Melbourne's walk to art

Experience a powerful installation in Melbourne

25 February 2010

I don’t think I’ve seen a great installation since Sarah Duyshart’s exhibition “The Lure of Echo” (read my blog post about her installation).

Installation is difficult to execute; there are many elements involved, especially technical issues relating to structure and performance.

On Thursday 18 February 2010 I went to the opening of “Slow Dance” by Shay Minster at West Space, in Melbourne.

“‘Slow Dance’ examines the tragic comedy of the human condition. Appearing familiar and amusing at first, the project explores the suppression experienced when a personality is radically altered through the manipulation of their environment. A clown motif – drained of its usual high colour and its joyous free dance restricted – flails about in a futile attempt to fulfill its intended purpose. Stuck in endless repetition, ‘Slow Dance’ confronts, in an absurd manner, the existential vacuum.”

Shay Minster:

constructed the room to be smaller
painted the walls, ceiling and floor in white
hid every cord possible
placed electrical sensors for the air pump to work
lit the clown with fluorescents that were strategically placed to light the room.

The immaculate presentation is all part of why this installation is so successful, not to mention that the concept is strong and clear, and the work has emotional connection with the viewer.

Slow Dance by Shay Minster

The “Clown” is white.
The “Clown” is unmasked.
The “Clown” does not fit.
The “Clown” is restricted.
The “Clown” is a misfit in this space.

Haven’t we all felt like this at one point in our lives?

Go and experience this powerful installation:

What: “Slow Dance”
When: until 13 March 2010 (Wed to Friday, 12pm to 6pm; Saturday, 12pm to 5pm)
Where: West Space (Gallery 3) – Level 1, 15–19 Anthony Street, Melbourne, VIC (view location on Google Maps)

Shay will be giving a free artist talk on Thursday 11 March 2010, between 12.30pm and 1.30pm.

In love with drawing and works on paper

artists, spaces

11 February 2010

I have fallen in love with drawing and works on paper. Yes, it is fashionable and, yes, it has had a rebirth. It’s so beautiful to see the line work and build up on paper.

“Debut VI” is an annual exhibition at Melbourne’s Blindside that, in 2010, is curated by Natalya Maller, Drew Pettifer and Andrew Tetzlaff.

The artists who have been selected to exhibit are Maggie Brown, Christo Croker, Dylan Hammond, Ted Mckinlay, Sophie Mitchell, Sam Page, Van Thanh Rudd, Jacob Weiss and Marcin Wojcik.

For me, I engaged in Ted Mckinlay’s work, “Those places you were not (All at once)”, 2009–10, pastel on paper, 110cm x 150cm. I have not seen pastel on paper in such a long time… and Ted manages to create many layers with a clever colour palette.

“Those places you were not (All at once)”, by Ted Mckinlay

There is great line work, perspective and, amongst the many buildings, a human element with a glimpse of a child standing on a balcony, alone, looking out beyond the edge of the paper.

“From morning to noon to night we barrage our senses with visual imagery that our mind dutifully shelves, classifies and catalogues as our waking experience. It is this phenomenological accumulation that McKinlay investigates through layering tableaus rendered in shadowy pastel. Fleeting moments are conjoined and superimposed on short eternities, some detailed with hypersensitive clarity and others disregarded as incidental fragments. The whole becomes a labyrinth of imagery, a non-functional record of information that mirrors our own unreliable memory.”

We lose so many of our “works on paper artists” to painting… maybe it’s because, as a society, we feel painting holds more presence, value and prestige.

I hope we do not lose Ted to the painting world. He is very talented and a mid-emerging artist who has lots of potential!

What: “Debut VI”
When: Until 13 February 2010; Thursday to Saturday, 12pm to 6pm
Where: Blindside – Level 7, Room 14, Nicholas Building (37 Swanston Street, Melbourne, VIC); view location on Google Maps

Carolyn Fels: a solo show after hard work

artists

29 January 2010

The great pleasure of doing what I do is being there when something wonderful comes through for an artist.

