arts
and galleries
@ GLen eiRa CiTy COUnCiL
GaLLeRy Michael Berry
28th aug to 9th Sept
half Gallery. His up-tempo
surrealistic abstractions explore
spatial illusion in a cacophony
of colour cadences, multilayered
dimensions, looping calligraphic
line and shifting forms, & the logic
of the purely visual.
Opening One?s Eyes to the New
There is a growing consensus in academic unusual and out of the ordinary
and connoisseur art circles that the viewing a try. Not being in a hurry to
audience has been given too much input into
what artists produce, what the nature of art is,
and the importance of which cultural icons are
relevant in evaluating contemporary art.
Frankston art dealer Jenny Pihan is candidly
vocal with regard to the role of art galleries in
educating the viewing public in appreciation and
understanding of visual art in the context that
painting, and its associated parallel disciplines, is
at its ground a purely visual language which can
be studied and learned, then used, improved and
passed on just like the written alphabet language.
?I think it is time those in the art industry actively
passed on their objective wisdom and encouraged
the public to open their eyes and willingly to look
differently?just as master artists have over the
centuries,? she says.
?Certainly it is a challenge for any viewer to shift
from the relatively safe place of ?I know what I like?
-especially when it comes to expanding personal
long held realist tastes into the modern tradition.
?Often clients don?t have the confidence to move
from the representational work which they find
comfortable?part of our job is to assist in building
a client?s confidence to at least give something
just fill an empty spot on the wall is the key.?
She is quick to point out that while Jenny Pihan
Fine Art?s job is to match a client artistic needs,
decorative or otherwise, the gallery also has a
duty to inform interested parties of other possible
developing trends and breakthroughs in painting,
as well as consolidating with information the
technical reasons why a particular artist enjoys
his/her reputation.
?For the client with the more conservative
eye we encourage them to trust our
judgment and explore the visual world of
painting pictures a little more and embrace
the new ? and to realize that one has nothing
to lose by expanding ones familiar tastes into
the unfamiliar?and it is well worth the trip,?
Jenny explains.
?We are here to help the public train their eye
beyond the obvious and develop more of an
aesthetic approach rather than just wanting a
piece which ?matches the carpet?, as the very real
clich? goes.?
The scheduled August exhibition ?Two artists
? One space? featuring the contrasting works of
inventive figurative realist
Fu Hong and up-tempo surrealist abstractionist
Michael Berry, is the perfect example of a
showing which is targeted for audiences with
conservative tastes through to those with a more
avant garde sensibility.
?It is a fascinating exercise to study the works of
Hong and Berry side by side, to willingly submit
to each artists particular journey and to become
fully aware of the contrasts, concurrences and the
innovation of both artists equally within their own
particular oeuvre?and in the bigger international
sense,? Jenny says.
??With this show in particular if you are after pretty
pictures then it is not for you?just come with a
clear mind when viewing artists like Hong and
Berry and be aware that understanding their
works doesn?t just happen?rather it takes time to
appreciate their painterly intelligence.?
?The difference in understanding a quality
painter, especially when they are working
outside accepted limits, is that it often
requires time to be around their work - and
then something just clicks. and the new then
becomes exciting to embrace.?
1 Queen St, Mornington Ph. 5976 3830
www.mcgeesgallery.com.au
Robert Knight - Eucalypts & Shadows
Representing a diverse range of artists,
traditional & abstract.
McGee?s Gallery
The Collectors' Gallery
Jenny Pihan Fine Art
368 Nepean Highway Frankston 3199
Tel: (03) 9770 5354
www.jennypihanfineart.com.au
Also at Sorrento above the cinema
Jenny Pihan Fine Art
TWENTY MELBOURNE PAINTERS SOCIETY
89th Annual Exhibition 18th ? 29th July 2007
VENUE: Glen Eira City Council Gallery
Cnr Glen Eira and Hawthorn Rds, Caulfield
DAVID TAYLOR 17th ? 26th August
VENUE: Frankston Gallery
368 Nepean Highway Frankston.
Catching the last sun, Woodbridge, WC 54 x 36cms David K Taylor
www.gdlife.com.au | 19
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