he Royal Exhibition Buildings for Art Melbourne O8.We got half price tickets which was good even though paying to go into a place where art is displayed for sale always kind of rubs me the wrong way. I understand a museum but not a sale. Anyway, I was really excited to take a look but after a few minutes started to get a bit disappointed. I did find some artists I liked but most of these were surrounded by repetitive, unoriginal pieces, lots of work that could easily be hung in a bank or dentist's office because it was nothing but a few strokes of color across a massive canvas....boring, boring, boring (atleast to me). There wasn't much new or exciting in the main gallery section and the couple that I was interested in came along with chatty gallery reps pushing to make a sale.
Thin
gs were better in the "new" or unrepresented part of the show. In the "Off The Wall" section there were some ingenious works. I already posted about one of these artists I really like, Madeleine Stamer, but there was also Ralf Kempken. Seeing Kempken's art in a photo doesn't do it justice. The pieces are all made with laser cuts, raising the cut piece away from the bottom. The pieces change as you move because of shadows and were quite beautiful.
gs were better in the "new" or unrepresented part of the show. In the "Off The Wall" section there were some ingenious works. I already posted about one of these artists I really like, Madeleine Stamer, but there was also Ralf Kempken. Seeing Kempken's art in a photo doesn't do it justice. The pieces are all made with laser cuts, raising the cut piece away from the bottom. The pieces change as you move because of shadows and were quite beautiful.Matt and I both really liked the work of one of Aus
tralia's established artists, Garry Shead. He is represented by the National Gallery of Australia and in 1993 won the Archibald Prize (Australia's highest prize for portrait painting). His etchings and paintings have a kind of George Grosz (one of my all time favorite artists) quality so naturally I liked them.
tralia's established artists, Garry Shead. He is represented by the National Gallery of Australia and in 1993 won the Archibald Prize (Australia's highest prize for portrait painting). His etchings and paintings have a kind of George Grosz (one of my all time favorite artists) quality so naturally I liked them. 