen guides the viewer on a magical history of the landmarks and turning points which connect these extremes … Pictures of skewed, stretched and distorted women are abundant. There are moody pieces where Victorian women look uncomfortable in the Australian bush. In fact their discomfort is palpable as they begin to morph into the local shrubbery, their beauty spots being replaced with twigs … These images wear the marks and piercings of the subverted.”
Pamela Irving. Catalogue essay
Arriving late from the Rennie Ellis opening there was a lively crowd in attendance at the opening of Betwixt by printmaker Heather Shimmen at Gallery 101, Collins Street. The exhibition had been opened by the well-known sculptor William Eicholtz. Also in attendance were artists Louise Rippert whose exhibition Trace at Deakin University Art Gallery had opened the previous night and Carolyn Lewens who I studied photography with at RMIT University in the early 1990s and who is now completing her PhD.
The work is feminine but also muscular and visceral, expanding past the edges of the paper. Images are composed in fractured spaces, Ned Kelly surrounded by emblazoned Life Savers, Australian creatures no longer lovable and pliable but dark and threatening. These elements are balanced with the use of delicate printed organza feathers for example.
The work challenges conventional iconic wisdoms about Australian culture, morphing traditional stereotypes: no longer is it the Australia child lost in the bush (see Kim Torney’s Babes in the Bush) but the bush invading and subverting adults, animals and the city.
This is a body of work that is both conceptually and technically well resolved, displayed to advantage in the gallery space. Well worth a visit.
Dr Marcus Bunyan
Left to right: Artist Louise Rippert, sculptor William Eicholtz, architect Vaughn Barker and artist Heather Shimmen Photo: Marcus Bunyan
Heather Shimmen (Australian, b. 1957) Lost I 2008 Linocut print on circle of felt, unique state
More artwork from the opening of Heather Shimmen’s exhibition Betwixt at 101 Gallery, Melbourne
Heather Shimmen (Australian, b. 1957) Wicked 2008 linocut on paper and ink
Heather Shimmen (Australian, b. 1957) Such Is Life 2008 Linocut print on paper and organza
Heather Shimmen (Australian, b. 1957) Catalogue front cover with the work Lost II 2008 Linocut print on circle of felt, unique state
Rennie Ellis (Australian, 1940-2003) Girls’ Night Out, Prahran 1980 Silver gelatin, selenium toned fibre based print
A very social and lively crowd gathered at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square on the evening of 30th October to celebrate the life and work of the Australian social photographer Rennie Ellis.
After opening comments by the NGV Director Dr Gerard Vaughan there was a funny and erudite speech by Phillip Adams AO who had flown down from Sydney to open the exhibition. The crowd enjoyed the anecdotes about his relationship with Rennie and said he thought that dying was a good career move on Rennie’s behalf and that he would have loved the fact that he had a retrospective at the NGV. Adams observed that Ellis used to be everywhere, at every party and opening, using his astute eye to record and never to judge. Applause all round for a life well lived.
On entering the exhibition space viewers were treated to a simple but effective installation of his work, with overtones of the 1970’s-1980s interior decor with yellow and white circle graphics and hanging fabric chandelier. The curatorial staff at the NGV (notably Susan van Wyk) have chosen over 200 works from an archive of over half a million images for the exhibition in a process that has taken over two and a half years.
As an immigrant arriving in Australia in 1986 I remember 397 Club that used to be at 397 Swanston Street. After every other place had closed this club attracted people from every walk of life: pimps, prostitutes, drag queens, faggots, lesbians, straights and druggies. Rennie was probably there recording the scene. We were there just for a good time. It was fun and this is what Ellis’ photography captures.
Not burdened by overarching conceptual ideas Ellis recorded what he saw, balancing social commentary and spatial organisation in the construction of his images. The image Girls’ Night Out, Prahran 1980 (above) is a pearler (with the look on the woman’s face) and neatly encapsulates the magic of his image making.
“One can almost see the maelstrom of the splitting of the atom in Twombly’s repeating performance threatening to destroy himself and the world around him.” Dr Marcus Bunyan
November 2008
Cy Twombly (American, 1928-2011) Cold Stream 1966 White wax pencil on canvas
This painting reminds me of the drawings of Rudolf Steiner (see the exhibition Joseph Beuys & Rudolf Steiner: Imagination, Inspiration, Intuition at The National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne earlier this year) but here the performance of marking is pushed beyond the bounds of the spiritual by the ferocious attack of the artist – repeating the form but transgressing the boundaries of that form, disintegrating the ritual into the physical release of energy through the hand.
One can almost see the maelstrom of the splitting of the atom in Twombly’s repeating performance threatening to destroy himself and the world around him.
Artist Tim Fleming on the ABC’s Sunday Arts program talks about his art practice, his Flatland work in plywood and laminex and how the work has taken on a life of its own. The work takes on a self-reflexive element with his use of mirrored surfaces forcing the viewer/maker to assess where they are going in life. Fleming notes that it is important to take time as an artist to gather the skills and lay the foundation for future work. Working slowly, laying the foundations, gathering the skills.
Personally I like the use of objects that are taken out of context to convey different metaphors for everyday life. As an artist Flemings semiotic language upsets accepted boundaries of how we look and interact with the world, forcing us to question what it is that makes us who we are.
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