Two exhibitions
dal 9/6/2014 al 28/6/2014
Segnalato da
9/6/2014
Two exhibitions
Australian Galleries, Melbourne
Sarah Tomasetti's luminous representations of landscapes from the South Island of New Zealand are at once ephemeral and eternal. '250 Years of Japanese Prints' brings together some 50 works from the Forrest/ Nedela Collection by the master printmakers of the 18th and 19th Centuries.
SARAH TOMASETTI
Quiet/Disquiet
35 Derby Street Collingwood VIC 3066
Open 7 days 10am to 6pm
“My relationship to landscape is an emotional one. I seek out
locations and subjects that have traditionally been the vector of
romantic longings and re-examine them through a lens inevitably
loaded with dread of the rapid melt. In this body of work the
point where the snow appears to meet the sky, where ice meets
air, is the elusive subject dissolving at once into light above and
the dark void of rock below.”
Sarah Tomasetti’s luminous representations of landscapes
from the South Island of New Zealand are at once
ephemeral and eternal, with a focus on the strange imaginary
point where the material dissolves into the immaterial.
Tomasetti is drawn to the constantly evolving interface,
the dream-like space where snow-capped mountain peaks
meet the atmosphere or the inexorably melting glacial
fronts, simultaneously emblematic of monumental power
and precarious fragility. “I am preoccupied with slippage, with
disappearance, with the transition from one state to another, as
water becomes vapour, as snow becomes fog.”
Quiet/Disquiet refers to an uneasy edge between seeking
a wordless space of solace in the untouched landscape,
and the simultaneous awareness that this is a fugitive wish
perhaps no longer ours to long for. One seeks stability
in the strength and solidity of the mountain only to
instead encounter the reality of the glacial melt. ‘Disquiet’
historically referred to the atmospheric eddies that
disrupted small planes, equally it is the introspective starting
point for Tomasetti when making an image. By collecting
source images over a period of time spent in one location,
she captures the transitory shifts in atmosphere and time
which appear to alter the topography itself, deliberately
fracturing the viewpoint by juxtaposing these fleeting
moments.
Using traditional fresco methods employed since antiquity
Tomasetti’s work echoes the transient depths of nature,
building up successive layers of transparent staining and
encaustic wax. The fresco surfaces are integral to this body
of work, the intricate network of cracking achieved with this
technique signifying the cycles of continual disintegration and
reformation in nature. Each work explores our ever changing
connection with our natural surrounds through the complex
interplay between the painted landscape and the fractal
patterning that emerges randomly within the fresco skin.
Quiet/Disquiet is current until 29 June 2014
---
250 YEARS OF JAPANESE PRINTS
from the Forrest/Nedéla Collection
35 Derby Street Collingwood VIC 3066
Open 7 days 10am to 6pm
Characterised by a highly sophisticated society, the 18th and
19th Centuries in Japan proliferated with flourishing arts and a
rich cultural life. The Japanese woodblock prints of this time
recorded the vibrant and colourful spirit of this world in ukiyo-e
prints, meaning “images of the floating world”. Removed from
the duties of everyday life, ukiyo-e captured the pleasure
and entertainment of popular kabuki theatre, actors, alluring
courtesans, sumo wrestlers, beautiful women, erotica, historical
battles, and heroes and legends; with depictions of Japanese
landscapes also highlighting the transient beauty of the moment
as seen in the crest of a wave, falling cherry blossoms, or a tree
weighed down with fresh snow.
The technique, design and colour of the prints of this era are
significant in the history of world graphic art, with woodblock
printing having an extraordinary and lasting influence on Western
art and design. Ever since Japan opened to the West in the mid-
19th Century, Japanese prints have been acquired and continue
to resonate with collectors, artists and the viewing public.
250 Years of Japanese Prints brings together some 50 works from
the Forrest/ Nedéla Collection by the master printmakers of the
18th and 19th Centuries, including Utamaro, celebrated for his
depictions of beautiful women from the tearooms and pleasure
quarters, and Hokusai, famous for his landscapes and natural
scenes. The exhibition also includes works by Shuncho, Hiroshige,
Kunasada, Kuniyoshi and Yoshitoshi, as well as Hasui, Koson and
Kokei from the 20th Century.
250 Years of Japanese Prints is current until 29 June 2014
Image: NISHIKAWA SUKENOBU, A courtesan... c.1730. Woodblock print, 9 x 14.5 cm
For more details or images contact:
derbyst@australiangalleries.com.au
australiangalleries.com.au
03 9417 4303
Australian Galleries
35 Derby Street Collingwood VIC 3066
Open 7 days 10am to 6pm
28 Derby Street Collingwood VIC 3066
Open 7 days 10am to 6pm