Carolyn Fels would have to be in her late 60s; I’m not quite sure of her exact age (she looks fabulous). Carolyn went back to the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) aged 47 after raising her family, and she has had a successful journey of being represented. However, since the closure of her gallery in 2006, Carolyn has struggled to get back into the commercial wheel.

Carolyn has old fashioned communication skills, she is a fantastic networker and seems to know everyone. For the last 4 years, Carolyn has been knocking on all doors that may lead to the golden path of a solo show in a great space.

We have lunch once a week, share art stories and talk about other doors that Carolyn could knock on.

Carolyn Fels's artwork

Finally in 2010 good news was delivered, and Carolyn was offered a solo show by Anna Pappas Gallery (formerly Uber Gallery).

I am very excited for her, and Carolyn’s smile beams from ear to ear. Carolyn is a very clear example that we are never too old, never too tired, never too poor to start again.

Carolyn works hard, wishes hard and never stops believing the universe will deliver!

New year, new art space and Chloe Vallance

artists, spaces

7 January 2010

Hello 2010… what a great feeling this year has!

This week I popped into Carbon Black Gallery, a new contemporary art space on High Street, in Prahran – a lovely space for emerging artists. Carbon Black’s first show consisted of 11 emerging artists across various mediums:

Aly Aitkin’s fantastic, humorous well-crafted sculpture
Jane Brown in photography
Marisa Corral (printmaking)
Chris Dolman (printmaking)
Daniel Kolieb (photography)
Kristin McIver (painting)
Sheena Mathieson (sculpture)
Rishi Meyhanden (photography)
Luke Rogers (sculpture)
Michael Staniak (painting)
and my favorite, Chloe Vallance, in drawing and painting.

Chloe has recently received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with Honours from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and has had numerous solo and group exhibitions since 2007.

Chloe’s work is small and intimate, well drawn with movement and texture. The use of a wooden background and coloured pencils work so well. Chloe’s ‘people’ have been captured in movement, riding, walking a path or sitting.

They are isolated figures on wood, with no background or middle ground. The smaller the figure the more intense it becomes as the viewer is forced to look with intent. Chloe’s work is very reasonably priced and can sit quite comfortably alone or in a collective group.

sunnybrae muster, by Chloe Vallance
“sunnybrae muster”, by Chloe Vallance (colour pencil on paper, 36cm x 35cm)

Check Chloe’s website

Enjoy!

Art after dark

artists, spaces

14 December 2009

At this time of the year, artists, galleries and art spaces take a well-deserved break. What’s great is that art is still around… you just have to look for it.

Eamonn Verberne’s exhibition “Move” opens on 13 December 2009 at the Centre for Contemporary Photography, in the Night Projection Window. The exhibition is seven days a week, after dark from 14 December 2009 to 20 January 2010.

“‘Move’ is Eamonn Verberne’s latest investigation into the particularities of what tourists do when they go on holiday. Developing previous explorations of the phenomena of vacations, ‘Move’ questions the need to validate a holiday by capturing it within an image, recording events like experience in a resume, almost as confirmation.

“‘Move’ examines the vista of the careless tourist and their pursuit of the quintessential image, questioning the very notion of the perfect holiday and our desire to believe in its possibility despite what the picture indicates.”

Eamonn has a fabulous sense of humour and this is clearly seen in all of his work. After many years, Eamonn has finally gone digital… I know it has been a slow and large step for him, and I look forward to seeing the work, after dark, in the Night Projection Window.

Don't forget your camera, by Eamonn Verberne (2004)
“Don’t forget your camera”, by Eamonn Verberne (2004)

What: “Move”, by Eamonn Verberne
When: 14 December 2009 to 20 January 2010, after dark
Where: Centre for Contemporary Photography, 404 George Street, Fitzroy, VIC (view location on Google Maps)

VCA graduate show 2009

artists

25 November 2009

On Monday 23 November 2009 the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), which is part of The University of Melbourne, opened its doors to the public, art lovers, families of art students and former VCA people to showcase a year of work from all mediums: painting, photography, printmaking, drawing, sculpture and spatial practice.

