‘Nudes in Landscape’ and ‘Surfin’ in the Veneto’

7 August – 2 November 2014

 

Oil pastels and Linocuts by Margaret Lees

Drawings and Aquatints by Liz Caffin

The exhibition in the downstairs gallery, ‘Nudes in Landscape’ consists of a series of oil pastels and linocuts by MARGARET LEES.

She depicts the beauty of the lines and rhythms of the female form and the colours and patterns found in nature. Colour has been heightened to convey the joy and exuberance of the figures in the landscape. She states: ‘Colour is the element which gives me the greatest joy, but it’s also the hardest to get just right – and that makes it the most satisfying challenge.’ Her figures dance and hide in forests and glades in casual, rythmic poses echoing the outlines of individual trees. She uses the sgraffito technique of scratching through the outer surface of pastel to reveal multi layers of luminescent colours. Her works are sensuous, lyrical and joyous.

In contrast, the exhibition ‘Surfin’ in the Veneto’ by LIZ CAFFIN is mysterious and dramatic.  It comprises drawings and etchings/aquatints, the result of her recent visit to Northern Italy and Sicily.

She draws the Italian city – the place where art came to express the dramatic, where artists discovered the power of chiaroscuro – the use of light and shade. She uses strong blacks and subtle shades of grey to create a sense of place and mystery where viewers must interpret the meaning of the shadows on the paper for themselves. Hers are scenes that are elusive and dreamlike, giving shape to fragmentary memories. Figures take flight and journey through landscape or architectural vistas. Mysterious dark shadows hide in doorways and destinations. Caffin observes and notes the complexity of our relationship to landscapes and to urban environments – both Australian and Italian. Her work is European as well as Australian – just as the artist is a product of both.

The two exhibitions commence 7 August and conclude 2 November with the gallery being closed for Mid-year recess 15 Sep – 22 Oct.

Both artists will be present Saturday 9 August 2 – 4pm