Having completed my Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) at the VCA, it’s always fun to go back and walk the grounds where I once played.

The VCA School of Art Graduate Exhibition 2009

The VCA is an incubator for future creators and Monday was its chance to show off very talented folk. Large installation work filled the hallways, and it was good to see very beautiful drawings… oh and a few paintings… not many, but a few, on the walls.

The best of the best was on show in the Margaret Lawrence Gallery, and digital media was on display in the Photography department.

If you have a chance, it’s worth going to Southbank (view location on Google Maps) to have a wander around.

What: The VCA School of Art Graduate Exhibition 2009
When: 24 to 29 November (Tuesday to Friday, 11am to 5pm; Saturday and Sunday, 12pm to 5pm)
Where: Enter via the Margaret Lawrence Gallery, at 40 Dodds Street, in Southbank, VIC (view location on Google Maps)

Indulging in another person’s talent, passion and form of expression

artists

13 November 2009

I was at yoga the other day and Nancy (Tsou Nan Chien), who is a fellow yogi (one who practices yoga), mentioned that she had read the article about walk to art in “The Australian” (July 2009) and wondered if I was interested in popping around to her house on Sunday 8 November 2009.

At 5pm I arrived at Nancy’s house and was ushered into the front room. A senior man and a 25-year-old boy were also there. Nancy entered and sat at the Steinway grand piano. Without any words or explanations she began to play. I was in a room with two others, who I had not met before, and, for one hour, I was in bliss, I had forgotten that it was 35 degrees outside and I was transformed into a mediative space.

When Nancy stopped playing, the senior man lifted his head, opened his eyes and said “what now… where does one possibly go now”. “Nancy feels an affinity with Chopin, and the notion of affinity plays a considerable part in her general understanding. But affinities are delicate, and Nancy believes, as did Chopin, that the salon is the venue for his music and not the concert hall. In the same way the Pleyel is a better instrument for this music than a Steinway.”

How fortunate was I to be invited to listen, to share and to indulge in another person’s talent, passion and form of expression. Nancy, like many creative makers, works alone. The interaction of others, fresh ears, fresh eyes are essential. We all struggle with the fact that our love of creating is so consuming, challenging and mentally demanding. Regardless of what medium we work in, we have the same story, the same journey and the same addiction.

It is moments like these that I remember why I created walk to art!

Nancy (Tsou Nan Chien)

The next recital at Nancy’s residence will be on Sunday 6 December 2009 at 5pm. Please contact walk to art if you are interested in attending.

We should all be visually curious like Paul Barbera

artists

27 October 2009

Paul Barbera is a great example of artist meets commercial photographer. Barbera has a long list of top agencies, clients, editorials and, in 2008, he was commissioned by a book publisher to document the work of a Dutch interior designer. This project took him from Melbourne to Indonesia, Spain, The Netherlands and France.

Maybe it’s because Barbera has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), in Melbourne. Or maybe it’s because he is always looking beyond, travelling a continued path of conceptual discovery that gives his commercial work so much more.

Barbera shoots interiors… His work is technically astute, and he still manages to capture warmth, stillness and intimacy. Barbera’s work is voyeuristic, and a moment is captured through natural lighting, negative space and uncomplicated lens work.

photo by Melbourne photographer Paul Barbera

From the day I met Barbera, he has always been searching, looking for the next body of work, maybe taking on too many projects, thinking fast and acting as if everything needed to be done yesterday.

Barbera is inquisitive and thinks from outside in, rather than inside out. I salute Barbera’s energy to push harder for clarity, honesty and expression. Barbera is curious… I love that! We should be all visually curious!

Barbera has many projects on the go: interior work, lifestyle, stills and a great website of artists/creators in their space, titled Where They Create (www.wheretheycreate.com). “My name is Paul Barbera. I am an interior based photographer – I travel meet artists & creatives. This is a visual document of their creative environments.”

One of the most beautiful art shows seen in Melbourne in 2009

Melbourne tours, artists

12 October 2009

On Sunday (11 October 2009) Sarah Duyshart’s exhibition ended after a very successful two-week show – “The Lure of Echo”. It is not often that I say this, but to me it was one of the most beautiful shows that I have seen in Melbourne in 2009.

In conjunction with the Fringe Festival Melbourne and the support of the City of Melbourne and Manildra Flour, Sarah occupied the amazing space in the basement of 673 Bourke Street, Melbourne.

The darkness, the light, the vibration, the emptiness and the emotional connection that the viewer could experience from this installation were incredible.

“Entering down a stairwell into a series of dark arches and corridors the viewer encounters several large spot lit sieves. Atmospheric aural reverberations translate into physical vibrations that gently sift flour to the floor. The sounds are based on field recordings captured within and around the building, including the heritage cage lift. They consist of rhythmic textured arrangements where isolated meditative ambient bass is interwoven with delicate subtle microsounds.

“the lure of echo, sarah duyshart, an immersive meditative sound sculptural installation exploring the junction between ethereality and materiality and their duality in real time”

“Duyshart’s temporal installations utilise ephemeral materials such as flour and ash. Her viewers are encouraged to consider the impossibility of holding time still. Flour sifts as time disintegrates. Translating the immaterial to the material, ‘The Lure of Echo’ presents physical and aural echoes of the past providing the audience an opportunity to contemplate the visceral impact of what is unseen in our lives. Moving through the historical basement, the viewer is prompted to engage in a critical reflection of both their internal and external landscapes, that of the past and potentially their future.”

It was such a pleasure to take walk to art participants to this exhibition. For me, good artwork needs to be conceptual, technical and emotional. This exhibition had all three elements and I was so impressed with Sarah’s energy, love and passion. Well done to a very talented artist!

Venice research trip

artists

25 September 2009

I’ve just been in a beautiful tiny town named Pinacale and have travelled four hours by train to see the art at the 53rd Biennale in Venice (Italy). The Biennale occurs every second year (odd) in Venice and is an international affair.

There are tourists everywhere; however, Venice does not seem to lose its charm, as I meander through the many lanes navigating myself to hidden wine bars at 6pm for aperitivo time… un bichiere di proseco.

So much to see, such little time…

The two main venues to cover at the Biennale is the Giardini and the Arsenale.

53rd International Art Exhibition
“Making Worlds”
from 7 June to 22 November 2009

The 53rd International Art Exhibition, titled “Making Words”, directed by Daniel Birnbaum and organized by La Biennale di Venezia chaired by Paolo Baratta, is open to the public from 7 June to 22 November 2009 in the Giardini (50,000 square metres) and the Arsenale (38,000 square metres), as well as in various other locations around the city. Read more.

I start with the Giardini. It’s easier to navigate than one would expect. Each country has its own building in the gardens. It takes me half a day… Highlights for me were “Bruce Nauman: Topological Gardens” (United States) and “The Collectors” (Denmark and Nordic Counries – Finland, Norway, Sweeden).

53rd Biennale in Venice (Italy)
“The Collectors”

Chatting later… I noticed that I missed a few countries. Oops. I did manage to view the Australian exhibit by Sean Gladwell. Mad Max, Kangaroos, video work in a large black room. It was impressive and it was great to be an Australian in Venice.

53rd Biennale in Venice (Italy)
Shaun Gladwell – “Once Removed”

For me the Arsenale was my favourite site. I was impressed by the work and the space. As I love discovering art in different places, the individual exhibits of different countries, scattered around Venice such as China, Iceland and Mexico were the highlights.

What an experience… I am looking forward to taking a walk to art group in 2011.